ISBN-13: 9780073386621. His books for a popular audience include The Philosophy Gym (2003), The Complete Philosophy Files (2000) and Believing Bullshit (2011). I wish I was given a book like this when I was in middle school. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age are 9781260687095, 1260687090 and the print ISBNs are 9781259922558, 1259922553. station33.cebu 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. ISBN-10 007287953X ISBN-13 978-0072879537 Edition 4th Publisher McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Publication date Why? Understand what strong evidence actually is. 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. You're physically unable to swallow and breathe at the same time. By explaining what distinguishes knowledge from opinion, science from pseudoscience, and evidence from hearsay, How to Think about Weird Thingshelps the reader develop the skills needed to tell the true from the false and the reasonable from the unreasonable. It could also serve as a main text for courses in evaluation of the paranormal, philosophical implications of the paranormal, occult beliefs, and pseudoscience. in philosophy from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Brown University. this is the best book out there i've read (and i've read like a ton) specifically about the paranormal. In which case, such reports are not strong evidence of alien visitors. You will find more lots books in various disciplines. 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? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Pingback: An Invitation: Believe in Evolution, and You Too Can Join Richard Dawkins, and His Alien Friends, in the Universes Superior Club Prometheus Unbound. 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. Any theory, no matter how absurd, can, with sufficient ingenuity be made to fit the evidence: even Daves theory that dogs are Venusian spies. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer. Please try again. Paperback, 9780767409773, 0767409779 Of course, were not going to just take Freds word for that. Are several such cases involving multiple witnesses and backed up by some hard evidence (eg, a radar blip) good evidence that there are alien craft in our skies? Random thoughts are mind pops that comes suddenly, when you were not trying to think over it. For the most part, what I mean by a "weird thing" is: a claim unaccepted by most people in that particular field of study, a claim that is either logically impossible or highly unlikely, and/or a claim for which the evidence is largely anecdotal and uncorroborated. He lives in Oxford. weird things isnt even referring to weird things, for in our current world we have been so inundated in insanity and the spectacular that weird is our normal. I used this as a textbook when I taught critical reasoning. Excellent! Product details Format Paperback | 352 pages Dimensions 152 x 229 x 15mm | 447g But, given a little ingenuity, Dave finds he can always explain away that evidence: You can see how this conversation might continue ad infinitum. When you figure out that you are a brain controlling a body. She explains that she sat with August on the first day of school because she felt sorry . 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. Sometimes whales and dolphins are found with atavistic limbs leg-like structures where legs would be found on land mammals. Discover your study material at Stuvia. CDs, DVDs, access codes, or lab manuals) is only included with a new textbook purchase. Privacy Statement, Stuvia is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university, Comme convenu! Summer thinks that kids are weird. 3. You don't enjoy talking too much because you are an introvert. Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019. But is precognition real? Full text of Michael Shermer's talk: Why People Believe Weird Things at TED Talks conference. As we saw above, that theory really is strongly confirmed by the evidence. I couldn't stop thinking about how this book was, "so cool." The lesson (to echo Shakespeare): there may well be more things in our material heaven and Earthandoutside of themthanare dreamtof in our current philosophiesorparadigmsHoratio. Anyone who failed to believe at least that much would be excessively sceptical one of those perpetual naysayers whose kneejerk reaction, no matter how strong the evidence, is always to pooh-pooh. Its also worth remembering that such stories are in any case often dubious. People may find this kind of behavior weird, and they wonder what your thoughts are about. See whats possible with some nonbinding experiments, Whether its to recover after a late night or to boost your learning abilities, theres a science to napping effectively, Forget the ideal of work/life balance your needs and interests are much richer than that, and your life can be too. Three thumbs up. Corresponding textbook How to Think About Weird Things | 7th Edition ISBN-13: 9780078038365 ISBN: 0078038367 Authors: Theodore Schick Rent | Buy This is an alternate ISBN. 