It pulsates with amazing ideas - and I really relished every word. Basically, it showed that on the upside we humans are amazing thinking animals, capable of using logic and conducting ex One of the most exciting books I have ever read. Basically, it showed that on the upside we humans are amazing thinking animals, capable of using logic and conducting experiments to further our understanding of nature and the world.
But on the downside our brains are also designed to veer us towards some extraordinary distortions in thinking. The very things that make us able to make wise judgements about the world, can all too easily lead us to being mildly fanciful, or even bizarrely so. Part of that is the difference in brain structure between individual people, part of it is just our natural way of thinking, which includes a host of weird and odd biases.
There was so much I got from this book Absolutely fascinating! Finally, a little scenario presented in the book. What would you do if asked to wear for a while a jumper that belonged to a children's TV presenter? Many people me included would only feel comfortable with the TV presenter's jumper, yet rationally and very obviously , it makes no difference whatsoever.
You don't catch things from jumpers. Apparently people who have transplants feel the same. They don't want transplants from people we consider degenerates. This is just one of the descriptions in the book that helps the reader see their own thinking biases I am concerned that this review has been much too pedestrian, and that I have failed to do justice to this amazing book.
Please, pick it up, and see for yourself what a wonderfully good read it is. By the way, I found the last few chapters of the book, detailing the history of astronomy and its discoveries, boring, I can't get into anything to do with astronomy , and I skipped those. It did nothing to detract from the wonderfulness of the bulk of the book View all 6 comments. Feb 12, Mikey B. The first half of this book is quite good. The author explains rationally how the brain operates and even gets down to neurons but it is readable.
The brain the neurons is always looking for patterns. We have done this for thousands of years to survive. It is a lot easier to find patterns than to be a skeptic. Some of the patterns are correct and some are not.
Page 62 my book People believe weird things because of our evolved needs to believe non-weird things. Page 88 Humans readily find patter The first half of this book is quite good. Page 88 Humans readily find patterns and impart agency [meaning and intention] to them.
The scientific methods of testing and verification are something humans are not naturally good at — it is easier to believe. Humans are quite adept at believing when there is no proof. Page 78 Uncertainty makes people anxious, and anxiety is related to magical thinking. On a recent TV show a guest commented that those who believe in one conspiracy theory will easily latch onto others.
They become good at juggling several! The author does make the point that social anxiety makes people more apt to believe — and that the believers are very good at group-think — religious organizations come to mind. To extend the idea of social anxiety it is interesting that in general societies that offer little in terms of social security those lacking in health care, subsidized education, welfare, old age security… tend to be more religious — and indeed religious groups sometimes provide the needed security net — like education and health care.
European countries that do have a good security net tend to be more secular and less religious. We all like to believe in immortality. Unfortunately, scientifically there is no proof of this dualism — no brain means no mind.
Spinoza page said that most of us have a low tolerance for ambiguity. The brain and society award belief. Page God is the ultimate pattern that explains everything that happens. God is the ultimate intentional agent who gives the universe meaning… the cognitive basis of shamanism, paganism, animism, polytheism, monotheism, and all forms of theisms and spiritualisms devised by humans. The author brings up the constant search for extra-terrestrial life forms as a type of religious quest.
I was disappointed with his examination of conspiracy theories. I was more interested in why these outrageous conspiracy theories keep popping up and spreading. What leads people to believe these things?
The lunatics are taking over — as we saw a few weeks ago at the U. I found the last section Part IV Belief in Things Seen — over one hundred pages to be irrelevant and this lowered my rating.
I had little interest in the authors libertarian beliefs. Some of the examples he provided like the U. Most countries in the democratic world have more than two viable parties. This book could easily have been condensed.
The author had a tendency to ramble. The topics of cosmology and explorations were of little interest to me and seemed off-topic.
Nevertheless, I found his discussions of patternicity and agenticity very interesting as explanations for religion. View all 10 comments. Sep 22, Tariq Mahmood rated it it was amazing Shelves: psychology , philosophy. Shermar makes an impressive and convincing argument against belief. Not only religious and political beliefs but also scientific beliefs which makes this book even more special. Any believer may find this book pretty damning to his beliefs.
