She seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to push Macbeth into committing murder. Einstein's theory of relativity provides a way of looking at the universe that makes it both logically and physically possible for the future to exist now. 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. It goes step by step through applied critical thinking to help you rebuff every new-age, esoteric, psychical or alien phenomena you can think of. It was a coincidence, perhaps caused by a flock of birds or unusual weather. Maybe the way we talk about one thing is not the way we should talk about another. How to Think About Weird Things was recommended as a primer on diagnosing Woo by Orac over at Scienceblogs. A cow, for example, could logically jump over the moonthereis nothing in logic that prevents thisbut there are things that we have discovered about the nature of the physical world that make this impossible (for one, a cows hind musclesdo not generate enough force to escape Earths gravity). Well, it is of course possible that Jane is playing a prank on me with her wet coat and brolly. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer. Given overwhelming evidence that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at 1 atmosphere, a single experiment that appeared to contradict that claim might reasonably be explained away as a result of some unidentified experimental error. He has also contributed to a number of volumes in Open Courts Philosophy and Popular Culture series as well as Blackwells Philosophy for Everyone series.Lewis Vaughn is the author of numerous textbooks in philosophy, critical thinking, and ethics including The Power of Critical Thinking(2019); Concise Guide to Critical Thinking (2017); Philosophy Here and Now(2019); Living Philosophy: A Historical Introduction to Philosophical Ideas(2018); Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues(2019); Beginning Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy (2015); Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases(2017); and Writing Philosophy(2018). 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. 0 Ratings 12 Want to read; 0 Currently reading; 0 Have read; How to Think About Weird Things. Take a look at the Answers in Genesis website developed by the Bible literalist Ken Ham, and youll discover how a great deal of other evidence for evolution and a billions-of-years-old Universe is similarly explained away. In particular, we have a strong tendency to overdetect agency to think we are witnessing a person, an alien or some other sort of creature or being where in truth theres none. Read this and get the truth. But that sort of fit can be achieved whether Nostradamus had extraordinary abilities or not. We're available through e-mail, live chat and Facebook. This is a really fun read, and will make you think twice about all the strange stories you may hear. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Notice howSchick and Vaughnfirst make the very coherence of the idea dependent on logic, and the nature of the paradigms and evidence surrounding it: [T]here are models of physical reality, consistent with all known physical laws, in which the future does exist now. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Im a philosopher who has spent a great deal of time thinking about the reasonableness of such weird beliefs. 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. Theodore Schick received his B.A. absolutely a relic of the 90s, published right before post-modernity entered the mass public consciousness, before western civilization entered what we now call the digital age. Thus he has always believed that there was such a thing as fate, but such a thing as free will also. Einsteins theory of relativity provides a way of looking at the universe that makes it both logically and physically possible for the future to exist now. It was the book required for my critical thinking course. Rather, his texts were later creatively interpreted to fit what subsequently happened. You shed skin - many, many times. 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? Often, its the most desperate who will turn to such businesses for advice. William Salomone. But as we increasingly come to rely on explaining away evidence in order to try to convince ourselves of the reasonableness of our belief, we begin to drift into delusion. From the UFO photo archives of Gordon MacDonald, From discs in the sky to faces in toast, learn to weigh evidence sceptically without becoming a closed-minded naysayer. Millions of pieces of bread are toasted each morning. And this time in reading it, I thought that I might generate a blog postto accompanyeach chapter, responding to thingsthat leap out at me on this particular read-through. Clearly, Freds testimony about Alice flying around the room is not nearly strong enough. Another reason could be because you are a silent type. It concentrates on weird things, as the title indicates. Learning to listen to others and to ask smart questions is more important. I ended up asking my prof if there were better books out there that discussed critical thinking. I might even gift it to a friend or coworker that I think would be most receptive to what a book like this has in store. You're physically unable to swallow and breathe at the same time. CDs, DVDs, access codes, or lab manuals) is only included with a new textbook purchase. Deduce specific things that must also be true if our hypothesis is true 4. Its an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary evidence. The authors focus on types of logical arguments and proofs, making How to Think about Weird Things a versatile supplement for logic, critical thinking . 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. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. Chestertonbelieved that it washealthyingood pragmatic and Emersonianfashion (Emerson: Consistencyis the hobgoblin of little minds)tohold contradictory ideas. Cours de communication franaise, La France au quotidien - Nouvelle dition, Le franais conomique, jen fais mon affaire, Vocabulaire Progressif Du Francais DES Affaires 2eme Edition -Jean-Luc Penfornis, Discover all study resources forHow to Think About Weird Things Notes, 3 Your subscription to Connect includes the following: SmartBook - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content. Access to your instructors homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course. Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement. The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. 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. The book Critical Thinking (2017) by Tom Chatfield offers a toolkit for what he calls being reasonable in an unreasonable world. pages The next night, the UFO appeared again. You don't enjoy talking too much because you are an introvert. Not, of course, that because this UFO report turned out to have a mundane explanation, all such reports can be similarly dismissed. A worthwhile textbook on critical thinking, written for the modern audience without focusing on pointless abstractions. Click here for the lowest price! Publisher. Theodore Schick received his B.A. Publish Date: Dec 05, 2007. What moral should we draw from this case? | Free shipping on many items! I wish I was given a book like this when I was in middle school. Grieving parents contact spiritualists who offer to put them in contact with their dead children. The early 20th century Catholic essayist and detective fiction writer, G.K. Chesterton, thought it might. Full text of Michael Shermer's talk: Why People Believe Weird Things at TED Talks conference. When it comes to religious and political beliefs, for example, or beliefs about the character of our close relatives, we can find it extraordinarily difficult to change our minds. 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. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. I think that the above quote is something to ponder as a contrast to Schick and Vaughn. 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. His spiritual sightis stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that. I ended up asking my prof if there were better books out there that discussed critical thinking. 100% Success rate. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, 7th Edition ISBN10: 0078038367 | ISBN13: 9780078038365 By Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn 2014 Purchase Options: Lowest Price! It is quite extensive and covers many areas such as: doctor evidence, personal experience, placebo, how to spot quack cures, case studies, animal studies, clinical trials, etc. Shouldnt we give at least as much weight to the testimony of the many people who claim to have benefitted from homeopathic treatment? He is currently professor of philosophy at Muhlenberg College where he has served as Director of Academic Computing, Director of Freshman Seminars, Director of the Muhlenberg Scholars Program, and Chair of the Philosophy Department. I used this as a textbook when I taught critical reasoning. 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. And so he can continue to insist his belief is logically consistent with the evidence. 5. It was the scientist Carl Sagan who in 1980 said: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. By an extraordinary claim, Sagan appears to have meant an extraordinarily improbable claim, such as that Alice can fly by flapping her arms, or that she can move objects with her mind. It was the book required for my critical thinking course. We want, as far as possible, to be reasonable. Ordinarily, we would just take Freds word for that. Precognitionmay belogically possible and consistent with some paradigms that do not violate physical law, but if the actualdirect evidence for it is poor or ambiguous, then we should be cautious about believing that it really exists. The Mars face, on the other hand, provides an example of weak or non-existent evidence. I believe the single biggest failing of American education today is its focus on memorization and regurgitation, along with just enough basic arithmetic to work at WalMart, and its total neglect of critical thinking skills. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncan's murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. Take homeopathy, for example. It is also called automatic semantic memories that may or may not hold a deep-seated meaning. Mayfield Publishing Company. Polls indicate that a third or more of US citizens believe that the Universe is less than 10,000 years old. The deputy sheriff described a large lighted object. Schick andVaughns book isa rather popular college text, and itsin its sixth edition. Living Philosophy: A Historical Introduction to Philosophical Ideas, Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues, Beginning Ethics: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023. Acknowledgement of cultural contexts should always be a part of knowledge sharing and building. He is noted for his work on quantum mechanics (particula How to think about weird things focuses on how to find answers to tough or weird questions. I couldn't stop thinking about how this book was, "so cool." How To Think About Weird Things 4th Edition by Theodore Schick Synopses & Reviews Publisher Comments This brief, inexpensive text helps the reader to think critically, using examples from the weird claims and beliefs that abound in our culture to demonstrate the sound evaluation of any claim. 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. The final chapter provides a formula to follow to examine claims, consider alternate hypotheses, and rate the claim based on several principles such as simplicity and scope. What does it matter if Sally is a closed-minded naysayer when it comes to belief in psychic powers? Such models draw their inspiration from Hermann Minkowskis interpretation of Einsteins special theory of relativity. Note: Supplemental material (e.g. And, of course, many trust in alternative medicines such as homeopathy, the effectiveness of which seems to run contrary to our scientific understanding of how the world actually works. How easily people can come to believe something that is not reflective of their own beliefs or personal experience. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. No. Add to Wish List Link to this Book Add to Bookbag Sell this Book Buy it at Amazon Compare Prices. Many believe that the 16th-century seer Nostradamus predicted many important historical events, from the Great Fire of London to the assassination of John F Kennedy. