50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) by Guy P. Harrison (PDF)

Description

“What would it take to create a world in which fantasy is not confused for fact and public policy is based on objective reality?” asksNeil deGrasse Tyson, science popularizer and author ofAstrophysics for People in a Hurry.”I don’t know for sure. Buta good place to start would be for everyone on earth to read this book.” Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you’re trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like?This down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims will help you set the record straight. The author, a veteran journalist, has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored “the most haunted house in America,” frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a “contrite Roswell alien.” He is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction.Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, this book invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “What would it take to create a world in which fantasy is not confused for fact and public policy is based on objective reality? I don’t know for sure. But A GOOD PLACE TO START WOULD BE FOR EVERYONE ON EARTH TO READ THIS BOOK.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry”Prometheus, the premiere publisher of skeptical literature, here issues a book that deserves to be shelved alongside the works of such giants of the field as [James] Randi, [Michael] Shermer, [Paul] Kurtz, and [Joe] Nickell. With a combination of lively prose and keen analytical reasoning, the author examines some of contemporary culture’s most commonly held beliefs… A valuable, not to mention very entertainingly written, addition to the literature of skepticism.”—Booklist starred review”This book will blow readers’ minds (and it should) by making them realize how easy it is to hold a strong belief without applying either critical thinking or skepticism. Harrison…pokes gaping holes into common beliefs in the supernatural…and the tendency to believe that only personal religious tenets are correct despite total ignorance about other religious doctrine… Harrison guides us gently but firmly along an explorative path of our collective illogic, strong tendencies toward easy answers and magical thinking, and susceptibility to confirmation bias. He doesn’t judge readers for buying into beliefs that have no real basis in fact and science, but instead asks them to second-guess the tendency to readily accept the unproven and the illogical as true. VERDICT: An outstanding book that is required reading no matter what you believe.”—Library Journal“A journalist turns a skeptical eye on beliefs ranging from astrology to Atlantis, showing that scientific discovery can be just as fascinating as myth.” —Science News “Rarely has a skeptic gone to battle against nonsense with the warmth and humor….[A] grand tour though the bizarre ecosystem of irrational beliefs and extraordinary claims. Harrison deftly and compellingly demonstrates how science and reality are preferable to superstition and delusion…. It is an ideal text for an introductory Science and Pseudoscience or Critical Thinking course. It is clear, comprehensive, non-threatening yet thought provoking while remaining accessible. It’s also a much welcomed and needed addition to every skeptic’s reading list.”—Skeptic Magazine“This book is a must-read for skeptics and non-skeptics alike. It will excite all critical thinkers and will get believers to reexamine many popular beliefs that they think are true. I recommend it to all who are concerned and deeply worried about the ‘gigantic cloud of danger’ looming large over our world today due to popular dogmatic and irrational beliefs.”—Skeptical Inquirer“[An] absolute ‘must read’… Each belief is covered with a general overview, the rational behind them and the scientific research that fails to support them, all presented with liberal witticism. Harrison champions the need for maintaining constant vigilance to avoid becoming prey to unfounded beliefs that on the face of things, probably won’t cause any harm but could well lead to falling victim to more dangerous, erroneous beliefs. Well written, thoroughly researched and entertaining, this important book teaches the importance of being a skeptic.”—Monsters and Critics “[I]f you do not want your teenagers growing up believing that an angel is watching over them, or the Bible contains a code that reveals the future, or that global warming is purely a political issue, then give them this book.”—Science Fact and Fiction Concatenation About the Author GUY P. HARRISON (San Diego, CA) is an award-winning journalist and the author of Think, 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian, 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True, 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God, and Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know about Our Biological Diversity. Find him on online at www.guypharrison.com, www.facebook.com/guypharrisonauthor, and on Twitter @Harrisonauthor.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I recently read an impressively constructed article by the author in Skeptical Inquirer magazine. When reference was made to this title, its wide-ranging subject matter intrigued me and I anticipated it would provide an enjoyable read as well as a similar level of refinement and cogency. Not so much.The book would have benefited greatly had it been subjected to some judicious editing. As it is, the author’s writing style meanders quite a lot. His refutations certainly could have been more succinct and sharply honed. A disappointment.

