Why people believe weird things

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• tokenadult · Aug 25, 2009 · Recommends

  Michael Shermer, who has a Ph.D. degree in history, does a good job of reviewing historical evidence for the Holocaust, and responding to claims of deniers, in his book Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie... which is well worth a read. You must be a good bit younger than I am if…

  on “Ask HN: how to deal with revisionism?” ↗
• tokenadult · Mar 29, 2010 · Recommends

  …an introduction by an author who is a historian by higher education. Michael Shermer writes a number of interesting books, http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Shermer/e/B001H6MCNY/ of which my favorite is Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time. http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie...

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• Tangurena · Jan 10, 2009 · Recommends

  …Objectivism, until he got caught cheating on Rand and then excommunicated. Any member of Objectivism that refused to shun Branden (including members of his family) were likewise excommunicated. The book Why People Believe Weird Things has a chapter on Objectivism that is well worth reading. http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie... I own and have read almost every book published by Ayn Rand.

  on “'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years” ↗
• athom · Dec 5, 2010 · Recommends

  Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_People_Believe_Weird_Things...) Or just about anything by Martin Gardner, along with a note to write him sometime before 2010.

  on “If you could give a book to your younger self, what would it be?” ↗
• nollidge · Mar 6, 2011 · Recommends

  It wouldn't be the first time a smart, accomplished person has espoused a weird belief. See Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer: http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie...

  on “Did scientists discover bacteria in meteorites? No.” ↗
• codeulike · Feb 5, 2013 · Recommends

  "Why People Believe Weird Things" http://www.amazon.co.uk/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudosc...

  on “Show HN: a conspiracy theory generator” ↗
• arethuza · Sep 19, 2013 · Recommends

  Is Atlas Shrugged really any good to read? I first heard of Ayn Rand through the chapter on her in the wonderful book Why People Believe Weird Things - this doesn't paint her personality as being particularly pleasant but doesn't touch on her work at all.

• Jtsummers · Jul 17, 2025 · Recommends

  http://www.adapower.com/index.php?Command=Class&ClassID=Advo... Specifically, I think these three paragraphs near the end are critical: > I'm reading a great book now called Why People Believe Weird Things, by Micheal Shermer, in which the author explains what rational thinking is, and how skepticism is a process. Basically, people believe something because that want to, not because of any scientific arguments…

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• btilly · Jul 10, 2011 · Recommends

  …since anyone who has a weird belief quickly learns facts that most people don't know, and quickly learns seemingly sound arguments that are mostly (but not entirely!) true. I suggest picking up a copy of Why People Believe Weird Things. It may be eye-opening for you.

  on “"Yes, but what are your credentials, Mr Stross?"” ↗
• DanBC · Jun 1, 2013 · Recommends

  Relevant books Why People Believe Weird Things (http://www.amazon.co.uk/People-Believe-Weird-Things-ebook/dp...) The Believing Brain (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Believing-Brain-ebook/dp/B005RZB...) Irrationality (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irrationality-ebook/dp/B0046ZRNLE/re...)…

  on “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill” ↗
• arethuza · Aug 15, 2014 · Recommends

  Also: Why People Believe Weird Things - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_People_Believe_Weird_Things Bad Science - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Science_%28book%29

  on “Ask HN: How to tell what's true from false or right or wrong?” ↗
• arethuza · Sep 16, 2011 · Mentions

  "I'm basically an Ayn Rand cultist" I'm sure you don't mean that literally, according to Why People Believe Weird Things she is supposed to have run something that was rather close to a personality cult: http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie... NB This is not an ad hominem attack on her ideas, just…

  on “The $2 Billion UBS Incident: 'Rogue Trader' My Ass” ↗
• arethuza · Jun 10, 2010 · Mentions

  I was quite amused by the description of the cult she "managed" in "Why People Believe Weird Things": http://www.amazon.com/People-Believe-Weird-Things-Pseudoscie...

  on “Hayek's Road to Serfdom #1 on Amazon Today” ↗
• illuminate · Apr 27, 2013 · Mentions

  Compartmentalization. Smart people can hold incredibly stupid beliefs. I believe Michael Shermer's book on "Why People Believe Weird Things" argues that smart persons are actually better at self-rationalization of untrue/cognitively dissonant "facts".

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• arethuza · May 19, 2014 · Mentions

  …article from Bad Science pointing to a Cochrane Collaboration review of the effectiveness of anti-oxidants: http://www.badscience.net/2008/04/cliff-richard-gloria-hunni... Michael Shermer, the author of Why People Believe Weird Things, also had an interesting direct experience with nutritional pseudo-science: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_People_Believe_Weird_Things

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