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Number of Pages 4
This research paper: 4 pages in length. In Part I of Michael Shermer and Stephen Jay Gould's book entitled "Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time," the authors address such principles as scientific rationalism, empiricism, provisional truth, paradigms and paradigm shifts, uses of evidence, and the skeptic's role in society. Shermer and Gould espouse five primary answers to the title's question, finding that people believe in unsubstantiated things for consolation, immediate gratification, simplicity, moral meaning and inasmuch as hope springs eternal. The authors effectively demonstrate the errors in understanding that ultimately compel people to cling to such insupportable truths, including the inherent desire to see patterns without due cause. Illogic, superstition and unwarranted claims are at the basis of Shermer and Gould's intriguing look at why people believe in esoteric concepts even when proven otherwise. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
File: LM1_TLCweird.doc
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