The last chapters were specially informative on the way science was confronted by the Catholic Corporation of the Church. It took the Church around years to finally withdraw their claim against Galileo. No wonder believers are a resilient bunch. May 12, Ellen rated it it was ok Shelves: reviewed , read , nonfiction. This book bills itself as "why people believe weird things," but it's really more of "why you shouldn't believe weird things.
Shermer's tone comes across as defensive an This book bills itself as "why people believe weird things," but it's really more of "why you shouldn't believe weird things. Shermer's tone comes across as defensive and, to be honest, rather arrogant , particularly when he's recounting his own "journey" from belief to skepticism and when he's quoting from others who argue against him, then pointing out why they're wrong.
This is not so much a scientific exploration of an interesting psychological topic as a manifesto about everyone the author thinks is crazy. The "Politics of Belief" chapter was particularly and rather offensively bizarre; the thesis of most chapters is "there's a right and a wrong, and science will tell us which is which," while the thesis of that chapter seemed to be, "there's no right and wrong, but here's why you should be a libertarian like me anyway.
I wish the book had been entirely about what it claims to be about and divided up by topic -- "Patternicity," "Agenticity," "Confirmation Bias," etc.
View 2 comments. Dec 20, Amir Tesla rated it liked it Shelves: neuroscience , cognitive-science , sociology. From sensory data flowing in through the senses the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. The first process I call patternicity: the tendency to find meaningful patterns in both meaningful and meaningless data. The second process I call agenticity: the tendency to infuse patterns with meaning, intention, and agency.
Our brains evolved to connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen. These meaningful patterns become beliefs, and these beliefs shape our understanding of reality. Once beliefs are formed, the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which adds an emotional boost of further confidence in the beliefs and thereby accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive feedback loop of belief confirmation.
Belief dependant realism 2. What you believe is what you see. The label is the behavior. Theory molds data. Concepts determine percepts. Belief-dependent realism. Uncertainty makes people anxious, and anxiety is related to magical thinking. Even such base emotions as hunger can influence your perceptual patternicity.
A study found that when ambiguous images are shown to both hungry and satiated people, the former are more likely to see food. And apropos the current recession, economic environments may lead to misperceptions where, in one experiment, children from poor neighborhoods and working-class families tend to overestimate the size of coins compared to the estimates made by children from wealthy neighborhoods and families".
This book has been on my Kindle for ages and in December I finally got round to reading it. As it's packed with information it took me almost a month to finish it. This book is all about belief: religious faith, belief in paranormal things, aliens, political systems You name it.
Shermer explains how we form beliefs in our brains and the importance of our tendency to recognize patterns. I enjoyed his writing style. He explains complicated concepts with real-life stories. That way the book This book has been on my Kindle for ages and in December I finally got round to reading it.
That way the book is very approachable even though it's incredibly dense. I loved reading about the neurobiology and all the science behind our beliefs. Shermer is a sceptic and with this book he makes a case for the power of science.
I would definitely recommend this book to almost everybody! View all 4 comments. Sep 07, Tanja Berg rated it really liked it Shelves: psychology-psychiatry , science. I have been following Michael Shermer's column in "Scientific American" for years. It's the first thing in the magazine that I read. This book definitely did not dissapoint.
Shermer starts off with anecdotes and then goes into the very specific. Oft repeated throughout the book is that belief comes first, rationalization of the beliefs afterward.
First we decide to believe, then the evidence collected tends to support what we believe. This is regardless if the subject is religion, paranormal, UF I have been following Michael Shermer's column in "Scientific American" for years. This is regardless if the subject is religion, paranormal, UFO's or politics.
Shermer explains that our brains are pattern seeking and some people are disposed toward connecting dots even when there is no pattern patternicity. Humans also "infuse patterns with meaning, intention and agency", "agenticity".
