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

Interesting But I Want More

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I'd recommend it because there are some good stories and ideas here.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

What about Michael Shermer’s performance did you like?

He read the book and made understandable considering the topics could have come off dry but he made it all the more interesting hearing it the way he meant it to be heard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

N/A

great read

What made the experience of listening to Why People Believe Weird Things the most enjoyable?

I like all of Michael Shermer's books. He makes science understandable for non science people like me.

Misleading Title

I was hoping to get a better understanding of how our brains work and why we believe inexplicable things. Instead this is a book about things that people believe and why they are weird or wrong for believing them. I disagreed with a number of his critical analyses, and I was somewhat offended by his self-appointed position of intellectual superiority. This book could have been much better researched and more imaginative than it was.

Smart

Learn to think for yourself. How come I have never asked myself these questions? This book is so revealing.

Great but maybe not what you think

Any additional comments?

Nice, short read/listen, although the book is not exactly what I thought it would be. Perhaps a more appropriate title would be "Weird Things People Believe" as it was more or less an exploration of common fallacious beliefs, not a theory or explanation as to why people believe them. I guess I expected more of a Chris Mooney approach - an exploration into the psychology of why people believe weird things. Nonetheless, I don't feel that 1 second was wasted in reading/listening to this book and I would highly recommend.

Less of a why and more of a what

The title “why people believe strange things” had me expecting a break down of WHY people believe things. The author doesn’t really go into it at all. There’s a lot of what people believe, and examples that are definitely interesting but no actual explanation as to why people are sucked into conspiracy theories or weird ideology. It’s not a bad book, but just note that it’s much less of a lesson on why and more of a lesson in examples.

Tricky concepts made easy

This book is really clear and easy to follow without being patronising. I love the section on logical fallacies.

Worth reading.

The author explains in clear manner why we are afraid of many things and are willing to accept absurd things.

Obvious facts and common sense

Book states obvious facts and common sense.

One might ask him/herself what kind of context and society is out there that required such book to be published.

Very Interesting Facts. Made me think

I really enjoy books like this that provide facts and information that make me think and learn about human nature. The author provides the data in an easy to understand format