[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-40965-en":3,"doc-seo-40965-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},40965,1374391974564,"Clementine","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000253aa45c000a9e?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779874745381141002",8,"Research & Report","Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time","A revised and expanded edition of Michael Shermer’s work that examines why people accept pseudoscience and superstition, blending philosophical reflection with case studies and structured critique. The book frames skepticism as a balance between rigorous doubt and openness to new ideas, then surveys cognitive mistakes, paranormal claims, near-death experiences, alien abductions, witch panics, and ideological cults. It also addresses creationism and evolution, challenges pseudo-history, and considers denialism and race narratives through evidence-based rebuttal, supported by references and index.","WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE WEIRD THINGS  \nPSEUDOSCIENCE, SUPERSTITION, AND OTHER CONFUSIONS OF OUR TIME  \nREVISED AND EXPANDED  \nMichael Shermer  \nForeword by Stephen Jay Gould  \nA W. H. Freeman / Owl Book  \nHenry Holt and Company  \nNew York  \nHenry Holt and Company, LLC  \nPublishers since1866  \n115 West 18th Street  \nNew York, New York 10011  \nHenry Holt® is a registered trademark of  \nHenry Holt and Company, LLC.  \nCopyright © 1997, 2002 by Michael Shermer  \nAll rights reserved.  \nDistributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd.  \n\"Science Defended, Science Defined\" originally appeared in the journal Science, Technology, and Human Values, 16, no. 4 (Autumn 1991), 517-539.  \nAll artwork and illustrations, except as noted in the text, are by Pat Linse, are copyrighted by Pat Linse, and are reprinted with permission.  \nFor further information on the Skeptics Society and Skeptic magazine, contact P.O. Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001. 626-794-3119; fax: 626-794-1301. e-mail: [skepticmag@aol.com](skepticmag@aol.com).  \nLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shermer, Michael.  \nWhy people believe weird things: pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time / Michael Shermer; foreword by Stephen Jay Gould.—Rev. and expanded. p.  \ncm. \"First Owl Books edition\"—T.p. verso. \"An owl book. \"  \nIncludes bibliographical references and Index.  \nISBN 0-8050-7089-3 (pbk.)  \n1. Pseudoscience. 2. Creative ability in science. I. Tide.  \nQ172.5.P77 S48 2002  \n133—dc21 2002068784  \nHenry Holt books are available for special promotions and premiums. For  \ndetails contact: Director, Special Markets.  \nFirst published in hardcover in 1997 by W. H. Freeman and Company First Owl Books Edition 2002  \nAW. H. Freeman / Owl Book  \nPrinted in the United States of America  \n7 9 10 8 6  \nTo the memory of Carl Sagan, 1934-1996, colleague and inspiration, whose lecture on \"The Burden of Skeptícism\" ten years ago gave me a beacon when I was intellectually and professionally adrift, and ultimately inspired the birth of the Skeptics Society, Skeptic magazine, and this book, as well as my commitment to skepticism and the liberating possibilities of science  \nIt seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything new. You become a crotchety old person convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.)  \nOn the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of sceptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish useful ideas from the worthless ones. If all ideas have equal validity then you are lost, because then, it seems to me, no ideas have any validity at all.  \n—Carl Sagan, \"The Burden of Skepticism,\"Pasadena lecture, 1987  \nCONTENTS  \nFOREWORD The Positive Power of Skepticism ix  \nby Stephen Jay Gould  \n* INTRODUCTIONTOTHEPAPERBACKEDITION xiii Magical Mystery Tour  \nThe Whys and Wherefores of Weird Things  \nPROLOGUE Next on Oprah 1  \nPART 1: SCIENCE AND SKEPTICISM 11  \n1. I AM THEREFORE I THINK 13 A Skeptic's Manifesto  \n2. THE MOST PRECIOUS THING WE HAVE 24 The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience  \n3. How THINKING GOES WRONG 44 Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things  \nPART 2: PSEUDOSCIENCE AND SUPERSTITION 63  \n4. DEVIATIONS 65 The Normal, the Paranormal, and Edgar Cayce  \n5. THROUGH THE INVISIBLE 73 Near-Death Experiences and the Quest for Immortality  \n6. ABDUCTED! 88 Encounters with Aliens  \n7. EPIDEMICS OF ACCUSATIONS 99 Medieval and Modern Witch Crazes  \n8. THE UNLIKELIEST CULT 114 Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality  \nPART 3: EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM 125  \n9. IN THE BEGINNING 127 An Evening with Duane T. Gish  \nVIII Contents  \n10. CONFRONTINGCREATIONISTS 137 Twenty-five Cre","cbCaihgOI0htfbRw","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihgOI0htfbRw","pdf",3855243,2,1,367,"English","en",105,"# Foreword\n## The Positive Power of Skepticism\n# Introduction to the Paperback Edition\n## Magical Mystery Tour\n# Part 1: Science and Skepticism\n## A Skeptic's Manifesto\n## The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience\n## Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things\n# Part 2: Pseudoscience and Superstition\n## The Normal, the Paranormal, and Edgar Cayce\n## Near-Death Experiences and the Quest for Immortality\n## Encounters with Aliens\n## Medieval and Modern Witch Crazes\n## Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality\n# Part 3: Evolution and Creationism\n## An Evening with Duane T. Gish\n## Twenty-five Creationist Arguments, Twenty-five Evolutionist Answers\n## Evolution and Creationism at the Supreme Court\n# Part 4: History and Pseudohistory\n## History, Censorship, and Free Speech\n## An Overview of a Movement\n## Debunking the Deniers\n## An African-Greek-German-American Looks at Race\n# Part 5: Hope Springs Eternal\n## Can Science Find the Best of All Possible Worlds?\n## Why Do People Believe Weird Things?\n## Why Smart People Believe Weird Things?\n# Bibliography\n# Index","[{\"question\":\"What balance does the book argue for when evaluating claims?\",\"answer\":\"It calls for an exquisite balance between skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses and openness to new ideas. 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