We want to believe things and so we do. I found chapter 11, "Politics of Belief" particularly illuminating. Like other liberals. I found this book highly informative and quite amusing, although I'm sure some people would hate it. Your believing brains have chosen another truth and will not be swayed. I try to live my life on the basis that I might be wrong about many things, but maybe I am simply self delusional. Somethings will never change and never would I become a conservative politically.
Other things I would change my mind about, if evidence was there and experiments could be repeated. I try to be open minded, but my brains shall not fall out View 1 comment. Aug 31, Miguel rated it did not like it Shelves: psychology. Shermer writes: "What finally tipped my belief into skepticism was the problem of evil A just and loving God who had the power to heal would surely heal Maureen [Shermer's injured girldfriend].
He didn't. As a future graduate in psychology, I can totally now agree with what Graham Lawton once said. That atheism is psychologically impossible because of how humans think. There are several studies showing that even people who claim to be committed atheists tacitly hold re Shermer writes: "What finally tipped my belief into skepticism was the problem of evil There are several studies showing that even people who claim to be committed atheists tacitly hold religious beliefs.
Mar 31, Darwin8u rated it really liked it Shelves: I have to admit at the beginning that I have a significantly pro-skeptic bias. I love skeptics, so it is hard for me not to like the book. Anyway, 'Believing Brain' was worth my time and was a nice homage to science, and the scientific method. Jun 28, Terence M I'm moving house and damn the pixies! Audio book - hours approx. Generally, authors do not make good narrators and Shermer is no exception. His delivery is stilted and where he thinks he has written something amusing, he uses a strange vocal characterisation which does not sound funny, but does sound most annoying.
Some time in the futur Audio book - hours approx. Some time in the future, when my vision improves we can but hope! This author is no fun. Many things I enjoy reading about conspiracy theories, religion, UFOs, ghosts, etc. And my intellectual mind agrees with him I would really like if Bigfoot is stalking the US northwestern wilderness. But there is no scientific evidence. Only anecdotes exist.
I am one of those people who needs proven facts. I enjoy legends and folklore and I hope some of these things someday end up being proven true. Nov 19, Socraticgadfly rated it did not like it. This review should prove that I don't always "high-side" my reviewing stars. In fact, let me be blunt — now that I've read one Shermer book, I have no more desire to read further writings of his than I do of Sam Harris, and for somewhat similar reasons.
In Shermer's case, here's why. Here's derivative and blind spots intersecting -- Shermer briefly, but briefly talks about Kahneman's and Tversky's study in behavioral economics without also citing Dan Ariely, among others. One will learn much mo This review should prove that I don't always "high-side" my reviewing stars.
One will learn much more about how irrational human behavior is in matters of economics, and related psychology, by going to the source. Find out more about OverDrive accounts. Michael Shermer. Little, Brown Book Group.
Media The Believing Brain. Save Not today. Cutting the politics away from the facts, Why Darwin Matters is an incisive examination of what is at stake in the debate over evolution.
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. The Science of Good and Evil is ultimately a profound look at the moral animal, belief, and the scientific pursuit of truth. Yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since Richard Nixon fired his science advisors.
In the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicized manner; spun or distorted to fit the speaker's agenda; or, when they're too inconvenient, ignored entirely. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, evolution, sex education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others-the Bush administration's positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus.
Federal science agencies-once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic presidents-are increasingly staffed by political appointees who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science.
This is not unique to the Bush administration, but it is largely a Republican phenomenon, born of a conservative dislike of environmental, health, and safety regulation, and at the extremes, of evolution and legalized abortion. In The Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney ties together the disparate strands of the attack on science into a compelling and frightening account of our government's increasing unwillingness to distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience.
Beliefs: What are they? Find out more about OverDrive accounts. Michael Shermer. Henry Holt and Co. Bestselling author Michael Shermer's comprehensive and provocative theory on how beliefs are born, formed, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. In this work synthesizing thirty years of research, psychologist, historian of science, and the world's best-known skeptic Michael Shermer upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world.
Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow.
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