Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

Shermer, Michael

ISBN 10: 0716730901 / ISBN 13: 9780716730903

Published by W H Freeman & Co (edition First Edition), 1997

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Synopsis:

Argues that the search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment often results in the embracing of extraordinary claims and controversial ideas

Reviews: YA?Dedicated to Carl Sagan, with a foreword by Stephen Jay Gould, this book by the publisher of Skeptic magazine and the Director of the Skeptics Lecture Series at California Institute of Technology, has the pedigree to be accepted as a work of scholarly value. Fortunately, it is also readable, interesting, and well indexed and provides an extensive bibliography. The author discusses such topics of current interest as alien abduction, near-death experiences, psychics, recovered memories, and denial of the Holocaust. Never patronizing to his opponents, Shermer explains why people may truly believe that they were held by aliens (he had a similar experience himself) or have recovered a memory of childhood satanic-ritual abuse. He clearly explains, often with pictures, tables, or graphs, the fallacy of such beliefs in terms of scientific reasoning. While teens may find the first section of the book about "Science and Skepticism" a bit too philosophical and ponderous, the rest of it will surely captivate them. Read cover to cover or by section, or used as a reference tool, this book is highly recommended for young adults.?Carol DeAngelo, Garcia Consulting Inc., EPA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book is a ray of light in a nation befogged by pseudoscience and psychobabble.

Brilliant, informed, and incisive dissections of bogus science and history are a major contribution to what one dares hope is a backlash against the still rising tide of New Age nonsense and public gullibility.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Why People Believe Weird Things: ...
Publisher: W H Freeman & Co (edition First Edition)
Publication Date: 1997
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: First Edition.