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janu0303's review
3.0
Interesting when Shermer talks about the different logical fallacies we are prone to. Then he got into debunking creationists, and Holocaust deniers and it got off topic from there. tl;dr be skeptical of the skeptics.
catbooking's review
5.0
VERY interesting. Even if you do not agree with certain aspects of the book the things that he brings to mind make you begin wondering about many things. I believe the book was miss-titled, considering the author paid much more attention to; creationism and Holocaust, then to the everyday ghosts and alien abductions. Nonetheless it is a MUST read if you want a new way of looking at the opinions people have and why it is so hard to change their mind.
matthewdeanmartin's review against another edition
4.0
Brings up important ideas about epistemology, does a good job of describing methodologies that can tackle pseudoscience in a persuasive fashion. It does not give me a lot of optimism about the ordinary person's ability to follow such a program. We rely on other experts to evaluate pseudoscience. When our experts and leaders are motivate to reason to support pseudoscience, we are stuck again with lots of people being willing to believe weird things.
Technically, the book shows its history of being a bunch of long magazine articles, it has below average cohesion, some chapters were much stronger than others, some had odd overlap.
One flaw I found in this book and the entire genre is that they tackle ideas that are way out there- like a cat pushing small objects off the edge of a table. It is very satisfying, but what is amazing is that people believe bunk, not that it can be debunked to a more objective observer, sometimes easily. So people at the end of the book can feel good about themselves because they don't believe in aliens or fictional alternative histories, yet have unexamined beliefs about more mundane things like their seeming centrist political opinions and we cling to these ideas with the ferocity of a ufologists belief in UFOs.
Technically, the book shows its history of being a bunch of long magazine articles, it has below average cohesion, some chapters were much stronger than others, some had odd overlap.
One flaw I found in this book and the entire genre is that they tackle ideas that are way out there- like a cat pushing small objects off the edge of a table. It is very satisfying, but what is amazing is that people believe bunk, not that it can be debunked to a more objective observer, sometimes easily. So people at the end of the book can feel good about themselves because they don't believe in aliens or fictional alternative histories, yet have unexamined beliefs about more mundane things like their seeming centrist political opinions and we cling to these ideas with the ferocity of a ufologists belief in UFOs.
zhelana's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This book covers several weird things that people believe and debunks them. And it is pretty interesting to read these different sections. But it doesn't really answer the question "Why [do] people believe weird things?" I mean in the final chapter it suggests that people believe weird things because they want to, but I think that isn't true. Most people don't want to believe weird things, they want to believe true things. It's just that somehow their brains fall into the patterns seen earlier in the book and they wind up believing weird things as true. But I've found that the people who believe the weirdest things are the most firm in their beliefs that everything they believe is absolutely true. So anyway, I was disappointed by the lack of an answer to the question posed in the title, but the book itself was interesting enough to keep me reading.
epersonae's review against another edition
3.0
It had to go back to the library before I finished, but that was okay by me. To be honest, nothing new to someone who reads a lot of science-type blogs. I dunno, it just didn't grab me, although I enjoyed it while I was actually reading.
cheryl6of8's review
4.0
This book got a little challenging about halfway through for someone like me who struggles with statistics and such. There were a lot of terms and logical sequences that I am not used to as an English major. I could grasp the point but not the nuances.
Still, I learned quite a bit about how people go about believing things that the vast majority of scientific evidence says are false. In a world where those who cry "fake news" are in the business of expounding alternative facts and fake truths, this is valuable information. I even utilized this book in an assignment for my Research Methods class (also a struggle for me).
One point that I found enlightening was the list of characteristics of political extremists and fringe groups, because these are so evident in public discourse today
1 absolute certainty they have the truth
2 the country/world is controlled by a conspiratorial group
3 open hatred of opponents who are part of or sympathetic to the conspiracy
4 little faith in the democratic process which results in rejection of compromise
5 willingness to deny civil liberties to those deemed enemies
6 consistent use of irresponsible accusations and character assassination
Still, I learned quite a bit about how people go about believing things that the vast majority of scientific evidence says are false. In a world where those who cry "fake news" are in the business of expounding alternative facts and fake truths, this is valuable information. I even utilized this book in an assignment for my Research Methods class (also a struggle for me).
One point that I found enlightening was the list of characteristics of political extremists and fringe groups, because these are so evident in public discourse today
1 absolute certainty they have the truth
2 the country/world is controlled by a conspiratorial group
3 open hatred of opponents who are part of or sympathetic to the conspiracy
4 little faith in the democratic process which results in rejection of compromise
5 willingness to deny civil liberties to those deemed enemies
6 consistent use of irresponsible accusations and character assassination
myrto229's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but with a few qualifications.
