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freckleduck's review against another edition
2.0
I have lots of thoughts. There were parts of this book interesting and thought provoking. Then it felt like the author was just clapping back at people who didn’t agree with him in a more permanent form and lastly it felt like it wound up with him exploring his love of space and trying to make a case for it but really he just gets lost in recounting the details. Not worth it for me.
rodhilton's review against another edition
5.0
The Believing Brain is Michael Shermer's magnum opus. I've read nearly every one of his books since the first of his I read, Why People Believe Weird Things, and I found most of them after the first somewhat disappointing.
But The Believing Brain is easily the best book he's ever written. In fact, I'll go ahead and predict now it's the best one he ever will write.
The Believing Brain deals with the core of what Shermer's books have been about: science, skepticism, and the tendency of people to believe in things without evidence. But this book, rather than Shermer's other, largely anecdote-filled stories, is absolutely packed to the point of exploding with scientific studies, case studies, statistics, and hard facts. The Believing Brain does not merely point out some odd behaviors of people, it tries to get to a deep, rich understanding of those behaviors. He absolutely exhausts resources, making sure to include every relevant piece of data in each chapter that helps explain people's beliefs.
Though the book starts off a little rocky, with a very long chapter about a friend of Shermer's who believes he has had an alien encounter, followed by a chapter on the religious conversion of Francis Collins, it's not long before Shermer gets into the real meat of his book.
In Part II, he talks about Patternicity and Agenticity, the tendency of human beings to find patterns in noise and ascribe those patterns to conscious forces (respectively). Then he gets into the biological basis for belief, with some of the most fascinating studies mentioned I've ever read.
Part III is a deep-dive into the weird things people believe, almost like Shermer went back to Why People Believe Weird Things and decided to reinforce it with a metric ton of hard science. He deals with the afterlife, gods, aliens, conspiracies, and provides a great deal of insight into why people believe these strange things, explained in part by the material from the previous part.
Part IV is a bit of a grab bag. A somewhat interesting chapter about politics (that feels only somewhat related to the rest of the book, but is interesting nonetheless), as well as a bizarrely long chapter about astronomy that barely seems like it belongs in the book, and the book's over, after a personal Shermer record of 400 pages.
It's like a delicious sandwich with stale bread. The first and last parts are tolerable but not terribly interesting, but the inner two layers are delicious meaty goodness. So good that I'm completely overlooking the lackluster first and fourth sections and giving the book 5 stars, the first such rating I've ever given one of his books.
This is one of the best pop-sci books on the brain, belief, and superstition I've read since The Demon-Haunted World. I highly recommend it.
But The Believing Brain is easily the best book he's ever written. In fact, I'll go ahead and predict now it's the best one he ever will write.
The Believing Brain deals with the core of what Shermer's books have been about: science, skepticism, and the tendency of people to believe in things without evidence. But this book, rather than Shermer's other, largely anecdote-filled stories, is absolutely packed to the point of exploding with scientific studies, case studies, statistics, and hard facts. The Believing Brain does not merely point out some odd behaviors of people, it tries to get to a deep, rich understanding of those behaviors. He absolutely exhausts resources, making sure to include every relevant piece of data in each chapter that helps explain people's beliefs.
Though the book starts off a little rocky, with a very long chapter about a friend of Shermer's who believes he has had an alien encounter, followed by a chapter on the religious conversion of Francis Collins, it's not long before Shermer gets into the real meat of his book.
In Part II, he talks about Patternicity and Agenticity, the tendency of human beings to find patterns in noise and ascribe those patterns to conscious forces (respectively). Then he gets into the biological basis for belief, with some of the most fascinating studies mentioned I've ever read.
Part III is a deep-dive into the weird things people believe, almost like Shermer went back to Why People Believe Weird Things and decided to reinforce it with a metric ton of hard science. He deals with the afterlife, gods, aliens, conspiracies, and provides a great deal of insight into why people believe these strange things, explained in part by the material from the previous part.
