Foreword. Positive power of skepticism / Stephen Jay Gould
Introduction. Magical mystery tour: The whys and wherefores of weird things
Part 1. Science and skepticism ; I am therefore I think: a skeptic's manifesto ; The most precious thing we have: the difference between science and pseudoscience ; How thinking goes wrong: twenty-five fallacies that lead us to believe weird things
Part 2. Pseudoscience and superstition ; Deviations: the normal, the paranormal, and Edgar Cayce ; Through the invisible: near-death experiences and the quest for immortality ; Abducted: encounters with aliens ; Epidemics of accusations: medieval and modern witch crazes ; The unlikeliest cult: Ayn Rand, objectivism, and the cult of personality
Part 3. Evolution and creationism ; In the beginning: an evening with Duane T. Gish ; Confronting creationists: twenty-five creationist arguments, twenty-five evolutionist answers ; Science defended, science defined: evolution and creationism at the Supreme Court
Part 4. History and Pseudohistory ; Doing Donahue: history, censorships, and free speech ; Who says the Holocaust never happened, and why do they say it?: an overview of a movement ; How we know the Holocaust happened: debunking the deniers ; Pigeonholes and continuums: an African-Greek-German-American looks at race
Part 5. Hope springs eternal ; Dr. Tipler meets Dr. Pangloss: can science find the best of all possible worlds? ; Why do people believe weird things? ; Why smart people believe weird things.
I. Science and skepticism. I am therefore I think : a skeptic's manifesto
The most precious thing we have : the difference between science and pseudoscience
How thinking goes wrong : twenty-five fallacies that lead us to believe weird things. II. Pseudoscience and superstition. Deviations : the normal, the paranormal, and Edgar Cayce
Through the invisible : near-death experiences and the quest for immortality
Abducted! : encounters with aliens
Epidemics of accusations : medieval and modern witch crazes
The unlikeliest cult : Ayn Rand, objectivism, and the cult of personality. III. Evolution and creationism. In the beginning : an evening with Duane T. Gish
Confronting creationists : twenty-five creationist arguments, twenty-five evolutionist answers
Science defended, science defined : evolutionism and creationism at the Supreme Court.
IV. History and pseudohistory. Doing Donahue : history, censorship, and free speech
Who says the Holocaust never happened, and why do they say it? : an overview of a movement
How we know the Holocaust happened : debunking the deniers
Pigeonholes and continuums : an African-Greek-German-American looks at race. V. Hope springs eternal. Dr. Tipler meets Dr. Pangloss : can science find the best of all possible worlds?
Why do people believe weird things?
