The full title of the book is:
Why People Believe Weird Things:
Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time
by Micheal Shermer
The author analyzes this important question in book-length depth. My favorite chapter was entitled "Why Smart People Believe Weird Things" and it answered questions -- or at least offered possible explainations -- for something that has always puzzled me...
How can even the very smartest of us -- Nobel Laureates and such -- be so
completely wrong about some things?
Some jumping-off points for the discussion...
* Do you have an opinion on this topic?
* DO people believe wierd things?
- If so, identify some of the weirdest...
- If not, please defend that position.
* Do YOU "believe" anything that you know down deep simply cant' be true?
- How does that affect you? Why do you allow the belief to persist?
* Can you think of why even an intelligent person can believe something that
is simply and obviously false?
* What are the ramifications to the world/to humanity of this phenomena?
* Why do you think that people believe weird things?
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