Why people believe weird things pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time
The co-founder of "Skeptic" magazine explains why people are so willing to believe in mind reading, alien abductions, ghosts, and other manifestations of pseudoscience, and discusses how such wrong thinking can lead to very real danger.
| Main Author: | Shermer, Michael. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
A.W.H. Freeman/Owl Book,
2002.
|
| Edition: | Rev. and expanded. |
| Subjects: |
Table of Contents:
- Foreword: The Positive Power of Skepticism / Stephen Jay Gould
- Prologue: Next on Oprah
- pt. 1. Science and Skepticism. 1. I Am Therefore I Think: A Skeptic's Manifesto. 2. The Most Precious Thing We Have: The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience. 3. How Thinking Goes Wrong: Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things
- pt. 2. Pseudoscience and Superstition. 4. Deviations: The Normal, the Paranormal, and Edgar Cayce. 5. Through the Invisible: Near-Death Experiences and the Quest for Immortality. 6. Abducted!: Encounters with Aliens. 7. Epidemics of Accusations: Medieval and Modern Witch Crazes. 8. The Unlikeliest Cult: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality
- pt. 2. Evolution and Creationism. 9. In the Beginning: An Evening with Duane T. Gish. 10. Confronting Creationists: Twenty-five Creationist Arguments, Twenty-five Evolutionist Answers. 11. Science Defended, Science Defined: Evolution and Creationism at the Supreme Court
- pt. 4. History and Pseudohistory. 12. Doing Donahue: History, Censorship, and Free Speech. 13. Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened, and Why Do They Say It?: An Overview of a Movement. 14. How We Know the Holocaust Happened: Debunking the Deniers. 15. Pigeonholes and Continuums: An African-Greek-German-American Looks at Race
- pt. 5. Hope Springs Eternal. 16. Dr. Tipler Meets Dr. Pangloss: Can Science Find the Best of All Possible Worlds? 17. Why Do People Believe Weird Things? 18. Why Smart People Believe Weird Things.