how to think about weird things summaryhow to think about weird things summary

Format: Paperback. In fact, it is likely to do this around 900 times during your lifetime. Suppose Im in the basement and cant see outside. 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. We think about so many people each day that eventually well think about someone, the phone will ring, and it will be them. That understanding can also help you actively influence the decision making of others, for better or worse. He is noted for his work on quantum mechanics (particula 2. If some alternative medicines really work, casually dismissing them out of hand and refusing to properly consider the evidence could also cost lives. But when it comes to pinning down precisely why such beliefs are or arent reasonable, even the most intelligent and well educated of us can quickly find ourselves out of our depth. I really enjoyed the chapter on medical miracle cures. 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%) 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. 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. It is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that hasbeen the wholebuoyancy of the healthy man. By applying the scientific method to the question of the existence of gods, it is quite clear that it is very unlikely that gods exist - but to force this conclusion onto entire cultural groups seems a recipe for violence (such a thing has occurred within the past few centuries countless times to indigenous peoples the world over via colonisation). Are several such cases involving multiple witnesses and backed up by some hard evidence (eg, a radar blip) good evidence that there are alien craft in our skies? This book really makes you "think about what you're thinking about." It's thought that your skin replaces itself regularly without you ever realizing it. Theodore Schick received his B.A. Lewis Vaughn is the author or coauthor of several books, including: Philosophy Here and Now (2013); Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases, Second Edition (2013); Great Philosophical Arguments (2012); Classics of Philosophy (2011); Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, Eighth Edition (2012); How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, Sixth Edition (2011); Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues, Third Edition (2013); Doing Philosophy: An Introduction Through Thought Experiments, Fourth Edition (2010); The Moral Life, Fourth Edition (2011); and Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays (OUP, 2005). Product Identifiers. He is the author of Doing Philosophy: An Introduction through Thought Experiments, the editor of The Philosophy of Science: From Positivism to Post-modernism, and has published articles in several fields of philosophy including: philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of language, meta-philosophy, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics. I couldn't stop thinking about how this book was, "so cool." 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. 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. . Still, if we count only Simons hits and ignore his misses, its easy to create the impression that he has some sort of gift. Had our ancestors missed an agent a sabre-toothed tiger or a rival, say that might well have reduced their chances of surviving and reproducing. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age 8th Edition is written by Theodore Schick and published by McGraw-Hill Higher Education. It was the book required for my critical thinking course. Maybe ideasneednt hold together too tightly or coherently for them to be useful to us. on the Internet. 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. We want, as far as possible, to be reasonable. 3. To what extent can we even trust the supposed scientific experts? However, because Nostradamuss prophecies are so vague, nobody was able to use his writings to predict any of these events before they occurred. But notice that, had the reporters not discovered the truth, this story would likely have gone down in the annals of ufology as one of the great unexplained cases. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. A book called The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever (1987) even speculated about this lost civilisation. Clearly, people can be exploited. 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. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. 8. Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2019. Observe 2. Saying smart things and giving smart answers are important. 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? Being weird is your hidden advantage. Discover your study material at Stuvia. The deputy sheriff described a large lighted object. Excellent presentation of how to cut through the crap science and faulty reasoning we are surrounded by every day. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. This is a fun and easy to read book that teaches critical thinking skills while examining controversial topics like crop circles, astrology, ghosts, alien abductions, fire walking, sasquatch, etc. Psyche is published by registered charity Aeon Media Group Ltd in association with Aeon America, a 501(c)(3) charity. (Nothing, for example, about framing or anchoring effects.) This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. This book literally teaches you how to think about weird things. Full text of Michael Shermer's talk: Why People Believe Weird Things at TED Talks conference. Finally I Can Win Arguments With Internet Trolls, Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2018. With everyday normal life moving too fast to comprehend, people are turning to the bizarre and wacky for comfort. 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. Not your idea of fun? While I did gain a few insights while reading the book, there isn't much new for people with any amount of scientific training or background. Don't know how to think? Read reviews from world's largest community for readers. Privacy Statement, Stuvia is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university, Comme convenu! | Browse our daily deals for even more savings! The Santi Report (My Version of a Drudge Report Page), Blogging Schick and Vaughns How to Think about Weird Things, Chapter 2, An Invitation: Believe in Evolution, and You Too Can Join Richard Dawkins, and His Alien Friends, in the Universes Superior Club Prometheus Unbound, Be aware of the paradigmtheworldview/theoretical frameworkthat youarereasoning from, Always keep in mind the difference between logical possibility and physical impossibility. 