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 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. cut off text on some pages due to tight margin. Because, while atavistic limbs arent probable given the truth of that theory, theyre still far more probable than they would be if whales and dolphins werent the descendants of such limbed creatures. Using video, images and music, pro. Beliefs are not a buffet. And so, if you insist that you have existential freedomthat you are not a robotperhaps that also necessarily means that you are not a psychic either: But heres where Schick and Vaughns relentlesscritical thinkingtreatedas auniversal acidcould lead to mischievousness, for might such insistence on intellectual coherence in all matters drive one, well, mad? He has always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic of to-day) free also to believe in them. In fact, its powerfully disconfirmed. 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 . was sold for $28,000. However, given pareidolia and the likelihood of face-like features being thrown up by chance, its about as likely that we would find such face-like features anyway, even if there were no alien civilisation. Acknowledgement of cultural contexts should always be a part of knowledge sharing and building. Chesterton is clearly dismissing the importance of maintaining intellectual coherence in discourse. The photographer took out his long lens to take a look: Yep thats the planet Venus all right. It was later confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that what all the witnesses had seen was just a planet. I flagged this book to read after seeing it mentioned in an article about critical thinking some time ago. An Introduction to the nature of scientific reasoning and the application of inductive and critical thinking skills and discourse to claims regarding folk theories, evolution, and other controversial issues. And here we encountera sidebar titled The Psychic Scorecard (29) which brieflytouches onthe bleak track record of professionalpsychics. What does it matter if Mary believes there are fairies at the bottom of her garden, or Joe thinks his dead aunty visits him occasionally? Add to Wish List Link to this Book Add to Bookbag Sell this Book Buy it at Amazon Compare Prices. Granted, no one likes the guy who brings logic to the party, so you might not want to start off every statement with, "well, actually". But when they tried to drive nearer, they discovered that, weirdly, no matter how fast they drove, they couldnt get any closer. Uploaded by Very useful book for understanding sound scientific and logical principles for evaluating information. 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 Santi Report (My Version of a Drudge Report Page), Blogging Schick and Vaughns How to Think about Weird Things, Chapter 2, An Invitation: Believe in Evolution, and You Too Can Join Richard Dawkins, and His Alien Friends, in the Universes Superior Club Prometheus Unbound, Be aware of the paradigmtheworldview/theoretical frameworkthat youarereasoning from, Always keep in mind the difference between logical possibility and physical impossibility. Psyche is a digital magazine from Aeon that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophy and the arts. on the Internet. How to think about weird things : critical thinking for a new age: 1. In fact, it is likely to do this around 900 times during your lifetime. http://www.ted.com Why do people see the Virgin Mary on cheese sandwiches or hear demonic lyrics in "Stairway to Heaven"? To what extent can we even trust the supposed scientific experts? It's about as entertaining a book on the subject as one could find, and includes a lot of epistemology, informal logic, and philosophy of science. Scientific Methodology 1. Mayfield Publishing Company. Of course, we have our hunches about whats most likely to be true. Learning to listen to others and to ask smart questions is more important. Understanding argumentation is essential in gaining control over your own decision making. So, while ghosts might be weird, thats no reason to dismiss belief in them out of hand. When it comes to weird beliefs, its important we avoid being closed-minded naysayers with our fingers in our ears, but its also crucial that we avoid being credulous fools. His spiritual sightis stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that. Great stuff. Despite my gripes with this book, it was very well-written, and I especially enjoyed the section on the tachyonic anti-telephone! 7. My references to it will be from the 5th edition. Thus, I read a text book for fun. Please choose a different delivery location. Critical thinking, Curiosities and wonders Publisher Boston : McGraw-Hill Higher Education Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks Digitizing sponsor Kahle/Austin Foundation Contributor Internet Archive Language English What does it matter if Sally is a closed-minded naysayer when it comes to belief in psychic powers? 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.Instructors and students can now access their course content through the Connect digital learning platform by purchasing either standalone Connect access or a bundle of print and Connect access. Are about full text of Michael Shermer & # x27 ; s talk: Why People weird. 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