Michael Shermer

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.

Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

Why People Believe Weird Things

Shermer demonstrates how our brains selectively assess data in an attempt to confirm the conclusions (beliefs) we've already reached. Drawing on evolution, cognitive science, and neuroscience, he considers not only supernatural beliefs but political and economic ones as well.

From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths

The Believing Brain

Arthur Benjamin

Henry is generally well-behaved, but he is occasionally arrogant and vain. Henry is at heart a hard worker, but his frequent bouts of illness hinder his work.

The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

Secrets of Mental Math

From bestselling author Michael Shermer, an investigation of the evolution of morality that is "a paragon of popularized science and philosophy" The Sun (Baltimore) A century and a half after Darwin first proposed an "evolutionary ethics," science has begun to tackle the roots of morality. Just as evolutionary biologists study why we are hungry (to motivate us to eat) or why sex is enjoyable (to motivate us to procreate), they are now searching for the very nature of humanity. In The Science of Good and Evil, science historian Michael Shermer explores how humans evolved from social primates to moral primates; how and why morality motivates the human animal; and how the foundation of moral principles can be built upon empirical evidence. Along the way he explains the implications of scientific findings for fate and free will, the existence of pure good and pure evil, and the development of early moral sentiments among the first humans. As he closes the divide between science and morality, Shermer draws on stories from the Yanamamö, infamously known as the "fierce people" of the tropical rain forest, to the Stanford studies on jailers' behavior in prisons. The Science of Good and Evil is ultimately a profound look at the moral animal, belief, and the scientific pursuit of truth.

Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule

The Science of Good and Evil

The best-selling author of Why People Believe Weird Things demonstrates how scientific modes of thought, as demonstrated by forefront minds and cultures, have helped people and societies become more moral.

How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom

The Moral Arc

A former evangelical Christian and creationist refutes the pseudoscientific arguments of proponents of Intelligent Design and explains why the scientific evidence reveals that evolution is more than just a theory and how it transforms life through the process of natural selection.

The Case Against Intelligent Design

Why Darwin Matters

Collected essays from bestselling author Michael Shermer's celebrated columns in Scientific American For fifteen years, bestselling author Michael Shermer has written a column in Scientific American magazine that synthesizes scientific concepts and theory for a general audience. His trademark combination of deep scientific understanding and entertaining writing style has thrilled his huge and devoted audience for years. Now, in Skeptic, seventy-five of these columns are available together for the first time; a welcome addition for his fans and a stimulating introduction for new readers.

Viewing the World with a Rational Eye

Skeptic

Presents a collection of essays on various topics in science and personalities in science, including Carl Sagan, Sigmund Freud, and Alfred Russel Wallace.

Where Sense Meets Nonsense

The Borderlands of Science

The best-selling author of Why People Believe Weird Things offers a revealing study of the influence of evolutionary theory on the modern economy, as well as the evolutionary roots of human economic behavior, bringing together the latest research in neuroeconomics, psychology, biology, and other fields to analyze the economics of everyday life. 50,000 first printing.

Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics

The Mind of the Market

Recent polls show that 96% of Americans believe in God. Why are people turning to religion in greater numbers than ever before? In How We Believe , Michael Shermer presents the results of an exhaustive empirical study in which he asked 10,000 Americans how and why they believe and about details of their faith. The result offers fresh and startling insights into age-old questions.

Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God

How We Believe, 2nd Edition

Conspiracies & Conspiracy Theories

Skepticism 101

Alex Grobman

Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It? (S. Mark Taper Foundation Imprint in Jewish Studies)

Denying History

A scientific exploration into humanity’s obsession with the afterlife and quest for immortality from the bestselling author and skeptic Michael Shermer In his most ambitious work yet, Shermer sets out to discover what drives humans’ belief in life after death, focusing on recent scientific attempts to achieve immortality along with utopian attempts to create heaven on earth. For millennia, religions have concocted numerous manifestations of heaven and the afterlife, and though no one has ever returned from such a place to report what it is really like—or that it even exists—today science and technology are being used to try to make it happen in our lifetime. From radical life extension to cryonic suspension to mind uploading, Shermer considers how realistic these attempts are from a proper skeptical perspective. Heavens on Earth concludes with an uplifting paean to purpose and progress and how we can live well in the here-and-now, whether or not there is a hereafter.

The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia

Heavens on Earth

A biography of the English naturalist covers his work in natural history, his relationship with Darwin, and his contribution to evolutionary theory.

The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace : a Biographical Study on the Psychology of History

In Darwin's Shadow

Rupert Sheldrake

Two controversial authors debate the nature and methods of science, its dogmas, and its future. Rupert Sheldrake argues that science needs to free itself from materialist dogma while Michael Shermer contends that science, properly conceived, is a materialistic enterprise; for science to look beyond materialist explanations is to betray science and engage in superstition. Issues discussed include: materialism and its role in science, whether belief in God is compatible with a scientific perspective, and parapsychology. Michael Shermer is Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine and the author of numerous books including Skeptic. Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of ten books including his most recent, Science Set Free, which challenges scientific dogma.

A Dialogue on the Future of Science and Spirit

Arguing Science

Apart from disproving Holocaust denials, the authors lay a framework for examining how we know that any historical event actually happened.

Michael Shermer

About

Books

Join the club