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Why people believe weird things : pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time / Michael Shermer ; foreword by Stephen Jay Gould.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : A.W.H. Freeman/Owl Book, (c)2002.Edition: Rev. and expandedDescription: xxvi, 349 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 061391662X
  • 0805070893
  • 9780613916622
  • 9780805070897
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • Q172.5.S553.W497 2002
Contents:
Foreword: The Positive Power of Skepticism / Stephen Jay Gould --
Prologue: Next on Oprah --
PART 1. Science and Skepticism.
I Am Therefore I Think: A Skeptic's Manifesto -- The Most Precious Thing We Have: The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience -- How Thinking Goes Wrong: Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things
PART 2. Pseudoscience and Superstition.
Deviations: The Normal, the Paranormal, and Edgar Cayce -- Through the Invisible: Near-Death Experiences and the Quest for Immortality -- Abducted!: Encounters with Aliens -- Epidemics of Accusations: Medieval and Modern Witch Crazes -- The Unlikeliest Cult: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality
PART 3. Evolution and Creationism.
In the Beginning: An Evening with Duane T. Gish -- Confronting Creationists: Twenty-five Creationist Arguments -- Twenty-five Evolutionist Answers -- Science Defended, Science Defined: Evolution and Creationism at the Supreme Court
PART 4. History and Pseudohistory
Doing Donahue: History, Censorship, and Free Speech -- Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened, and Why Do They Say It?: An Overview of a Movement -- How We Know the Holocaust Happened: Debunking the Deniers -- Pigeonholes and Continuums: An African-Greek-German-American Looks at Race
PART 5. Hope Springs Eternal.
Dr. Tipler Meets Dr. Pangloss: Can Science Find the Best of All Possible Worlds -- Why Do People Believe Weird Things? -- Why Smart People Believe Weird Things.
Summary: The co-founder of "Skeptic" magazine explains why people are so willing to believe in mind reading, alien abductions, ghosts, and other manifestations of pseudoscience, and discusses how such wrong thinking can lead to very real danger.
Item type: Circulating Book (checkout times vary with patron status) List(s) this item appears in: Sadie
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Circulating Book (checkout times vary with patron status) G. Allen Fleece Library Circulating Collection - First Floor Q172.5.S553.W497 2002 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 31923001814843

"First Owl Books edition"--Title page verso.

Foreword: The Positive Power of Skepticism / Stephen Jay Gould --

Prologue: Next on Oprah --

PART 1. Science and Skepticism.

I Am Therefore I Think: A Skeptic's Manifesto -- The Most Precious Thing We Have: The Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience -- How Thinking Goes Wrong: Twenty-five Fallacies That Lead Us to Believe Weird Things

PART 2. Pseudoscience and Superstition.

Deviations: The Normal, the Paranormal, and Edgar Cayce -- Through the Invisible: Near-Death Experiences and the Quest for Immortality -- Abducted!: Encounters with Aliens -- Epidemics of Accusations: Medieval and Modern Witch Crazes -- The Unlikeliest Cult: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality

PART 3. Evolution and Creationism.

In the Beginning: An Evening with Duane T. Gish -- Confronting Creationists: Twenty-five Creationist Arguments -- Twenty-five Evolutionist Answers -- Science Defended, Science Defined: Evolution and Creationism at the Supreme Court

PART 4. History and Pseudohistory

Doing Donahue: History, Censorship, and Free Speech -- Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened, and Why Do They Say It?: An Overview of a Movement -- How We Know the Holocaust Happened: Debunking the Deniers -- Pigeonholes and Continuums: An African-Greek-German-American Looks at Race

PART 5. Hope Springs Eternal.

Dr. Tipler Meets Dr. Pangloss: Can Science Find the Best of All Possible Worlds -- Why Do People Believe Weird Things? -- Why Smart People Believe Weird Things.

The co-founder of "Skeptic" magazine explains why people are so willing to believe in mind reading, alien abductions, ghosts, and other manifestations of pseudoscience, and discusses how such wrong thinking can lead to very real danger.

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