Why People Believe Weird Things

Michael Shermer’s book “Why People Believe Weird Things,” is his words “about people who share similar beliefs and hopes yet pursue them by very dissimilar methods.” These people are separated into two groups those that use science and those that use pseudoscience to pursue these beliefs and hopes. He uses real life examples to explain his reasoning behind this logic.

Shermer also stated that even smart people believe weird things for non-smart reasons. And that there are three tiers of why people do believe weird things: “1. because hope springs eternal; 2. because thinking can go wrong in general ways; 3. because thinking can go wrong in specific ways. He uses these principles throughout the book to explain the ways in which the circumstances in his stories lead people to believe the wrong thing.

My favorite topic he talked about was in the introduction of his book. Shermer talked about his experience on the set of the TV show Unsolved Mysteries when Shermer was brought in to debunk James Van Praagh a very popular psychic who had his own talk show called The Other Side. Shermer talked about how Praagh had many more incorrect prediction’s then correct ones but people were still amazed by his skill. Shermer accredited it to the fact people needed this; they were all grieving and were looking for a last connection with a loved one. Praagh also used a different form of cold reads then Shermer had seen before he would touch a body part and proclaim that this part of his body was hurting to see if anyone’s reaction might lead him to a correct guess. When Shermer at the end of the show pointed out all of the things that Praagh had picked up on with luck and tricks one women told Shermer he was “inappropriate to destroy peoples hopes during their time of grief.” This amazed me because even after Shermer proved with fact’s that Praagh was a fake people did not believe Shermer because they were grieving and they needed to believe that Praagh had given them some closure.

Shermer like our text book said that the scientific method was the only way to prove validity. He discussed in the section of his book on skepticism, all of types of different performance enhancing techniques he tried when he was a cyclist. He was fresh out of college and began working as a journalist because he couldn’t get a teaching job. He was sent to a press conference and got a chance to speak with John Marino, the man that road across America in 13days 1hour and 20minutes. When Shermer asked what this man had did to prepare he told him many different things from special diets to mud baths to negative ions. When Shermer tried these techniques out on his own he realized that none of them worked and all in some way made him miserable. One of these things was the lemonade diet which my first post for this class was about. Shermer said he collapsed and was ill from this diet when biking with Mr. Marino, a diet that Mr. Marino claimed to have used to bike cross country.          

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan is an author who focuses on skeptical inquiry.  His book, The Demon-Haunted World, is one in which his disbelief is presented.  In this book he focuses on the fact that skepticism must be proved with a validated truth in order to be accepted or before conclusions can be made.  He analyzes many different examples such as UFO’s, fairies, and witchcraft.  He is excited about science and looks to science as an “intellectual challenge” in order to find truth.  Sagan regularly discusses the gullibility of many people and how he frequently has to “let them down” with scientific evidence. 

Sagan spent much time explaining the falsification and mystification which is presented by the advertising industry.  He explains how influential the repetitive imagery is to impressionable viewers.  This industry is the cause of why the public believes in pseudoscience, because they can make people believe almost anything.  The public is exposed to all of these topics (aliens, witches, etc.) on a daily basis through television, movies, books, and tabloids.  Sagan always explains how the pseudoscience was first made public so we can better understand why the topic is so popular today.  This important part of the book is a reminder of what we learned about subliminal advertising and the effects that it has on the public.  If you don't remember the Derren Brown video in the lectures it is posted below.

\

One quote that I really enjoyed from this book was “it is much easier to present pseudoscience to the general public than science.” (17)  It really does sum up Sagan’s argument in this book.  I enjoyed his book because he makes everything easily understood with scientific proof.  I also like how he talks about the gullibility of the public because before this class, I can admit that I believed in many of the pseudoscience beliefs we have learned about.  This book shows how important it is to think critically.  Throughout the book he repeatedly reminds us to ask questions, and that is the best thing that I have learned from this book.  

 Carl Sagan is such an interesting man who talks about great topics.  This is the second book I have read of his and was even more interesting than the first one.  I recommend listening to this interview.

Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition by Stuart Vyse

Believing in Magic by Stuart Vyse is a book that, indepthly I might add, describes the sources of belief in superstition and magic as well as some of the psychological principles and theories that explain some of these interesting beliefs. In the book, Vyse describes everything from a profile of the ideal superstitious person to the developmental origins of our superstitions. He describes humans as answer-seeking creatures that try to make order out of the chaos that is our everyday lives. In trying to find the patterns and answers to life’s random events, we develop superstitions to make sense of it all. For example, Vyse describes belief in religion as a response to the uncertainty of life, death, and the afterlife. He also says that superstition and superstitious rituals are ways to for us to maintain the illusion of control that is, “a necessity to life.”  The book goes into detail with several studies that have been performed by notable psychologists, like Jean Piaget and B.F Skinner, which have studied superstitious behavior in both humans and animals and its possible origins.

            My favorite part of the book was actually in the epilogue at the end of the book. The author describes a situation he was in when he was asking people of their superstitions and beliefs for research for his book. When he was finished, the people asked him, “do you have any superstitions or weird beliefs?” The author talks about how uncomfortable he felt in this situation because he in fact does not have any superstitious beliefs. This, to me, shows how widespread superstitious beliefs and rituals go; that the person who doesn’t have a crazy superstition feels like the odd man out in a social situation. Overall, I think this entire course has been about our superstitious beliefs as a culture. Throughout history, these beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation and even the people who “don’t believe” will still perform ritualistic acts, “just to be on the safe side.” Superstitions are a large part of our society, and the majority of people you question will have at least one strange thing they believe; whether that thing is God, a lucky rabbit’s foot, or a lucky hat. People have faith in things because they want to take comfort in the fact that they have a say in what happens in their day, and that everything isn’t just a random event. Those most affected by superstition were college students, athletes, and gamblers. College students will turn to any form of help they can receive when preparing for a big final or giving a major presentation. Baseball players are notorious for being superstitious before heading onto the field. Vyse highlights the five hour long ritual of Wade Boggs, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. A brief description of Bogg’s ritual, along with some other ML B players, can be found here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/28290

           

            Gamblers are also highly affected  by superstitious beliefs and rituals, believing that machines can be hot and cold, and perform unique rituals before tossing dice in a crap game. It does not seem to matter how ridiculous these beliefs may be (like the Q-Ray’s ability to cure arthritis but balancing ions or Nostradamus’s wild predictions) because in the end all people are looking for is an answer to the uncertain; and that, I feel, was the main theme of this book. In this class, we have talked about the Seek and Ye Shall Find problem, where people sort of see what they want to see. Superstitions play into this problem because often times, when two random events happen in close sequence to each other, as humans we think that whatever we were doing cause those events to happen. This is the reason many superstitions and rituals arise, because we have felt that we controlled the sequence of events by performing a ritual in between them happening. Once again, it is that sense of control that we feel is necessary that causes superstitions. Humans are always going to have an innate sense of wanting to control their environment and rejecting the fact that life is a series of random events. As long as this is, superstitions and rituals are never going to go away.

Here is a list of some common superstitions: http://www.livescience.com/14141-13-common-silly-superstitions.html

