Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, "Why People Believe Weird Things" debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why "Smart" People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. "Why People Believe Strange Things" is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.

Reviews

A valuable primer debunking many of the crackpot obsessions of our time -- alien abductions, creationist science, Holocause refutal, the bell curve and psuedoscientific theology among them. From close observation, he shows a pattern in the formulas with which misunderstanders explain away inc
onvenient facts. -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

...[E]xplores the very human reasons why we find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing....Although it is often a disturbing portrait of our immense capacity for self-delusion, Why People Believe Weird Things is ultimately a celebration of the scientific spirit — and the joy to be found in exploring the world's greatest mysteries, even if many questions remain unanswered. Healthline Magazine - Paul Insel, Ph.D.