⭐“50 popular beliefs that people think are true” is an overview and a discussion of 50 beliefs that people often hold, but for which there is very little evidence and sometimes strong contrary evidence. The author, Guy P. Harrison has researched a selection of 50 beliefs that are relatively popular and yet irrational. Each of the 50 popular beliefs has its own chapter. Well, some chapters, for example, “Many Prophecies has come to pass”, and “Most Conspiracy Theories are True”, are summaries of several examples.The book is 458 pages long and it is divided into eight sections; “Magical Thinking”, “Out There”, “Science and Reason”, “Strange Healings”, “Lure of the Gods”, “Bizarre Beings”, Weird Places”, and “Dreaming of the End”. Examples of chapters are; “A Psychic Read my Mind”, “Nostradamus Saw It All Coming”, “NASA Faked the Moon Landing”, “Global Warming Is a Political Issue and Nothing More”, “Astrology is Scientific”, “Alternative Medicine Is Better”, “Homeopathy Really Works, and No Side Effects”, “No Vaccines for My Baby”, “Creationism is True and Evolution is Not”, “A TV Preacher Needs My Money”, “Bigfoot Lives and Cryptozoology Is Real Science”, etc. A long list of scientists and skeptics helped the author research and gather material for the book and Dr. Phil Plait an Astronomer wrote the foreword of the book.I should add that the author is certainly not the kind of person who dismisses everything that seems odd, and he certainly does not hold that “scientists are always right”. On the contrary, he has a chapter dedicated to that kind of naiveté as well. His point is that you should examine the evidence for and against and make a rational choice. It is just that so many people underestimate, or are unaware of existing scientific evidence, and other good evidence, while clinging to anecdotal evidence, cultural beliefs, wishful thinking, and bad evidence.Some of the irrational beliefs discussed in the book are held by most people in the US. He provides percentages in many cases. In some cases there is no good evidence for the belief, for example, the belief in Big Foot. In other cases the irrational belief is plain idiotic, not only because the so called evidence for it is nonsensical or worthless, but because the evidence against the belief is overwhelming and/or conclusive. An example of this is the “NASA Faked the Moon Landing conspiracy theory”.In general irrational beliefs are potentially dangerous but in some cases the irrational belief can be especially dangerous. An example of this is the faulty belief that vaccines cause autism. There are also irrational beliefs that are both idiotic and dangerous, for example, “The Holocaust Never Happened”. The 50 topics he chose are certainly not all equal in that regard. I wish the author had made more of an effort distinguishing between relatively benign believes such as belief in reincarnation and angels and truly lunatic and/or dangerous beliefs. Fully examining 50 beliefs in 458 pages is also very difficult, which means that the book lacks some depth. Another minor complaint I have is that the book is very much focused on irrational beliefs common in the United States, and the types of irrational beliefs people hold tend to vary around the world. A few international examples of irrational beliefs that are not common in the US would have been nice too. Comparing the so called evidence for Big Foot with that of Swedish Vitter folk (tiny hidden people) could have been illuminating.Irrational beliefs are quite common and we probably all hold at least some irrational beliefs. If you find one of your beliefs examined in this book you don’t have to instantly through it out based on one book but at least honestly consider the arguments and the evidence. In general we should all examine our beliefs and question them, and this book could be a great tool for doing that. Unfortunately I believe that many people will still have a very hard time honestly examining their own beliefs and this book may only anger them. They want to confirm their own beliefs not question them. The fact that the author clearly is an atheist/agnostic may also give many people in the US an excuse for dismissing it. However, this is an interesting, entertaining, well written and needed book so I recommend this book to everyone.

⭐The entire premise of this book can be summed up very simply, if you don’t agree with me your misguided. He seems to think science is always right which is NOT remotely correct.

⭐Would have been lovely if even for a few lines the holier than thou author would have included facts, timelines, research or anything about the subject matter.This reads like your drunk aging father decided to impart his closed minded, bloated, prejudiced and ignorant “wisdom” on you and your group of friends during a sleep over gone wrong.I have read tens of thousands of books in my lifetime and can count on 1 hand the number of them I’ve not been able to finish. This goes on that list.A colossal waste of money – even if you get the book for free.