Why People Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer

Why People Believe Weird Things is a book that discusses the differences between pseudoscience and science, and why people still believe things that have no factual evidence behind them. Shermer believes that the main reason that even educated and intelligent people believe that which is apparently irrational is because smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons. He believes that humans are pattern seeking animals who are on the constant search for a deeper meaning behind the seemingly random events that occur throughout a person's life.
He goes into detail to discuss how science is correct because it can prove itself to be so. For example, we know that gravity exists because it has been proven. Even before the Law of Conservation of Gravity was discovered, tested, and proven to be accurate, gravity still existed. Therefore, gravity is factual, and is a part of true science. Ghosts, on the other hand, are considered to be a part of pseudoscience. Shermer claims there is no way to scientifically test whether or not ghosts exist, the only thing people have to go off of is their own personal experiences with them. Those who believe in pseudoscience also claim that these experiences cannot be replicated, since the experience is personal and unique to the person who observed it.
Shermer then goes on to negate that experiences cannot be replicated; in fact, he says that they can. Historical events indeed can be replicated, and he gives the example of digging up dinosaur bones and how paleontologists use hypotho-deductive reasoning to rule out how dinosaurs died based on the evidence they have at hand.
The whole book goes on and on like this; Shermer explains his definition of a skeptic, saying that he is one. Modern skepticism is embodied in the scientific method which involves gathering data to test natural explanations for natural phenomena. The claim becomes factual when it is confirmed to a high extent. Therefore, Shermer claims that skepticism is more of a method leading to provisional conclusions. Things such as ESP, ghosts, and creationism have been tested to no avail and not proven to be real, thus it falls into the category of pseudoscience. Things such as gravity, matter, space, etc, have been proven and thus fall into science. In conclusion, Michael Shermer wishes to point out the main differences between science and pseudoscience, and what causes people to believe in what seem to be ridiculous claims despite their lack of factual evidence.
I honestly did not enjoy this book at all and found it extremely difficult to get through because I do not agree with majority of it. If I had to pick a favorite part, it would simply be how science gets to its conclusions on how something is in fact "real." Shermer gives the example of Charles Darwin's book "Theory of Evolution," in which Darwin takes an old theory of Creationism, disproves it, and backs up his claims with logical evidence. Also, he adds another section in his book entitled "Problems to the theory." This makes it very difficult for critics to find arguments against him, as he has already outlined the problems that could arise with his theory.  Another part of the book I liked was that although Shermer called pseudoscience ridiculous, outrageous, and downright false, he also claimed that science is not perfect either. Usually this is not something you hear from someone who is so strongly against one side. It was a nice change of pace to see that he admitted that there were problems with what he believed in too. Science is always changing and growing, and new discoveries are always being improved upon. One day, science can make a discovery that seems monumental and a decade later, it can be completely disproven. I also like that Shermer admits that pseudoscience cannot exist without science and vice versa. There is a place for both of them in the world.
This book can honestly be related to the theme of the entire course. This course is all about how pseudoscience is the study of things that cannot be tested and proven, such as UFO's, ghosts, psychics, dreams, etc, and how/why people believe them. It compares it to science, which is measurable, testable, and can be proven or rejected based on the hypothesis and evidence. One topic I can relate it to because it was talked about in the book is UFO's and false memories. Our slide show states that there is little or no correlation between recall accuracy and confidence of the veracity of recalled events. Recalled events previously thought to be accurate are often false. Shermer's book states that he often does not believe in UFO abduction claims because of that same reason. Also, people who claim to be abducted by UFO's often do not remember it happening, and thus require hypnosis to recall the event. Our class as well as Sherman's book state the same thing: recalled events are often false and a psychologist can implant false memories into the patient's mind, and hypnosis does not enhance accurate recall and can have the effect of increasing confidence in a false recollection.
Shermer's book also touches on the ability of clairvoyants, which our class also discussed. Shermer and our slides talk about how gifted readers often go off vague clues, and use the client's body language as a way to keep guessing accurately. Yet when asked to predict on the spot, they blame it on a multitude of things such as they cannot perform under pressure, it usually works but is not because someone is watching, just to name a few.

This is a video of Area 51,  an area in Nevada claimed by the government and rumored to be the home of many extraterrestrial investigations. This clip is from a documentary and is an example of pseudoscience:
http://youtu.be/NZGfL2-qOEc

The following is a clip of Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," discussing how God does not exist. He is a scientist who firmly follows the same theme as Michael Shermer's book, agreeing that he does not see truth in anything without hard evidence.
http://youtu.be/DMqTEfeqvmM

I found this report both interesting, and although I did not agree with this book, I learned a great deal. I believe it is always important to read things that really challenge your views and put other topics into perspective, and not only this book but this class as well, did just that.

