Why People Believe Weird Things

By: Michael Shermer

Narrated by: Michael Shermer

Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

UFO abductions, television psychics, paranormal phenomena, skeptics and believers alike, find themselves debating truths and lies in the strange web of pseudoscience and the occult. With everyday normal life moving too fast to comprehend, people are turning to the bizarre and wacky for comfort. Now, director of the Skeptics Society Michael Shermer explores the very human reasons why we find other worldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. The eternal search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment leads us astray by extraordinary claims and controversial ideas, particularly those in the realms of superstition and the supernatural. This celebrates the scientific spirit and the joy to be found in rationally exploring the world's greatest mysteries.

©1997, 2002 Michael Shermer

informative

michael at his best, again. all books are highly recomended

Coulda been even more abridged....

Repetitive but fun to listen to.
Voice is awkward, but not annoying.
More examples woulda been nice.

A Great Read.

A great book and its short. It gave me many points to ponder. Michael covers lots of great topics.

content's but doesn't match title

the actual title should be "Some weird things some people believe and a list of arguementation fallacies". this book does not explain WHY people believe weird things.

Nonetheless, the content is good in itself.

Was disappointed.

I thought it would be more timely but discovered the book is 12 years old. My bad. In general, I thought it would be a bit deeper dive into the overall topic.

Not what I expected

I believe the title might be a bit misleading. I expected a more psychological/scientific approach to this book. The author, who is also the reader, mentions the scientific method [and what it is] with no actual examples or case studies of his work. His personal experiences, on Opera, don't go into detail as to the psychological aspects of why one believes wierd things. He speaks until he has something to say.

I don'trecommend this book if you're looking for case studies, or actual psychological/scientific data. Borrow it from a friend or go to a book store an scan through it, then decide.

No Why, not Know Why

I was very interested in this topic, as a research psychologist who knows quite a bit about the depth of studies that examine the biases in how people make inferences. I found this book immensely disappointing. It "reads" (listens) much more like a diatribe against specific beliefs some people hold than any reasoned explanation in depth about "why" people believe what they believew when others do not, and when much evidence is to the contrary.

I did find the section on the holocost deniers interesing, but the book could have just as well been all about that (which is what the author really seemed mostly to want to write about). I could say so much more, but the key is that he focuses on the weird things far far more than anything about the "why," where there could have been so much more depth--which does not seem to exist in his examination.

Read the reviews ...

Why didn't I read the reviews? Wasted a credit on this book. The other reviewers nailed it: Michael Shermer has an axe to grind. I wanted to be entertained, not listen to Shermer drone on about his personal opinions.

Worse yet, in addition to talking off the top of his head (he don't need no stinkin' research), Shermer fails to apply the rules to his own cherished beliefs.

For example, he describes the odds against alien abduction as astronomical. (For the record, I don't subscribe to ailien abductions.) I doubt he understands the term "astronomical" (1 chance in 10 to 50th power) because he easily accepts evolution, which requires belief in an incredulous 1 chance in 10 to the 117th power for the formation of the simplest protein, let alone animated life. (By the way that's not twice as unlikely, but rather 67 magnitudes less likely.)

Go ahead, believe in evolution if you must, preach it if you want, but don't try to justify your religion by invoking the virtues of math. (All praise be to Darwin! Darwin saves!)

Save you money and your credits! It's not even entertaining.

not what I expected

Thought it would be very different. seemed like a history book about the Holocaust.

Heavily abridged and still too long

I recommend that you not waste your time. It is not what you would expect.