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Fantastic book! Heres Chesterton, from the second chapter of his book, Orthodoxy : Mysticism keeps men sane. Psyche is a digital magazine from Aeon that illuminates the human condition through psychology, philosophy and the arts. Product Identifiers. Yes, if there was an ancient Martian civilisation, then we might discover what appeared to be a huge face built on the surface of the planet. It falters in terms of how to reconcile these approaches with the existence of unscientific phenomena which cannot be wholly undone without cruelty, discrimination or violence - culture, gender identity, etc. If some alternative medicines really work, casually dismissing them out of hand and refusing to properly consider the evidence could also cost lives. The class itself completely changed how I think about all things in life (in fact was the most life changing moment I think in my life so far) and I'm sure this was also due to this book in some ways. I'm still fuming a little over this book, though I think that has a lot to do with where I am in my relationship with science and critical thinking: it can be very hard to read texts that say things that you have only just recently abandoned in yourself. Show me Im mistaken in believing that the Matterhorn is near Chamonix, and Ill just drop that belief. Not everything we encounter is weird and spooky and paranormal. Summary Full Book Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. As the probe passed over the Cydonia region, it photographed what appeared to be an enormous, reptilian-looking face 800 feet high and nearly 2 miles long. Do these 100 examples provide us with strong evidence that Simon really does have some sort of psychic ability? Publisher. Conspiracy theories such as QAnon and the Sandy Hook hoax shape our current political landscape and feed extremist political thinking. He is currently professor of philosophy at Muhlenberg College where he has served as Director of Academic Computing, Director of Freshman Seminars, Director of the Muhlenberg Scholars Program, and Chair of the Philosophy Department. ISBN-10 007287953X ISBN-13 978-0072879537 Edition 4th Publisher McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages Publication date An illustration ofhow Schick and Vaughn bring their reflections on paradigms, logical possibility, and physical impossibility together is in their discussion of precognition: what are we to make of people who claim tohave seenthe future? Aug 23, critical thinking reading and writing 7th edition ebook. Impressive anecdotes can also be generated by means of a little creative interpretation. Our wandering mind can never go idle. is a philosopher and author. Overview; View 14 Editions Details; Reviews Lists; Related Books; Publish Date. The fact is, we should expect huge coincidences. Observe 2. Thats why such features fail to provide strong evidence for such a civilisation. Very useful book for understanding sound scientific and logical principles for evaluating information. Maybe ideasneednt hold together too tightly or coherently for them to be useful to us. 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. But, of course, just because a belief involves something weird doesnt mean its not true. Often, when were presented with strong evidence that our belief is false, we can easily change our mind. How to Think About Weird Things was recommended as a primer on diagnosing Woo by Orac over at Scienceblogs. Had I been so fortunate, this book would have been the best text I could imagine for such a course. Take young-Earth creationists, for example. 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. Discover your study material at Stuvia. Believing an agent is present when its not, on the other hand, is likely to be far less costly. 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". Not a bad book; I wish I had read it when I was a young man, it could have possibly made me if not smarter more systematic. Many have died who might have been saved because they believed they should reject conventional medicine and opted for ineffective alternatives. If he saw two truths that seemed to contradict each other, he would take the two truths and the contradiction along with them. The moral I draw is that UFO cases that have multiple eyewitnesses and even independent hard evidence (the radar blip) may well crop up occasionally anyway, even if there are no alien craft in our skies. This book really makes you "think about what you're thinking about." 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. Finally I Can Win Arguments With Internet Trolls, Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2018. . 5. Being sceptical about such reports of alien craft, ghosts or fairies is not knee-jerk, fingers-in-our-ears naysaying. The cover was a little work out but it had all the pages and no markings! Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. . Using video, images and music, pro. 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. Conspiracy theories are also popular, including that the Holocaust never happened and that the terrorist attacks on the United States of 11 September 2001 were an inside job. Daves friends present him with a great deal of evidence that hes mistaken. I couldn't stop thinking about how this book was, "so cool." . Jane walks in with a wet coat and umbrella and tells me its raining. People don't fall in love with your sameness; they fall in love with your quirks and often don't realize it. Summer says that some kids have asked her why she hangs out with "the freak" so much. Michael Shermer. 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. Clearly, people can be exploited. Their niceness is a mask they've deliberately put on. Ham believes that, by explaining away the evidence against young-Earth creationism in this way, he can show that his theory fits and so is scientifically confirmed by that evidence: According to Ham, young-Earth creationists and evolutionists do the same thing: they look for ways to make the evidence fit the theory to which they have already committed themselves: But, of course, scientists havent just found ways of showing how the theory of evolution can be made consistent with the evidence. I was hoping for a serious look into critical thinking. Many young-Earth creationists explain away this record as a result of the Biblical flood, which they suppose drowned and then buried living things in huge mud deposits. After reading this and other critical thinking books (very rarely do complex processes take over night), they will help you think more rigorously, logically, thoroughly, and, believe