Why People Believe Weird Things Michae Shermer

“Why People Do Weird things” by Michael Shermer is a book that tries to explain pseudoscience and how they work, and why they are not factual in their beliefs. Also it to show why we, the general public, choose to not only entertain these fictional stories but why we choose to believe and give more credibility to extraordinary claims then the basic explanation which is usually right in front of us. One thing I noticed throughout the book was the author use of the work Skeptic and Skepticism. He described being a Skeptic as a person who questions the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove, and Skepticism was the method in observing and building a testable body of knowledge to reject or confirm. I did not like this because it turns out that he is the editor of “Skeptic” Magazine, so the book is pretty much a huge ad for his magazine. The book discusses a range of topics it difference between the pseudoscience and actual science, much like in our text. Also it goes on the show why people tend to believe in these “weird things”. He claims that people believe in wrong things for several reasons; He things that it is because hope springs eternal and that  we want to believe that there is something more out there then what is offered to us, One of my favorite explanations is that “what we observe is not nature itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning” (pg 46) which I believe discusses perception and which maybe the truth for one person may not exactly be another person’s truth, and lastly he claims logical problems in thinking suggesting that we pair items and words to negative and positive things over the years making it easy to discredit or give credit to stories. The book goes on to give examples of types of pseudoscience such as cults and aliens. Also there is a portion of the book that discusses history and people who claim that the Holocaust did not occur. Which proves the authors point about Skeptics not being such negative individuals, and that they set to both prove and disprove.  Finally the book goes on to discuss why intelligent people believe in weird things. He explains this by stating that we rarely sit down at the table with a problem in front of us and just weigh the pros and cons of the situation, and that there are always outside influences that will push us in one way or another.

My Favorite part of the book, I mentioned earlier, was the section that discussed the many fallacies of our thoughts. I found it funny because reading that one statement about nature; I couldn’t help but think of that one scene from Pulp Fiction. When the guy busted through the door and unloads his gun on Samuel Jackson and John Travolta, and completely misses.  They fire back and kill him, but Jackson’s character feels blessed and that a higher power stop the bullets from killing him (this after he killed two others) and John Travolta’s character feels that they just got lucky. Much like the book it was an extraordinary event that a man can be so close to them to fire a gun six times at two people and fail to harm either. Instead of Jackson’s character ignored the fact it was probably the man’s first time even using a gun, that he practically had his eyes closed while he was screaming and shooting and finally there was no real way to tell where they were before he kicked down the door and started firing. Situations in life are sometimes how we choose to perceive them, and that has a lot to do with our own biases.

As I read through this book it felt that it could double as our text book. It was very similar in the message and the definitions throughout the book. It discussed both the scientific method and what makes science a science. Also it discussed the characteristic of pseudoscience and why people believe in it. I found myself reaching for my pen just to take notes. The only significant difference was the use of the word skeptic, but that is only because of the author’s bias and his constant advertising of his magazine. Also another difference was that our text book dealt with pseudo sciences but this book discussed history and historical facts, and challenged those who challenge history of claims of an event never happening.

The real world application of this book is to promote each individual to look at each fascinating and unbelievable claim, through an unbiased eye and possibly find a real world solution for an out of this world problem. In other words the author would like us to be more like John Travolta and less like Samuel Jackson.  

Me practicing on being a skeptic

Skeptical how this ball is suppose to help her figure out why my dog died

FLIM FLAM

Flim- Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and other Delusions

Flim- Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and other Delusions is a book written by magician and skeptic James Randi.  In this book, author James Randi discusses paranormal and pseudoscience claims and how scientist have failed to provide accurate research in dismissing these absurd paranormal claims.  James Randi provides convincing arguments as well as evidence to his readers in how these claims are in fact faked and or fraud and should be dismissed.  The topics the book explores and exposes are claims about UFO's fairies, psychic surgery and religious cults.  The book also talks about James Randi million-dollar challenge.  James Randi has invited all psychics and anyone who claims to have a paranormal ability to prove this by submitting themselves to a test chosen by James Randi and prove to the author that they do in fact have a gift and or not frauds interestingly enough till this day no one has beaten the challenge and very few have accepted to even take it the million dollar challenge. 

