| Description |
xii, 306 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Summary |
In Why People Believe Weird Things, science historian Michael Shermer explores the very human reasons we find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. The editor of Skeptic magazine and the director of the Skeptics Society, Shermer shows how the eternal search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment often results in our thinking being led astray by extraordinary claims and controversial ideas - particularly in the realms of superstition and the supernatural |
|
But Shermer also reveals the darker and more fearful side of wishful thinking, including Holocaust denial, creationism, the recovered memory movement, alien abduction experiences, the satanic ritual abuse scare and other modern witch crazes, extreme Afrocentrism, and ideologies of racial superiority. Nazis, freedom of speech, and future goals. Why People Believe Weird Things is ultimately a celebration of the scientific spirit |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-293) and index |
| Subject |
Science -- Miscellanea.
|
|
Belief and doubt.
|
|
Parapsychology and science.
|
|
Skepticism.
|
|
Creative ability in science.
|
| LC no. |
97003387 //r98 |
| ISBN |
0716733870 paperback |
|
0716730901 |
|