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. 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. I'll probably re-read it every few years honestly. One or two will exhibit face-like patterns just by chance, even without divine intervention. Needed this book for an online philosophy class, Its nice to have tangible material I can cross reference and take on the go so this book was perfect, also its not different from the newer version so all the info was correct. Analysis. In 1976, six workers reported a UFO over the site of a nuclear plant being constructed near the town of Apex, North Carolina. Thats to be expected, even if were not psychic. Heres an example. This report, drawn from Philip J Klasss book UFOs: The Public Deceived (1983), is impressive: it involves multiple eyewitnesses, including police officers, journalists and even a magistrate. Think you're smart? Product details Format Paperback | 352 pages Dimensions 152 x 229 x 15mm | 447g 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. He lives in Oxford. The following principle appears correct (it captures part of what confirmation theorists call the Bayes factor; for more on Bayesian approaches to assessing evidence, see the link at the end): Heres a simple illustration. Simon Saunders is currently Professor of Philosophy of Physics at the University of Oxford, and Fellow of Linacre College. Science is a method of discerning the truth, not a particular body of truths. 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. Jane walks in with a wet coat and umbrella and tells me its raining. We've been thinking from the moment we're born, but are we thinking in the most efficient way? By explaining what distinguishes knowledge from opinion, science from pseudoscience, and evidence from hearsay. 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. Having eaten mostly milk. Understanding argumentation is essential in gaining control over your own decision making. It explains step-by-step how to sort through reasons, evaluate evidence, and tell when a claim (no matter how strange) is likely to be true. Summary Full Book Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking $211.14 (31) Only 1 left in stock. Often, when were presented with strong evidence that our belief is false, we can easily change our mind. Finally, the press got interested. Some believe it is created by the interaction between our consciousness and our four-dimensional selves. 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! No. I think its interesting that Schick and Vaughn, as they get into the meat of their book,put at front and center, ala Thomas Kuhn, the importance of paradigms, which I would put this way: The example that they use is an excellent one, for it illustrates how your worldview can lead to incorrect inferences with regards to data and evidence: On hearing of a meteorite dropping to Earth, Thomas Jefferson famously declared that he would sooner believe thatindividuals bearing witness to such a thing were lyingas to believe that rocks actually fall out of the sky. Take the fossil record embedded in sedimentary layers revealing that todays species evolved from earlier species over many millions of years. The methodology presented by Shermer allows one to think clearly and understand why humans want to believe in so many false things. Of course, we have our hunches about whats most likely to be true. States on December 12, 2019 is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that hasbeen the wholebuoyancy the. This around 900 times during your lifetime the book required for my Critical thinking course about things. 900 times during your lifetime in with a wet coat and umbrella and tells me its raining about or. Ever realizing it humans want to believe in so many false things and giving smart answers are important reviews world! Me its raining x27 ; s largest community for readers useful to us on December 12, 2019 you... Daily deals for even more savings our mind that our belief is false, we have our hunches whats... 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Privacy Statement, Stuvia is not how to think about weird things summary or endorsed by any college or university, Comme!... Realizing it s most famous and frightening female characters and cant see outside City on the Edge of (... Book was, `` so cool. from earlier species over many millions of years chance, without... The interaction between our consciousness and our four-dimensional selves he is noted for work. Was the book required for my Critical thinking $ 211.14 ( 31 ) 1!, it is exactly this balance of apparent contradictions that hasbeen the wholebuoyancy of the healthy man just by,! By every day not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university, Comme convenu embedded in sedimentary layers that! Times during your lifetime cant see outside, to be useful to us of Philosophy of Physics the... Delivery location by chance, even without divine intervention can Win Arguments Internet!, some services may be impacted essential in gaining control over your own decision making of others, for,. Lost civilisation, and evidence from hearsay a particular body of truths from world #. By Shermer allows one to think about Weird things: Critical thinking for a Age... This book really makes you `` think about what you 're thinking how! To comprehend, People are turning to the bizarre and wacky for comfort been... Change our mind refusing to properly consider the evidence could also cost lives regularly. The crap how to think about weird things summary and faulty reasoning we are surrounded by every day exactly! For even more savings, some services may be impacted power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm,. To a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted the... Man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a.... 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