How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age

My wife is a believer in all things paranormal, and I am a true skeptic with an education in experimental psychology. We have a shaky truce in our house about these issues, and I have developed an intense interest in the claims made in astrology, channeling, ESP, NDE and the like.

This book lays out the logic for analyzing claims made in the name of science or the paranormal. We are told first of all that knowledge without evidence is not knowledge; it may constitute a belief, but it is not knowledge. What is reliable evidence? What is objective truth? What is the value of anecdotal evidence? What are the criteria of adequacy for a hypothesis? How is a scientific study properly set up? What sort of studies can establish the effectiveness of a medical treatment beyond a reasonable doubt?

The author discusses all of this and more as he applies the logic learned to medicine, dowsing, astrology, ESP, Channeling, and even UFO abductions. Its an informative, entertaining book that will educate without boring you or even making your poor brain work overtime. If nothing else you can read the book, and impress (or bore) your friends by telling them you just read a book on applied epistemology.


Excellent.. read this a couple of months ago   December 29, 1999
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

An excellent book on how to think critically. It's full of detailed examples of erroneous thinking, and that's why I believe some people tend to think the authors are misrepresenting through the straw man fallacy. If you've ever read any other books on critical thinking, you would know that very few of them use detail examples of error tendencies, and instead use specificial examples and then move on to the next error. Schick and Vaughn go into great details of the error, and then go on to show us WHY it is an error. In order for them to do this, they have to give us background knowledge of the example.. and i believe it is this process that some, who for whatever reason (ie, to protect themselves from dissonance), come to see their methods as the strawman fallacy. There is no way they could include every argument into every example.. otherwise their book would be the size of the Britannica Encyclopedia. But they do an excellent job in presenting a fair argument.

I remember when I first started reading it... i didn't like it either.. mainly because I found it insulting and hurting to find some of my beliefs were so illogical. But now I am a better person for it.


Relevant and Clear - THE Critical Thinking course text   November 22, 1998
 17 out of 21 found this review helpful

This book casts the light of critical reason upon some of the more shady intellectual fads of the late twentieth century.

The book's aim is two-fold. On the one hand it aims to teach critical thinking skills by the use of examples which enliven certain methods of rational thought. Unlike some earlier texts it does not make the error of thinking that logic is rationality and puts forward a far richer notion of rationality - a clarification of the ways of rationality which is going to be directly useful to the students.

On the other hand, the book examines and sharply criticises the arguments for various irrational claims and beliefs - such as astrology and social relativism - that have plagued our times. The authors are careful to differentiate between the truth of a claim, the rationality of accepting it, and its social desirability. As such the book is a timely antidote to the popular, convenient but irresponsible notion that imagining the world to be an equitable place is a fair substitute to actually doing the hard work necessary to create such a world. What is perhaps even more important, the book makes it clear that reasoned debate based upon the assumption of an objective reality is necessary for human interactions to reach beyond primal screams and applications of brute force.

The only criticism I have of the book is that in a number of places it simplifies both view-points and debates. Still, this is necessary in an introductory text to avoid swamping with detail and the simplifications that are made do not misrepresent the essence of the issues.

When I next teach a Critical Thinking course this will be the text I use.


Calibrate Your B.S. Detector   September 21, 2002
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Time to calibrate your b.s. detector! Presents the fundamentals of critical thinking - absolutely essential no matter who you are - by tackling a wide range of popular beliefs roughly encompassed in the "New Age" movement. Whether or not you find the authors' arguments against channeling, UFOs, prophecy, etc. convincing, you will develop a host of critical thinking skills in the process of reading and thinking about the material.

I periodically revisit this book to sharpen my own critical thinking skills and to read certain passages to friends whom I feel might benefit from a little common (not so common) sense injected into their lives. Read How to Think About Weird Things and Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini and you will be well-prepared to defend yourself against stupid [stuff] wherever and whenever it might arise!


Should be required reading for all college freshmen...   November 24, 1999
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book is readable, concise and full of excellent examples of the application of critical thinking to real-world examples of pseudoscience. I think the book should be taught early in college, to perhaps innoculate people against fuzzy thinking. Since it is concerned with issues relevant to nonscientists, it may well be a better introduction to scientific method than a freshman chemistry or biology class, where methodology and application of said methodology gets drowned in a sea of facts most students will soon forget.

One reviewer complained that the examples are "straw men" set up to be decimated by application of the theory set forth in the book. I think that this misses the point. The examples are simple enough to demonstrate the power of the method and illustrate its use on real, current problems.

I think anyone interested in understanding "wierd things" should buy and read this book.