⭐Although I didn’t agree with some things in this book, I enjoyed reading it. It was refreshing to read an entirely different approach to subjects we encounter in our lives. He covers such subjects as UFOs, ghosts, TV preachers, psychics, the Holocaust, space exploration, our government , and many others. I kept thinking “what would he say about today’s pandemic and how it had been handled. I have not been around avowed skeptics like Mr.Harrison so that may be why I enjoyed this book. I feel I am not a pushover for such topics but have learned I have not been critical enough in my thinking before accepting the premise of certain things. That being said, there’s a lot to be said on the subject of faith.

⭐What started out –and could have ended–with a factual and humorous look at a number of issues and events people could and should be skeptical about , essentially turned into a pro atheist , anti-religious manifesto. I acknowledge most (all?) monotheistic religions of the world (which incidentally include billions of people) require some degree of faith, as they cannot be scientifically proven. But apparently that leap of faith is too much for a true skeptic like Harrison.

⭐This book – I’m reading the Kindle version and it’s working well – is a good one for the person who has heard of various supernatural events such as alien abductions, Area 51, ghosts, speaking to the dead, etc., and is not sure if they are true or not. The author gives many stories and examples of such events and clearly explains why they are not to be believed. The author is very rational and understandable. If you have a scientific bent, you will mostly affirm what you already know.The only complaint I have is that the author spends several pages from chapter to chapter explaining his credentials. He comes to the book eminently qualified, but his experience would be better placed at the beginning of the book prior to the 50 chapters of explanations.

⭐I have read other books by Guy P. Harrison and his writing is always intriguing and easy to grasp and understand. He shedsuvh light on some rather fantastic and strange beliefs to that remarkably still exist in our slightly superstitious society.

⭐As a sceptic and scientist, I wouldn’t want to be associated with this portrayal of scepticism – its poor and damaging. Scepticism is a scientific method of evaluation of the facts, weighing up the evidence – the data. Take for example the chapter “ESP is the real deal”. There are no citations to the Society for Psychical Research, Duke University’s work, or modern work being done. Harrison dismisses data out of hand, makes sweeping comments such as “ESP… has failed to survive scientific scrutiny” and does little, if anything, to support his claims. This is painful to read and poorly misunderstood. It reads as though Harrison briefly glanced a Wikipedia page and had no interest in the facts of the topic he’d chosen to include and explore under ‘popular beliefs’. (Ironically, Wikipedia would have made a good chapter in itself, and probably would have spanned several.) With some chapters (e.g. Are some people born smart?) Harrison makes some valid points, but again, they are unsupported beyond other populist books and opinions. The writing style is generally good and easy to take in, but the attempted humour and repeated sarcasm in places really isn’t needed and places the arguments low on Graham’s Hierarchy of Argument. A misleading book in the wrong hands, the lay reader deserves better information on the given topics.

⭐A timely, even if it is not, book on how to avoid the pitfalls of today’s world of fake news. Though it concentrates on popular beliefs and conspiracy theories it shows you how your brain can be trained to recognise the irrational and sometimes dangerous iideas that proliferate society. A skeptic mind is an open mind that helps you protect yourself, family, and the world around.

⭐I’ve read Guy’s previous – books, “50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God” and “Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity”. 50 Popular Beliefs is another great title to keep in your sceptic’s armoury. Honestly, I had never given a thought to whether things like the Bermuda Triangle were real or not so it was fun to read that this and countless (well, 49) other beliefs have no basis in fact. I recently abandoned Christianity and “came out” as an Atheist and so have been hungrily consuming works by the likes of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Guy easily stands with those more well known (outside sceptical thinking circles) authors and I heartily recommend this book as well as Guy’s previous works. His style is like a trusted friend reasoning with you, rather than beating you around the head with facts. This, like his other books will encourage you to think and hopefully honestly question the beliefs that you hold dear. You’ll be smarter for reading this.

⭐Everyone should read this book if you want to live your life based on reality rather than make believe and wishful thinking.

⭐Awesome!! Everything just great; thanks a million!!

Keywords

Free Download 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) in PDF format
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) PDF Free Download
Download 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) 2011 PDF Free
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) 2011 PDF Free Download
Download 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series) PDF
Free Download Ebook 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (50 series)