false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171151110m/89281.jpg 89281 8 Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "<I>Cognite tute</I>--think for yourself." This updated edition of <I>Why People Believe Weird Things</I> covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known." <I>--Mary Ellen Curtin</I> 1499170 1997 Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time total:639|5:166|4:274|3:171|2:23|1:5| 639 2490 1102 93 4 7 false false Thu Jul 26 10:57:49 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 12:06:28 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 5 false false Mon Aug 18 06:02:44 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 06:02:52 -0700 2008 Science Week and I was thinking of going to see him, but this is not really a week in which I can engage in such optional behaviours – so, I thought I’d get out one of his books instead.

And look, it was very good and if it had been the first...more...]]> 4 4 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sat Nov 22 07:40:32 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 19 13:01:22 -0700 2009 How We Believe

Shermer postulates that humans have evolved a belief module that helps us find patterns in what appears otherwise to be a meaningless universe. (Why we feel compelled to find meaning in everything continues to puzzle me.) Until about ...more...]]> 3 3 false false Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Nov 06 20:27:50 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 07 06:31:05 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 20:00:54 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 17 21:33:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 06 21:05:58 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 23 19:06:54 -0800 2008
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This book present...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Oct 20 14:06:54 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 14:33:40 -0700 2009
I do agree with a previous reviewer that the book wasn't exactly what I expected-- an analysis of weird things and why they aren't true. Instead, it navigates through examples of weird beliefs with more of a focus on the phenomenon of belief than the science of...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Wed Apr 15 20:06:44 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 20:13:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 18:03:38 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 22:21:43 -0700 2009
Shermer is the director of the Skeptics Society. I didn't know about ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 07 12:53:09 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 20:32:21 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 12:53:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 14:49:44 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 14:53:34 -0700 2009 2 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 14 08:15:36 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 10:17:56 -0800 2008 Skeptic Magazine, debunks some of the more prevalent pseudo-scientific or pseudo-historical beliefs of the period (UFO'...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Nov 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 02 07:36:08 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 02 07:38:42 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Oct 27 17:27:41 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 12 16:31:44 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 01 18:24:05 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 11 14:57:33 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 11 09:36:42 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 06:31:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 10:34:46 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 10:35:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 10:39:07 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 20 19:42:56 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Sep 17 18:29:07 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 18:32:32 -0700 2009 2+ more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=89281