To start, the book should perhaps be titled, "Some of the Weird Things People Believe," since the book doesn't really get into *why* people believe the things they do. With that caveat, I did enjoy the book for the most part.
The author's central premise is to apply scientific or logical reasoning to some of the more well-known fringe beliefs in the US/Europe. If a fringe belief system calls itself scientific or uses the discourse of science/logic, Shermer's belief is that they should be open to being evaluated with the same measuring stick.
He makes a big point that he's not trying to poke any holes in religious belief or faith. Rather, he underlines (several times) that religion and faith have nothing to do with science and reason, and that one can happily enjoy both logic and faith.
The first section of the book is a good nutshell introduction to logical and scientific reasoning, with some tidbits of the history of scientific inquiry thrown in.
The second section deals with creationism, or more specifically, "creation science." Shermer makes another big point that he doesn't have any bones to pick with creation beliefs. In fact, he outlines several other belief systems in the world with a similar creation myth to that of Christians. His problem is with "creation scientists," those who purport to use science and the scientific method to position their religious beliefs in the scientific community.
The third section of the book deals with Holocaust deniers. I found this fascinating, since I didn't realize this really existed. Again, because the deniers use the discourse of historical, logical inquiry, Shermer felt that they should be subject to an evaluation based on the same principles.
Other sections in the book include an analysis Ayn Rand and the cult of objectivism and fortunetellers/psychics.
Clearly, Shermer's expertise is in creationism and Holocaust denial. These two sections occupy 2/3 of the book. And this is one of the weak points, I think. The other chapters are tacked on, almost as afterthoughts by a publisher who thought that the creationism/deniers weren't enough for a book on their own. I also suspect publishers in the unfortunate title.
Shermer knows a lot about creation "science" and Holocaust denial, as well as the actual scientific facts about the origins of human life, and the Holocaust. Those two sections are the most compelling of the book, since his expertise comes out strongly.
Though it's beyond control of the author, the printing and publishing is also sub-par.
To start, the book should perhaps be titled, "Some of the Weird Things People Believe," since the book doesn't really get into *why* people believe the things they do. With that caveat, I did enjoy the book for the most part.
The author's central premise is to apply scientific or logical reasoning to some of the more well-known fringe beliefs in the US/Europe. If a fringe belief system calls itself scientific or uses the discourse of science/logic, Shermer's belief is that they should be open to being evaluated with the same measuring stick.
He makes a big point that he's not trying to poke any holes in religious belief or faith. Rather, he underlines (several times) that religion and faith have nothing to do with science and reason, and that one can happily enjoy both logic and faith.
The first section of the book is a good nutshell introduction to logical and scientific reasoning, with some tidbits of the history of scientific inquiry thrown in.
The second section deals with creationism, or more specifically, "creation science." Shermer makes another big point that he doesn't have any bones to pick with creation beliefs. In fact, he outlines several other belief systems in the world with a similar creation myth to that of Christians. His problem is with "creation scientists," those who purport to use science and the scientific method to position their religious beliefs in the scientific community.
The third section of the book deals with Holocaust deniers. I found this fascinating, since I didn't realize this really existed. Again, because the deniers use the discourse of historical, logical inquiry, Shermer felt that they should be subject to an evaluation based on the same principles.
Other sections in the book include an analysis Ayn Rand and the cult of objectivism and fortunetellers/psychics.
Clearly, Shermer's expertise is in creationism and Holocaust denial. These two sections occupy 2/3 of the book. And this is one of the weak points, I think. The other chapters are tacked on, almost as afterthoughts by a publisher who thought that the creationism/deniers weren't enough for a book on their own. I also suspect publishers in the unfortunate title.
Shermer knows a lot about creation "science" and Holocaust denial, as well as the actual scientific facts about the origins of human life, and the Holocaust. Those two sections are the most compelling of the book, since his expertise comes out strongly.
Though it's beyond control of the author, the printing and publishing is also sub-par.
lucie2188's review
3.0
Quite a thorough list of cognitive biases that make people arrive at wrong conclusions while maintaining the self-delusion they're thinking rationally. Also offers explanation of people's desire for acceptance and for the world to work according to their own wishes, which makes them buy into esoteric crap. Overall nothing new to me, but a neat summary all the same.