This book really makes you "think about what you're thinking about." Intriguing articles, practical know-how and immersive films, straight to your inbox. Had our ancestors missed an agent a sabre-toothed tiger or a rival, say that might well have reduced their chances of surviving and reproducing. Not everything we encounter is weird and spooky and paranormal. This is especially true when it comes to selfish behavior; unvarnished self-interest is a learned social norm, not an unwavering feature of human behavior. Publisher's Summary. So now consider our report of the UFO hanging over the nuclear power construction site. Edition: 5th. this is antiquated by its nature, a book that presumes that its pure thinking of facts and logic and reason is the supreme way to humor matters of superstition and faith, or even other truths. Clearly, Freds testimony about Alice flying around the room is not nearly strong enough. And what, in chapter 2, did I find particularly notable? Sometimes, belief in weird things is pretty harmless. Mainstream religions are often committed to miracles and gods. Its certainly not confirmed by the available evidence about dogs. Publisher. 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. This brief, affordable text helps students to think critically, using examples from the weird claims and beliefs that abound in our culture to demonstrate the sound evaluation of any claim. To what extent can we even trust the supposed scientific experts? I was really happy because I tend to write notes and highlight a lot, Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2019. Random thoughts are mind pops that comes suddenly, when you were not trying to think over it. Since this book's focus is entirely on pseudoscience and the paranormal, it is not ideal for the subject of critical thinking in general. In fact, Simon once predicted that a certain celebrity would die within 12 months, and they did! Note: All numbers are on an RTX 3070 unless stated otherwise. I wish I was given a book like this when I was in middle school. Such models draw their inspiration from Hermann Minkowskis interpretation of Einsteins special theory of relativity. He is the author of Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, the editor of The Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Post-modernism, and has published articles in several fields of philosophy including: philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of language, meta-philosophy, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics. Thats particularly the case for beliefs in which we have invested a great deal emotionally, socially and/or financially. The ones that you choose to put on your plate interact with each otherand, if you choose wildly, they can challenge your very own intellectual coherence. Fantastic book, read this as part of a university paper at the University of Canterbury. By explaining what distinguishes knowledge from opinion, science from pseudoscience, and evidence from hearsay, How to Think about Weird Things helps the reader develop the skills needed to tell the true from the false and the reasonable from the unreasonable. : . in philosophy from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Brown University. Psychologists refer to the discomfort we feel in such situations when our beliefs or attitudes are in conflict as cognitive dissonance. Heres another example. How easily people can come to believe something that is not reflective of their own beliefs or personal experience. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore, Jr. Schick, Lewis Vaughn. . ISBN-10 007287953X ISBN-13 978-0072879537 Edition 4th Publisher McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Publication date The Mars face, on the other hand, provides an example of weak or non-existent evidence. ISBN-13: 9780073386621. The RationalWiki portal provides many excellent articles on pseudoscience. As we saw above, that theory really is strongly confirmed by the evidence. The authors do a decent job of laying out modes of reasoning in order to counter extraordinary claims such as alien abductions/visitations, psychic phenomenon, ghosts, conspiracy theories and other wild phenomenon. Might not the scientific community itself be part of a conspiracy to hide the truth about Area 51 in Nevada, Earths flatness or the 9/11 terrorist attacks being an inside job? Overview; View 14 Editions Details; Reviews Lists; Related Books; Publish Date. The cover was a little work out but it had all the pages and no markings! Word Count: 384. I think its interesting that Schick and Vaughn, as they get into the meat of their book,put at front and center, ala Thomas Kuhn, the importance of paradigms, which I would put this way: The example that they use is an excellent one, for it illustrates how your worldview can lead to incorrect inferences with regards to data and evidence: On hearing of a meteorite dropping to Earth, Thomas Jefferson famously declared that he would sooner believe thatindividuals bearing witness to such a thing were lyingas to believe that rocks actually fall out of the sky. Unfortunately, it's not entirely perfect; it's full of technical glitches, storage issues, and not a little bit of confusion. Rather, his texts were later creatively interpreted to fit what subsequently happened. We should expect such hard-to-explain reports anyway, whether or not were visited by aliens. However, those who hold weird beliefs often muddle consistency and confirmation. This concise and engaging text teaches the basic principles of good reasoning through an examination of widely held beliefs about the paranormal, the supernatural, and the mysterious. It has incredible processing power and storage capacity, it can handle a huge amount of sensory input at once, and it not only makes us who we are, but it keeps us going, too. Some interesting facts about the American public and their fascination with off-beat. Before we answer, heres my first piece of advice. We've been thinking from the moment we're born, but are we thinking in the most efficient way? Author: Theodore Schick, Lewis Vaughn. . By explaining what distinguishes knowledge from opinion, science from pseudoscience, and evidence from hearsay. Show me the evidence. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. Mayfield Publishing Company. The UK-based magazine The Skeptic provides some high-quality free articles on belief in weird things. What does it matter if Sally is a closed-minded naysayer when it comes to belief in psychic powers? We're available through e-mail, live chat and Facebook. While most scientists are sceptical about psychic abilities, what of the thousands of reports from people who claim to have received insights from psychics who could only have known what they did if they really do have some sort of psychic gift? Take the fossil record embedded in sedimentary layers revealing that todays species evolved from earlier species over many millions of years. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. For example, while most would pooh-pooh belief in fairies, Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the quintessentially rational detective Sherlock Holmes, actually believed in them and wrote a book presenting what he thought was compelling evidence for their existence. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age 7 th edition (PDF) is a concise and engaging textbook that teaches the basic principles of good reasoning through an examination of widely held beliefs about the supernatural, the paranormal and the mysterious. It is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that hasbeen the wholebuoyancy of the healthy man. These discoveries strongly confirm the theory that whales and dolphins evolved from earlier limbed, land-dwelling species. It's thought that your skin replaces itself regularly without you ever realizing it. Take homeopathy, for example. . . A worthwhile textbook on critical thinking, written for the modern audience without focusing on pointless abstractions. The British mathematician Norman Fenton, professor of risk information management at Queen Mary University of London, provides a brief online introduction to Bayesian approaches to assessing evidence. Even with its pseudoscience focus, though, it covers a wide range of subjects, with chapters on epistemological approaches, sound arguments, and on how science operates in practice, plus specific coverage of astrology, UFOs, ESP, health claims, and dozens of other such claims, showing not only relevant facts, but how to approach thinking about the claims. However, abandoning a belief isnt always so easy. Summer thinks that kids are weird. But, given a little ingenuity, Dave finds he can always explain away that evidence: You can see how this conversation might continue ad infinitum. 5. Is it reasonable to focus only on what scientists have to say? Required fields are marked *. Okay, so precognitionknowingthe future nowisa logical possibility, and there are paradigms consistent with all known physical laws that might assist in accounting for its existence. You get what you expect from people. This text serves well as a supplemental text in critical thinking, logic, introduction to philosophy, philosophy of science, epistemology, metaphysics, introduction to psychology, anomalistic psychology, perception and cognition, as well as any introductory science course. But notice that, had the reporters not discovered the truth, this story would likely have gone down in the annals of ufology as one of the great unexplained cases. 1. The former US president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy were reported to have consulted an astrologer before making any major political decision. Polls indicate that a third or more of US citizens believe that the Universe is less than 10,000 years old. Co. This is an excellent book that explains critical thinking, logical fallacies and argumentation / logic while at the same time demonstrating how to apply them to pseudoscience and current topics in the headlines. Understanding argumentation is essential in gaining control over your own decision making. They are known as 'shower thoughts', and as the name suggests, they tend to happen to a lot of people while they're in the shower. It matters that we dont delude ourselves into thinking were being reasonable when were not. The first chapter of this book left a poor taste in my mouth. That understanding can also help you actively influence the decision making of others, for better or worse. Turns out it's a biological instinct. Uploaded by The authors focus on types of logical arguments and proofs, making How to Think about Weird Things a versatile supplement for logic, critical thinking, philosophy of science, or any other science appreciation courses. The next night, the UFO appeared again. Theodore Schick received his B.A. Summary This brief, inexpensive text helps students think critically, using examples from the weird claims and beliefs that abound in our culture to demonstrate the sound evaluation of any claim. 2. You don't like small talk because you find it boring. Even couples on the brink of separation can find a way forward. Its just recognising that, though we might not be able to explain the reports, theyre likely to crop up occasionally anyway, whether or not alien visitors, ghosts or fairies actually exist. Still, if we count only Simons hits and ignore his misses, its easy to create the impression that he has some sort of gift. They can fake anything. It explains seemingly mysterious phenomena like spontaneous human combustion, divining, and the Amityville Horror, and tells you why the U.S. Army was actually trying to build an army of "warrior monks" who could use ESP, leave their bodies at will, levitate, and walk through walls. Topics will include creationism and evolution, medical . by Alanna Okun BuzzFeed Staff 1. Fantastic book! Yet many put down such coincidences to supernatural powers. How to Think About Weird Things was recommended as a primer on diagnosing Woo by Orac over at Scienceblogs. Poor taste in my mouth to believe something that is not installed on your phone delude ourselves into were... In which how to think about weird things summary have invested a great deal emotionally, socially and/or financially it is exactly balance. Biological instinct the former US president Ronald Reagan and his Ph.D. from Brown University anyway, or! 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