My favorite part of the book was chapters 2 entitled fairies at the foot of the garden.  In this chapter James Randi discusses the incident that happened in 1920 in London.  2 young girls created a deception that fooled many people over the years, including the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  While playing in Cottingley Glen, the two young girls took what they claimed were close up photographs of fairies.  The girls than took each other's picture with the fairies and experts who were consulted regarding this matter said that there was no way that these photos were faked and therefore the girls must have really been taking pictures with fairies.  The point of the story is that People believed this story and even experts agreed that there was no way the girls could have faked these photos, the only logical explanation was that the girls had in fact taken pictures with real fairies.  The reality of the matter is that the girls had posed with cutout of fairy drawing to make the pictures seem real and authentic.  After several decades the girls were both interviewed and confessed that yes this was in fact true and began as a prank but soon the pictures got out of hand as the story was publicized so they felt they could no longer come out and say the truth. 

The fairy incident that happened in the 1920 ties inn to the pseudoscience and the paranormal course we are currently taking in that it shows how people will believe anything without any whatsoever scientific explanation.  This particular incident reminds me of the magnetic bracelet we discussed in our lectures how the creators claimed that these magnetic bracelets 's had the capacity to reduce arthritis pain and even cure if worn on a daily basis.  People began buying these bracelet’s in hopes that they would reduce their pain by wearing them.  The reality of the fact is that there was no plausible scientific explanation to explain how and why these bracelets’ worked, and therefore the bracelets were just another scam.  The fairy pictures had no real good evidence to prove that these fairies were in fact real and the pictures were not altered, people just began to believe this without any science to back it up. 

 I found this book very interesting and very informative.  James Randi showed compelling evidence and proof that most of these so claimed psychics and gifted people along with other paranormal phenomenon’s are fake and not real, and we should be taking science and scientific explanations into consideration before making a decision on what we choose to believe.  

Voodoo Science - Robert Park

In Voodoo Science, The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert Park we learn details about historical and current pseudoscience and how specific examples of junk science negatively affect all of our lives and waste money. He discloses how the media, entrepreneurs, politicians, judges and scientists perpetuate scientific fraud because of ignorance, personal achievement or economic gain at the expense of mankind. Voodoo science is found in our everyday lives and negatively affects us by deceiving and restraining the scientific truth from the people. Robert Park discusses junk science in its finest forms such as consumerism associated with magnet therapy, Vitamin O, homeopathy and herbal therapy. He continues discussing the fraudulent and pathological science behind human spaceflight, the International Space Station, the physical impossibilities of Joe Newman’s perpetual energy machine, Fleischman’s and Pons scam at cold fission technology, hydrogen energy, alien abduction, Roswell, UFO’s, Star Wars and the X-ray laser; just to name a few.

His writing is enlightening since it brings to mind the grave condition of America’s present educational system and how the system has historically and is presently failing to educate our citizens with a superior scientific and mathematical education. We are taught junk science through our basic school systems and the media. There are numerous examples that reveal members of our judicial and political systems are subject to ignorance and their actions cost American taxpayers billions of dollars pursuing garbage and fraudulent science. Truthfully, the real amount may cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. Pseudo-scientific ignorance in the 21^st century America is considered comparable to the Salem Witch Trials of the 17^th century. There really is not much difference between the two except they occur within five hundred years of one another.

Two additional themes contained in this book are the monumental cost and waste of America’s economic resources that are the result of false beliefs, pseudo and junk science and the role of the media in perpetuating the false unscientific claims behind alleged science. There were and are presently billions (perhaps trillions) of dollars spent on different types of voodoo science. For example, Utah’s legislation supported research funding for the development of cold fusion which is impossible based on our current scientific understanding of the laws of physics. Even though cold fusion is impossible, the legislators supported 5 million dollars to fund Fleishman’s and Pons cold fusion claims notwithstanding the laws of physics. The International Space Station, Star Wars and the X-Ray are other examples of flawed governmental judgment; skeptical scientists warned our politicians of the impractical and unscientific justification for these programs to no avail. Thus, our government wastes billions of dollars on pseudo-scientific expenditures for programs destine to provide nothing but an economic stimulus for those participating and supporting the program efforts. The American media appears to continue the William Randolph Hurst brand of “yellow journalism” where sensationalism is more important than scientific fact and truth. Presently, the media’s economic goal appears to sell advertising space and time for the shareholders. After all, isn’t the entire pool of contributor’s to the pseudoscience mania in pursuit of greater economic achievement? The media is directly involved in the perpetuation of pseudoscience by inept reporting of the scientific truth as well as providing television news and entertainment which misleads the public.  

