Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Revised & enlarged Edition

This is an interesting book where Shermer explores why people believe weird things by which he means things that once considered seemed odd or strange. The book is divided into five parts. which dela with sciecne and skepticism, pseudoscience and superstition, evolution and creationism, history and pseudohistory, and hope springs eternal. Shermer deals with a number of topics. The book begins with some anecdotes and an attempt to define skepticism. By skeptic, Shermer tells readers he means, "one who questions the validity of a a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it" (17) and emphasizes that this ought to be a self correcting approach to the positions one holds. Chapter 2 discusses some of the differences between science and pseudoscience and briefly explores the internalist v. externalist debate in the historiography of science. Shermer suggests that even though scientific principles only exist in people's mind; the actual phenomena they describe exist outside of us.; "all description is in the mind, but scientific laws describe repeating natural phenomena while pseudoscientific claims are idiosyncratic. Further, he contends, that science, at least on average, moves forward due its cumulative nature while recognize that "there is no question that science is heavily influenced by the culture in which it is embedded, and that scientists may al share a common bias that leads them to think a certain way about nature" (41). Chapter 3 discusses ways in which thinkers commonly make mistakes (theory influences observations, observer changes the observed, equipment constructs results, anecdotal thinking, the use of scientific language cab mislead, bold statements, heresy, rumors, where the burden of proof lies, after the fact reasoning, coincidence, etc). Part II begins begins with a Chapter on Deviations where Shermer briefly explores how deviations from the mean will statistically occur when experiments are run. Chapter 5 is about near death experiences and explores the phenomena concluding that it is likely the result of chemical interactions in the brain when people are close to dying. Chapter 6 is about alien abductions; here Shermer explores, recovered (read implanted) memories. He further wonders why aliens never actually give important information. Lastly, Shermer points out that these fantasies which human experience are culturally affected: "humans are experiencing fantasies and interpreting them in the social context of their age and culture" (98). Chapter 7 is about epidemics of accusations - where he discusses witch crazes, crazes about satanic abuse cults, and so forth. In chapter 7 he describes how individuals can 'acquire' memories and come to belief that they did things they did not do. Chapter 8 is about the cult of Ayn Rand, which Shermer (who once considered himself an Objectivist), calls "the unlikeliest cult" (114). This chapter offers a brief history of Rand and her work. Rand's philosophy is supposedly based on reason and argues that an objective reality exists which can be understood by reason, thus one must be self-interested and support capitalism.Strangely, and unlike, science, Objectivism is not self-correcting, once something is established it is taken as truth. Shermer claims that the "great flaw in her philosophy is that morals can be held to some absolute standard or criteria" (123). Part III begins with chapter 9 on the question of origins. Chapter 10 is about confronting creationists. Chapter 11 is about a supreme court case about creationism and evolution. Part 4 is about history and pseudohistory. This part deals mostly with holocaust denialism. Chapter 15 looks at race, variation and the like. Part 5, begins with Chapter 15 and attempts by scientists to find evidence to support some of their metaphysical conveptions (Tipler and christianity). Chapter 17 is why people belief weird things - because of immediate gratification, simplicity and morality/meaning Shermer suggests. In Chapt 18 Shermer explores why smart people belief weird things (they are better at rationalizing beliefs they reached without evidence)

I've always been curious why humans have such faulty logic, and this books goes into great pains to explain some of the more natural reasons that humans are prone to believe weird things. The author describes not just scenarios he's dealt with, but scenarios that have occurred in history and some of the arguments made. All in all, it's an interesting read if you've ever had a close encounter with a New Age website detailing its pricing catalog for remote psychic activation of ethereal DNA. However, if you really want to study more on this topic, I strongly recommend "Mistake Were Made (But Not By Me)" which details actual studies done on various human ... thinking errors.

Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things" is a terrific book. Wow.

I cannot emphasize enough what an enjoyable read this book is for anybody tired of being surrounded by people who view the world as some sort of unsolvable supernatural puzzle. Because the world isn't!

Sure, we can't explain the entire world. If we could, we wouldn't need science or reason or philosophy or psychology or logic or anything--if we could, we could just recite the same dogmas and platitudes of earlier generations and never have to bother thinking about anything beyond how things make us feel.

...Like a lot of people do.

This book systematically moves through a large number of the more persistent myths of our age--from Biblical creationism, to Holocaust denial, to psychic detectives--and while it spends quite a bit of time exploring the strangeness and the details of such ideas, it also spends quite a bit exploring why such beliefs are ultimately false, why people choose to believe such things, and how we can avoid such errors in our own thoughts.

Reading it, I constantly found myself wanting to force it onto everyone I talked with, whether they would agree with me about it or not. This book is a weapon against lazy thinking--particularly its chapter, "How Thinking Goes Wrong: Twenty-five Fallacies that Lead Us to Believe Weird Things"--a chapter that I wouldn't mind seeing expanded into an entire book of its own--and I really could not recommend it more highly.

Most of the book originally appeared as essays in "Skeptic" magazine, so it may feel a bit episodic at points--but holy cow, what great episodes! Also, there's a huge section in the middle dedicated to Holocaust denial--perhaps more than the subject warrants, as arguing down people who believe the Holocaust never happened is not all that difficult. All right, all right, all right already, the sky is blue, humans need water, you got me. (Shermer wrote an entire book about Holocaust denial, "Denying History," so it's obviously an important topic to him, and he does make it interesting.) Also, some of the slower pieces seem to have been saved for the end, and the book does feel a bit uneven at times, but overall, I just felt absolutely gleeful reading this.

The famous alien autopsy video, TV psychics, Edgar Cayce, the 1980s Satanic Panic, even the cult of writer Ayn Rand--all are not safe here, and the book is worth its cost just for the many brilliant parallels it draws between Creationism and Holocaust Denial.

There is just so much nonsense out there threatening to indoctrinate our children, dictate our lives, and make us afraid, that this is just nothing but refreshing; this exudes truth and reason; this should be read by everyone, and I do mean everyone.

Read it, read it, read it--and be enlightened.