Ever wonder why people believe in UFO abductions, mind-reading, reincarnation, urban legends, not to mention “scientific creationism” and the pernicious myth that the Holocaust never happened? Dr. Michael Shermer, the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, is a genuine ghost-buster, a relentless crusader against superstition and pseudoscience. Based on his bestselling book, Why People Believe Weird Things, Dr Shermers lecture will debunk junk science, bad science, voodoo science, pathological science, pseudoscience, and plain old nonsense. The event will be filled with humour,insight, and personal anecdotes – a highly entertaining wake-up call that has proved a hit on college campuses. Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Science Lecture Series at Caltech, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Shermers latest book is The Mind of the Market, on evolutionary economics. His last book was Why Darwin Matters: Evolution and the Case Against Intelligent Design, and he is the author of Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown, about how the mind works and how thinking goes wrong. His book The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Share Care, and Follow the Golden Rule, is on the evolutionary origins of morality and how to be good without God. He wrote a …
A Natural Evolutionary Approach
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I have proof 4u2c
It scares me to think that if the internet hadn’t came around I would be believing in all kinds of crazy stuff. I remember being fascinated with the concept of aliens as a kid and had gotten probably some of the first UFOlogy books given to me. I wasn’t 100% convinced they were out there… but definitely like 75%
Same with ghosts and all of the other common urban myths.
Thank the spaghetti monster for the internet!
@Cacmypants Who’s more arrogant, a skeptic who questions things and doesn’t just take answers at face value because he heard it from an authority, or a religious person who thinks he has all the answers because their book says so?
@Cacmypants
Not all of them, but many definitely are.
Proper skepticism is quite a difficult conceptual tightrope to walk. Many can’t do it very well, even many of the big name skeptics.
A back-slapping session at a skeptics circle-jerk like this isn’t really the best place to hunt for good specimens, though.
(pollice verso, no doubt)
Which one of you pet psychoses did he make fun of?
“Is it just me, or are all skeptics extremely arrogant and closed off?”
It’s just you.
Is it just me, or are all skeptics extremely arrogant and closed off?
Also… notice he is marketing his book(s)if Shermer was truly passionate about converying his perspectives, he would provide his information for free.
He is also focusing on topics that are essentially easy to refute, not any areas that might prove difficult. Plus, why does he never stop rambling and get to the point.
Laughter is a powerful (yet hollow) means of persuation, Shermer is exploiting it to it’s fullest.
@Josh111485
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Utter rubbish and a dangerous attitude. You cannot refute anything by giggling, misrepresenting or over-simplifying opposing views. This is just playing to the frightened masses’ need for reassurance that all is well. Go back to sleep.
Great video! Thank you for posting!
Thank you so much for posting this! You are the best! Greetings from Los Angeles, CA! I support the Center For Inquiry and all other rational thinking organizations!
Keep up the good work!