it or not, intuitively. This is very like the poets capacioushabitof looking at the worldfrom very different vantagesand metaphors without any rushing to artificially reconcile or justify them (otherwise known as negative capability). Still, Chesterton would seem to have support from important philosophers like Isaiah Berlin and Richard Rorty, who long suggested that we should use different language tools for different problems, and that not everything in life holds together in a neat way. This view of the universe has come to beknown as the block universe view because it takes the universe to bea static, unchanging block. But the universe doesnt seem static. This is an excellent book that explains critical thinking, Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2014. Sometimes when we are doing trivial things, like taking a shower, our minds begin an involuntary brainstorming session and we come up with the most brilliant ideas and, at times, weirdest thoughts. We tend significantly to underestimate how prone to illusion and deception we are when it comes to the wacky and weird. Lets begin with an illustration of the kind of case that can so spectacularly divide opinion. No matter how much evidence is presented to Dave, its always possible for him to cook up another explanation. Language Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm . Not your idea of fun? However, abandoning a belief isnt always so easy. It's probably best you don't try it. Three thumbs up. Print from $85.94 Connect from $90.72 Loose-Leaf Purchase Out of Stock ISBN10: 125941650X | ISBN13: 9781259416507 Details 3. The human brain is a weird thing. Finally, the press got interested. 1. 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. The whole secret of mysticism is this: that man can understand everything by the help of what he does not understand. 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. If your in a class using this as it's source material you'll enjoy the class! in philosophy from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Brown University. 3. 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 . Bought used but the conditions were great! Cite this document Summary The review "Critical Thinking for a New Age and Uncertain World" focuses on the critical, thorough, and multifaceted analysis of the major issues concerning the process of thinking about weird things, namely critical thinking for a new age and uncertain world Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing The Atlantic article The Cognitive Biases Tricking Your Brain (2018) by Ben Yagoda provides a great introduction to thinking that can lead us astray, including confirmation bias. I focus here on a particular kind of weird belief: not only are these beliefs that concern the enticingly odd, theyre also beliefs that the general public finds particularly difficult to assess. Our UFO story isnt over yet. My references to it will be from the 5th edition. Get help and learn more about the design. Show me the evidence. Psychologists refer to the discomfort we feel in such situations when our beliefs or attitudes are in conflict as cognitive dissonance. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore, Jr. Schick, Lewis Vaughn. Topics will include creationism and evolution, medical . I wish every high school student in America would read this book - but that would make life a lot harder for legions of politicians, hucksters, and scam artists. In 1976, six workers reported a UFO over the site of a nuclear plant being constructed near the town of Apex, North Carolina. In any case, its really, really good. Definitely one of those books you keep on the shelf and hold on to and return to years down the road. So if the future is determined, as precognition suggests, then only one course of action is open to you, and you are not free to do otherwise. 2. So what creates the illusion ofchange? It's what makes people curious about you and want to . by Alanna Okun BuzzFeed Staff 1. Shermer's conclusion is very simple. Heres an example. And here we encountera sidebar titled The Psychic Scorecard (29) which brieflytouches onthe bleak track record of professionalpsychics. I gave a blog response to chapter1 here. Coherence is something that Schick and Vaughn, later in their book (in chapter 4), insist is a crucial elementto any reasonable persons claim to knowledge (75): Ordinarily, if a proposition fails to cohere with the rest of our beliefs, we are not justified in believing it. How to think about weird things : critical thinking for a new age: 1. Being weird is your hidden advantage. Random thoughts are mind pops that comes suddenly, when you were not trying to think over it. The former US president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy were reported to have consulted an astrologer before making any major political decision. It has to answer questions to obtain explanations of the unknown. It's thought that your skin replaces itself regularly without you ever realizing it. web pages Full of misgivings, a young woman travels with her new boyfriend to his parents' secluded farm. Jefferson believed that he had arrived at the most parsimonious explanation for meteorite claims, and was not just wrong, but spectacularly so. Those babies took milk and turned it into 12 pounds of flesh, bone, and brain. Required fields are marked *. 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. ISE How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. Saying smart things and giving smart answers are important. 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. Without good reasons, humans have no hope of understanding the things we call weird. To what extent can we even trust the supposed scientific experts? How to Think about Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age - 7th edition ISBN13: 9780078038365 ISBN10: 0078038367 by Theodore Schick Cover type: Paperback Edition: 7TH 14 Copyright: 2014 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Published: 2014 International: No Author bio Table of contents Digital rights eBOOK $57.50 You Save $28.50 (33%) How you are an introvert above quote is something to ponder as a contrast to Schick and.. He saw two truths and the contradiction along with them Ratings 12 to. To others and to ask smart questions is more important fee ) a print version of the many who... 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