 

"The Right Stuff" -  Philip Kaufmann - 1983

Robert Park eloquently explains that early in the space exploration program, robotic technology was found superior to human space exploration. American robotic technology paved the way for space exploration behind the scenes concurrently with manned space flight on television at a cost of millions to taxpayers. America’s pursuit of walking on the moon revealed that sending men to the moon was not a cost effective manner in which to explore the moon. 

The International Space Station has revealed that human bodies having evolved with gravity do not function well without gravity. This is the most profound experimental finding learned on the International Space Station “experiment.” Our evolutionary design is such that our bodies need exposure to earth’s gravity to function properly. A most profound realization of the scientific manipulation of the American people is found within John Glenn’s return to space on the space shuttle Discovery, thirty-six years after his Mercury flight. After thirty-six years and billions of dollars spent on the space shuttle program – humans have gained an additional eighty miles beyond the Mercury capsule orbit. American’s have merely had their tax dollars utilized to stimulate the economy and create high paying scientific and support related jobs for naught. To date, what is gained from the human exploration of space? The answer may simply be that humans are not physically adapted to safely or inexpensively explore or operate in space; the use of robotic technology and satellites are safer and more cost effective. The original Voyager unmanned spacecraft is traveling outside our solar system although no longer transmitting data to earth. There are other spacecraft too. As you read this, humans are exploring the universe through robotic technology including satellites and have done so since 1969, without humans present inside the crafts!

Perhaps our educational system is in-part to blame for our fraudulent science. After all most of our teachers, politicians, judges and leaders were predominantly educated here in the American school system. They have failed to comprehend simple, logical mathematical and scientific principles. Their actions clearly show they do not understand the basic scientific principles or the subject matter was never presented to them (and neither do I fully comprehend them). Are the business majors trumping the science majors as our leaders? Also, Congress hears testimonials from scientists who have direct economic ties to their very supporters and research. The scientists have their futures tied to the economic gain resulting from their testimony and research. Are the scientist’s economic ties and the politician’s ignorance clouding the science? If so, we surely have a monumental problem to overcome.

Anthony R Pratkanis, associate professor of psychology, University of California presented several tactics to sell a pseudoscience flimflam, two of which can be applied to our space exploration program. First, is a phantom is created where an unrealistic goal is proposed if we chose to reach that goal. In this case, the goal was for humans to explore space – when in fact we cannot safely do so because of the dangers associated with the harsh environment in outer space. We understood this early in the space program when we began the simultaneous development of unmanned satellites and robotic technology to explore the outer plants at the same time as the Apollo program. Secondly, a politician, our President John F. Kennedy informs Americans that we are going to walk on the moon in ten years - which ultimately leads to politicians proposing that humans explore Mars. Our politicians create a rationalization trap by committing us to believe that humans can safely travel or work in space because we walked on the moon, traveled in orbit around the earth and lived on the International Space Station when science clearly show human space travel is too dangerous for humans. Remember, we lost two space shuttle crews and one Apollo crew within the confines of our atmosphere! We rationalize that space travel is safe – when it is not safe. Politicians should not dictate what science can accomplish for the people because science builds on past concepts. Science should dictate what politicians can accomplish so that the perpetuation of impractical costly expenditures does not continue to consume and waste our world in efforts that prove futile to all mankind. Perhaps, someday “Buck Rogers Spaceflight” will become a reality for humans – but we are not scientifically equipped for this travel as of now.