Part IV is a bit of a grab bag. A somewhat interesting chapter about politics (that feels only somewhat related to the rest of the book, but is interesting nonetheless), as well as a bizarrely long chapter about astronomy that barely seems like it belongs in the book, and the book's over, after a personal Shermer record of 400 pages.
It's like a delicious sandwich with stale bread. The first and last parts are tolerable but not terribly interesting, but the inner two layers are delicious meaty goodness. So good that I'm completely overlooking the lackluster first and fourth sections and giving the book 5 stars, the first such rating I've ever given one of his books.
This is one of the best pop-sci books on the brain, belief, and superstition I've read since The Demon-Haunted World. I highly recommend it.
toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
Really terrific book. Made me want to write to Shermer and say yes, yes, yes. I don't align myself with libertarians (Shermer is one), but I'm willing to examine my own beliefs in light of cognitive biases. I thought he was exceedingly generous to those whose beliefs he does not share and very up front about his own biases and proclivities. It's reasoned and reasonable. Maybe cuts Francis Collins more slack than deserved. But overall, candid, well-researched, complex, clear, and fair to all.
peacelovemath's review
4.0
Lots of very good, interesting, enlightening info; could have done with a lot less condescension.
purghy's review against another edition
Nothing new... for me... but an extraordinary book especially for those who think they truly believe in something. Like God :D
jennerator828's review against another edition
4.0
Me and Michael Shermer disagree so much that we end up agreeing. If you want me to explain this, you should buy me a glass of wine and reserve two hours of your calendar cause I have THOUGHTS.
But, this book is worth a read—the beginning is more interesting, and I quoted it in my dissertation, so that’s brownie points I guess and earns it an extra star than it really deserves here.
But, this book is worth a read—the beginning is more interesting, and I quoted it in my dissertation, so that’s brownie points I guess and earns it an extra star than it really deserves here.
jlfields925's review against another edition
2.0
This had been on my reading list for years and I finally found an audio version - I was so excited to get started. I made it about an hour in, and it was a struggle. Opted to give myself the time to read other things rather than continue to trudge through.
caitlin_89's review against another edition
2.0
The title of this book is way more fun than the actual book. I understand the premise of this book is The Scientific Method Above All, but let's be honest: belief in something hitherto unexplained is how a lot of scientific discoveries have been made. Given that, the condescending tone in much of this book surprised me.
It's tediously long, as well. The systematic dissertations get old somewhere in chapter two.
It was cool to learn about the neurological functions related to belief, and the evolutionary and psychosocial constructs around belief. The science of belief, if you will. But geez, this book was long and dry.
There are some illustrations in here that feel an awful lot like giant stretches or logical fallacies (you don't want to wear the sweater of a murderer because of "transference" - you believe that the object "holds" the murderer's evil and "is capable of transfering it to you." I'm serious. This is supposedly an experiment someone did to prove humans believe this theory of transference. Feels like a pretty big leap of logic to me, but whatever. I'm no hardened skeptical sciencemaster.
I should be after all 344 pages of this, but... what can ya do. "In the end, all of us are trying to make sense of the world, and nature has gifted us with a double-edged sword that cuts for and against." (P 344)
It's tediously long, as well. The systematic dissertations get old somewhere in chapter two.
It was cool to learn about the neurological functions related to belief, and the evolutionary and psychosocial constructs around belief. The science of belief, if you will. But geez, this book was long and dry.
There are some illustrations in here that feel an awful lot like giant stretches or logical fallacies (you don't want to wear the sweater of a murderer because of "transference" - you believe that the object "holds" the murderer's evil and "is capable of transfering it to you." I'm serious. This is supposedly an experiment someone did to prove humans believe this theory of transference. Feels like a pretty big leap of logic to me, but whatever. I'm no hardened skeptical sciencemaster.
I should be after all 344 pages of this, but... what can ya do. "In the end, all of us are trying to make sense of the world, and nature has gifted us with a double-edged sword that cuts for and against." (P 344)