SuperSense

Why We Believe in the Unbelievable

By: Bruce M. Hood

Narrated by: Kerin McCue

Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Bristol, Bruce M. Hood has been a research fellow at Cambridge, a visiting scientist at MIT, and a professor at Harvard. SuperSense is a fascinating exploration of the forces that shape people’s beliefs in the irrational - and also a compelling look at how these beliefs bind humans together in society.

©2009 Bruce Hood (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

Supersense is a terrifically fun read. But it is much more: though we may forever believe in ghosts, goblins and the beneficent deities, with a dose of skeptical scientific realism, a la Hood, there is hope that sanity will prevail. (Marc Hauser, Harvard College Professor, author of Moral Minds)

"Hood's treatise provides a much-needed counterbalance to hardcore skeptics by arguing that supersense, while not exactly grounded in rationality, ultimately gives our lives meaning." ( Booklist)

"...a fun and illuminating book." ( Newsweek)

SuperSense isn't really so super

I certainly can't feel that some of the things that are accorded supersense really are. We too often do things without anything more than customs.

Thought provoking on the human super senses

The book stands as a remarkable inspiration on profound topics and questions surrounding the human super-sense, uniting body, mind, and nature. I would eagerly embrace a second book by the author.

Wired for Experiencing a Spiritual Reality

An interesting expose on how the human brain is naturally predisposed to sense a spiritual element in reality. This book is not simply one very long argument. It is filled with the results of research from various connected scientific fields. It is not difficult to follow and understand the information presented. It is a well written book where the explanation and ideas presented flow smoothly and easily from each page to the reader's mind. The author is an atheist and you may not agree with his non-G-d position or the theory he presents along with an interesting array of scientific evidence. However, almost everyone should be able to relate to a number of the ideas presented herein through personal experience with them. If you have raised or have spent a lot of time with children you will find that you share another common area of experience that is consistent with the author's information. This does not mean that you will end up coming to or agreeing with the author's conclusions, after all this is still a theory and not necessarily a scientific fact. There are many places throughout the book where the author states his belief about what is going on minus any evidentiary support. Nonetheless, I found the book interesting and written in a manner that comfortably holds the reader's or listener's, as the case may be attention. The narration continues to be consistently excellent and even superb. It contributed substantially to making this book a very good experience.

Couldn't finish it

I thought the concept was interesting and the first chapter grabbed me but it was downhill from there. There was way too much telling what was going to be told later in the book and referring back to early examples. Lots of gory details about things that disgust people. I didn't think the narrator had a very interesting voice either. I wanted to finish it but finally decided to cut my losses.