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brunettegeekgirl's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing book, I actually listened to it as an audio-book and it was great. Has a lot of facts and clarifies a lot :)
rtshiva's review
3.0
short review: good start, really long middle and the important part as last chapter.
longer review:
starting with the various "weird" beliefs the author had encountered and humanizing them at every moment, he makes a key point that we need to connect to the person to really understand where they come from or make any impact. that was to good from the first half of the book
middle part becomes longs since it is focused on counter points for one weird belief and it is really really long. it could have been shorter to make way for the most interesting part of the book.
The last chapter "why smart people believe weird things", is probably what most readers would be interested in this book. this chapter explains a simple statement i read somewhere else (not sure if it was think fast think slow! ) people believe things the moment they encounter something and use their intelligence to justify if they like it or not. the various examples in this chapter explain the same logic.
longer review:
starting with the various "weird" beliefs the author had encountered and humanizing them at every moment, he makes a key point that we need to connect to the person to really understand where they come from or make any impact. that was to good from the first half of the book
middle part becomes longs since it is focused on counter points for one weird belief and it is really really long. it could have been shorter to make way for the most interesting part of the book.
The last chapter "why smart people believe weird things", is probably what most readers would be interested in this book. this chapter explains a simple statement i read somewhere else (not sure if it was think fast think slow! ) people believe things the moment they encounter something and use their intelligence to justify if they like it or not. the various examples in this chapter explain the same logic.
dennistraub's review
4.0
Interesting. The author enumerates a lot of logical fallacies that people fall into when it comes to irrational or intangible themes like religion, history, and psychic experiences or powers. He then elaborates on these using two detailed examples, one being creationists and the other being holocaust deniers.
froggin_around_'s review
2.0
I read this book bevause I wanted to read something on mass psychology and this was recommended to me, but I should've digged a bit better about the book and the author
not what I was looking for, I was looking more for an actual psychological description of these sort of mass phenomena, not a bunch of stories and chapters on how to debate an evolution denier/or a Holocaust denier. the only thing I learned from this book is that there are Holocaust deniers which was baffling, but apart from him saying multiple times about how surprisingly eloquent these people were on conversation, I got zero psychological insight
Shermer has enlightened centrist vibes throughout the book when he tries to write "objectively" and is a self proclaimed libertarian, but he's talking more complimentary about Ayn Rand's philosophy than Marx's so we know where he actually stands (I bet it's some form of anarcho-capitalism) + to top it off, lots transphobia on social media
I wish I read something else lol
not what I was looking for, I was looking more for an actual psychological description of these sort of mass phenomena, not a bunch of stories and chapters on how to debate an evolution denier/or a Holocaust denier. the only thing I learned from this book is that there are Holocaust deniers which was baffling, but apart from him saying multiple times about how surprisingly eloquent these people were on conversation, I got zero psychological insight
Shermer has enlightened centrist vibes throughout the book when he tries to write "objectively" and is a self proclaimed libertarian, but he's talking more complimentary about Ayn Rand's philosophy than Marx's so we know where he actually stands (I bet it's some form of anarcho-capitalism) + to top it off, lots transphobia on social media
I wish I read something else lol
chlslnbd10's review
"Why People Believe Weird Things" drew me in by the title and then, the further I got into the book, the more I wondered what this book was and where it was going. The first few paragraphs were fascinating and entertaining and that quickly changed. I wasn't really thrilled with this book and ended up skimming the last half. The premise is clear: There are things in this world (some would call them conspiracy theories) that people believe and we would call "weird". Why do people believe the Holocaust never happened when we have evidence to the contrary? Why do people believe in mediums, psychics, etc? These are fascinating topics to explore but the material in which Shermer tries to accomplish this is just dry. He lost me very quickly after the introduction.
thedude1965's review
5.0
Pretty cool to read about all of the things Michael Shermer has been involved in over the years. Your enjoyment will probably depend on how interesting you find the specific topics he chooses to discuss.
There is a lot of references to other books as one would expect from something like this.
This book does offer a pretty good example of Shermers ideas and perspectives.
I would check it out if you aren’t lame.
There is a lot of references to other books as one would expect from something like this.
This book does offer a pretty good example of Shermers ideas and perspectives.
I would check it out if you aren’t lame.
joewickes's review
4.0
Wasn't quite what I expected. It gave a little bit of perspective into various beliefs, but mostly it seemed to just encourage healthy skepticism. Was hoping to gain a little more understanding into the psychological or scientific reasons that people believe "weird" things, but it primarily seemed to give concrete reasons why these specific beliefs should at least cause some apprehension. I wish the claim that we all have weird beliefs would be more study-based instead of just implying for the reader to 'have some perspective.' Still worth the read.
thehappybooker's review
5.0
Thank you, Michael Shermer, for saying what I've been observing for a long, long time. Even intelligent people can have great gaps of inexplicable superstition.
Like this superstition: my wife used to believe that famous people died in groups of three. I convinced her that wasn't true by betting that if we didn't count 2 more deaths within a month of the first, she would take my turn at emptying the dishwasher. I've only lost the bet once in a year. She might still believe it, but she won't take the bet any more. That's close enough to call it a victory.
Like this superstition: my wife used to believe that famous people died in groups of three. I convinced her that wasn't true by betting that if we didn't count 2 more deaths within a month of the first, she would take my turn at emptying the dishwasher. I've only lost the bet once in a year. She might still believe it, but she won't take the bet any more. That's close enough to call it a victory.