Why do some people believe in ghosts, alien abductions, past-lives regression and other flaky, space cadet stuff? Why in an age of science are ideas without scientific support so widely held? These are some of the questions that Skeptic Society director and science historian Michael Shermer addresses in his new book (so new that it had to be reviewed at the 11th hour for this publication—thus this all too short review. I’m just happy it arrived in time!) As with everything I’ve seen him do, Shermer has done a terrific job—the book is well-done, well-written, thoughtful, accessible and very, very useful.

Shermer starts out with several chapters discussing the methods of science, the difference between science and pseudoscience, and how things goes wrong (see sidebar for his "25 fallacies that lead us to believe weird things"). This one of the most useful aspects of the book because it gives us a general framework for critical thinking about the next weird thing that comes down the pike. Unlike the editors of New Age Journal who recently discussed problems with many New Age ideas but gave no general guideline to prevent being fooled in the future (see Dixon Wragg’s review of New Age magazines on p. 12), Shermer provides criteria that help people think for themselves so that they can make reasonable judgments about new phenomena as well as the old.

In the subsequent sections, Shermer covers topics that include the paranormal, near-death experiences, alien abductions, creationism, sexual abuse witch hunts, Holocaust revisionism, and what he calls the "unlikeliest cult"—Objectivism. Because such topics as the paranormal and alien abductions are extensively covered in other books, he gives them less (but very thoughtful) space than the topics not as widely discussed, i.e., creationism and Holocaust revisionism. On these latter topics, he spends several chapters. To his credit, Shermer doesn’t take easy or ad hominem potshots from afar on these touchy subjects. He actually interviewed some of the major players in these areas, e.g., Duane Gish on creationism, Robert Faurisson, David Cole, and others on Holocaust revisionism, and takes care to be fair. He then provides solid evidence to refute their positions.

The chapter entitled "The Unlikeliest Cult: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and the Cult of Personality" will no doubt capture the attention of some of our readers—possibly with some apprehension. Detailing the split with Nathaniel Branden, some of the worst excesses of the inner circle as described by Branden, and the behavior of the Ayn Rand Institute run by Leonard Peikoff, Shermer argues that Objectivism has become a nonreligious cult of personality that has many of the characteristics of other cults, for example: "veneration of the leader, inerrancy of the leader, omniscience of the leader, absolute truth, and absolute morality." Frankly, many of us have our own observations that will lead us to agree with this analysis. But again, Shermer is, for the most part, careful to distinguish between the leaders and the philosophy. Noting that he agrees with much of Rand’s philosophy (though not all), he asserts that "criticism of the founder or followers of a philosophy does not, by itself, constitute a negation of any part of the philosophy," and "criticisms of part of a philosophy does not gainsay the whole." Shermer thus model the critical thinking that he is advocating.

The token skeptic on many TV shows over the last few years, Shermer also presents many revealing (and often amusing) anecdotes that help illustrate the uphill battle for rationality and how the media is a large part of the problem. When on the Phil Donahue show with some Holocaust revisionists, for example, he found Donahue ill-prepared and clueless about how to deal with these people. Donahue just kept calling them "anti-Semitic" without pressing them on the veracity of their scholarship, the point that Shermer tried to make. On other TV shows, he was often relegated to small sound bites while the weirdos got to put on extended performances. Entertainment, it seems is more important than reason.

This is a book that deserves to be widely read. Skeptics and critical thinkers can certainly learn from it but more importantly, it’s a book to give to those who maybe aren’t as skeptical as you, , those who just need some clear and reasonable arguments to gently push them in a more critical direction. Read this book yourself; buy it for someone whose mind you care about.

© Copyright 1997 by Resources for Independent Thinking