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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.

I liked this book. It was well written, interesting, informative, but not exactly what I expected it to be. I expected a book that was about why people believe weird things, but the bulk of the book was an attempt to counter specific weird things, as opposed to a general discussion of why people believe in weird things, and this is why I am only giving the book 4 stars. The general approach to this subject is covered in only the last four pages of the book.

Almost the entire book is devoted to an attempt to counter these beliefs with a logical and scientific approach. Most prominent amongst these weird things (actually ideas) are; a belief in witches, alien abductions, creationism (as opposed to evolution) and the idea that the Holocaust never happened. I found the scientific analysis and rebuttal of these ideas to be very interesting, but they were explanations and rebuttals of specific ideas, not the general explanation that I was expecting. However, the analysis of these ideas and their rebuttal were well worth the time that I spent with the book. I recommend it to anyone who is trying to understand the motivation behind the people who promulgate some weird ideas and for the author's explanation of why those who believe in them are wrong in doing so.

As I said, a attempt at a general explanation was given in only the last four pages of the book, with the explanation that people believe in weird things because: (1) they want to, (2) they are simple and easily understood (but wrong) explanations, (3) those who promote these ideas provide instant gratification (no hard thought, pondering of complex issues, just the promise that if you believe thing will be rewarded in some way), and (4) they often provide a personally meaningful explanation, as opposed to a scientific explanation, which may be correct, but is often impersonal, unsatisfying and generally not comforting.

I liked this book enough to use it as a text book for my Waseda classes in Japan (a land where cults and the irrational are allowed room to flourish, though I'm sorry to say that contemporary America fits largely in that category as well). The vocabulary was wonderful, the explanations of various weirdnesses were fun, and above all, the chapters on logical thinking and the scientific method were useful. What earns this book the final star is that Shermer does not give in to the clay-footed triumphalism of Joe Nichols and the CSI tribe, but finds his inspiration in Spinoza's dictum that one should resist the sneer (and, I would add, the rush to an easy answer) and attempt to understand why people do what they do.

What sounds like a fun, potentially intellectual read soon turns out to be nothing more than a book about the Holocaust masquerading as a book about science and psychology. Whereas it's true that the first half of the book contains some entertaining examples of weird beliefs and the psychology behind them, you quickly realize that this is the author's way of introducing the reader to what he considers the indisputable 'facts' of the Holocaust as well as bashing some historians with which he disagrees along the way. His main argument against the 'Holocaust Deniers' rests on what he keeps referring to as a 'convergence of evidence' - what is better known in a court of law as 'circumstantial evidence'. In any case, whether or not you believe his 'arguments' is irrelevant, they do NOT belong in a book bearing this title. The title and presentation is disingenuous and obviously designed to lure scientifically curious readers into the folds of Holocaust propagandists.

The author should simply have written a book called 'The Arguments Holocaust Deniers Use and How To Argue Against Them'...but then, of course, his potential readership might've shrunk. Marketing 'savvy' at it's worst. Buyer Beware.

Dr. Shermer looks into the reasons why people persist in believing things even when those things are bizarre or even blatantly proven false. He examines the physiological issues at a level that the layman can understand.
I highly recommend this book for people who find themselves constantly frustrated by acquaintances who insist on telling them the newest conspiracy theory, forwarded glurge, or other easily debunked story, and who seem to never read the debunkings.

Given that I'm not exactly Michael Shermer's biggest fan, you might think that I'm a sucker for punishment for reading his "Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstitions and other confusions of our time". But the book is another classic of modern skepticism, so read it I did. Overall I thought it was pretty good. I really enjoyed Shermer's analysis of Holocaust denial and especially the fascinating cult around Ann Rand (he calls it "The Unlikeliest Cult" given that individuality and reason is at the heart of Objectivism). Shemer's list and explanation of the ways thinking can go wrong is standard fare, but decent, and his chapters on the psychology of the belief in paranormal phenomena (particularly among smart people) is insightful.

That said, I couldn't escape the impression that the book was almost there, but not quite... Just as I started to enjoy it, Shermer would make a factual or logical mistake, or advance an unconvincing argument. This I found rather frustrating: the subject matter is inherently interesting (and Shermer knows his stuff), but, frankly, I ultimately think he's just not a top drawer scholar.

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