pages reviewed on 6/23/2010 + 26 more book reviews

With so many articles and books today about the sometimes-irrational economic behavior of our species, this book from the '90s might feel a little thin, but it's still a decent introduction to some concepts.

In a way, this is two books. The first part highlights the top superstitions of the time, such as the recovered memory movement, Satanic or sex-abuse cults, astrology, ESP, etc. Shermer outlines the psychological reasons why belief persists in the face of contrary evidence. (For example, many of us suck at probability, me included!)

The second half spends a significant amount of time on Holocaust denial, including interviews with some of the people involved in that movement. While that's a great topic, I felt like the book had veered away from why I picked it up in the first place: the why.

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