50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True.

by Guy P. Harrison.

Dr. Phil Plait.

No one is born a skeptic.

Kids are natural scientists, though. They love to soak up knowledge, explore, experiment, name things (I can still remember my very young daughter, all those years ago, asking me to name the stars in the sky, one after another).

I suppose not all that is really science, though. Memorization and categorization are important, and the foundation of being able to understand relationships between objects, but they're not science. The basic property that makes science science is that it's self-checking. You don't just make an a.s.sumption; you test it. You see if it works the next time you use it. And you don't a.s.sume that just because it did, it always will.

And the most important thing, the one aspect of science that sets it apart from all other methods of knowing, is that science isn't loyal. You can rely on an idea for years, decades, but if something comes along that proves the idea wrong, boom! It gets chucked out like moldy cheese.

Well, not always. The other thing about science is that it builds on previous knowledge. If you learn something works pretty well, and then something else comes along that does better, a lot of the time you find out the second thing is just a modification of the first. Einstein didn't trash Newton; relativity updated Newton's mechanics, made it work better when objects are traveling near the speed of light, or where there's lots of gravity.

It was the acc.u.mulation of knowledge, of fact, that modified Newton's ideas. Hard-won, too, with experiments that contradicted centuries of "common wisdom." But that knowledge, when it's correct, builds over time. It all has to work, like a tapestry. And it does.

Still, it's hard to let go of an idea even when you know it's wrong. Sometimes the idea is stubborn (or its holder is). Sometimes it's comforting to have a warm, fuzzy idea. I bet that most of the time, though, it's ego, pure and simple. We identify with the ideas we keep, and if that idea is wrong, then that means some part of us is wrong. That's a difficult issue to deal with.

And that's why kids can be natural-born scientists, but terrible skeptics. And that's OK; sometimes kids need to just do stuff "because I said so," and you don't want them always questioning you. The real problem comes when they grow up and don't let go of that characteristic.

We all do it. Believing is easy. Being skeptical is hard. It's the road less traveled, rough-hewn and difficult. There are pitfalls everywhere, scary dark places, things that would be so much easier just to wish away when we close our eyes.

But reality, as author Philip K. d.i.c.k said, is what doesn't go away when we stop believing in it.

Reality doesn't care what you believe, what you do, for whom you vote. It just keeps on keeping it real. And since that's the case, isn't it better to see it for what it is? When you believe in something that's wrong, then other beliefs glom onto it, getting more complicated, getting harder and harder to balance and reconcile, like a pyramid built upside down. You build up more and more nonsense until the contradictions get so glaringly obvious, your only choice is to either completely ignore them, compartmentalizing your beliefs, or to let it all come crashing down.

You have to face reality.

In this book you will read about many such heels-over-head pyramids. Aliens. The Moon hoax. Bigfoot. Some are larks, fun little tidbits of silliness that on their own don't do much harm.

Others are dangerous. "Alternative" medicines that not only don't help, but keep people from seeking real medicine, making them sicker. Intercessory prayer, which is proven not to do anything, but which people sometimes employ instead of seeking real help. Self-proclaimed "psychics" who prey on the bereaved and grieving. And of course creationism, which shuts down curiosity and turns a blind eye to the true, and very ancient, nature of the world.

Science kicks over that pyramid, and sets it on its stable base. The best thing about science-and its multipurpose toolkit, skepticism-is that they show you how the universe really is. Yes, it can be scary, dark, and impersonal. But that's OK because it's also complex, deep, marvelous, profound, wondrous, magnificent...and above all, beautiful.

That beauty is out there. All you have to do is stop believing in it, and start understanding it.

We all believe silly things. What matters is how silly and how many.

-Guy P. Harrison.

Skepticism is the skill and the att.i.tude that helps us navigate our way through an often-crazy world. Applied consistently and with force, skepticism can help us lead safer, happier, and more productive lives. It also helps to keep our minds healthy, sharp, and free by tossing aside much of the irrational junk that would otherwise obscure our view of an amazing universe. When crackpots, crooks, and fools try to lure us down costly or dangerous paths, skepticism is the shield we need to fend them off.

Some people think of skeptics as cynical, negative people with closed minds. Nothing could be further from the truth. Skepticism is really nothing more than a fancy name for trying to think clearly and thoroughly before making a decision about believing, buying, or joining something. It's about sorting out reality from lies and misperceptions. What's bad or negative about that? Embracing a skeptical att.i.tude means approaching the world with open eyes, a switched-on brain, a willingness to ask the necessary questions, and the sense of humility that comes with knowing how easy it is for anyone to be fooled by things we see, hear, and think about. Being a skeptic means being honest and mature enough to seek answers that are based on evidence and logic rather than hopes and dreams. It also means being wise enough to accept that sometimes no satisfying answers are available.

James Randi, the world-famous skeptic and magician, has spent much of his life trying to save people from themselves by teaching how we can think our way clear of the relentless avalanche of kooky claims and irrational beliefs that bombard us all from childhood to the grave. Randi has been criticized for being too harsh toward irrational believers. But how gentle must one be when so much misery and waste comes from these unproven claims? Beyond the hundreds of billions of dollars thrown away on lies and fantasies, people literally suffer and die every day all around the world because of claims that any good skeptic could see right through in a few seconds. All irrational beliefs are not equal, yet they are all tied together in one gigantic cloud of danger. Believing in astrology may not be a direct health risk for an individual, for example, but the kind of faulty thinking that allows one to be impressed with astrology can be. Adopting weird beliefs without evidence is a dangerous game, warns Randi: "It can cost you money, emotional security, and it can cost you your life. I can think of a few exceptions, but almost any untruth or deception is bound to be a negative influence."1 Throughout this book I have tried my best to be positive and respectful. No doubt some readers will not see it that way. But I hope they will believe me when I say that my goal is not to win arguments or take away anyone's fun, happiness, or contentment. I fully understand that falling for weird, unproven beliefs is part of being human and happens to the best of us. It's part of the human condition. We all believe silly things. What matters is how silly and how many.

To push back against dangerous irrational beliefs, we have to pour every claim and every story through the filter of skepticism and science. Although it helps to know some history and science, education alone is not enough. Neither is exceptional intelligence enough. Many highly educated and highly intelligent people embrace some of the most ridiculous and baseless claims of all. No one should doubt that the lack of skepticism is a largely unrecognized global crisis.

I have traveled all over the world, and no matter where I found myself, I always saw money, time, and energy being squandered on beliefs that almost certainly were not true, and by people of every social and economic strata. This waste of energy and resources saddens me. We could do so much more and could possibly be so much better if only skepticism were more common. Still, frustrated as I may feel, I resist mocking, ridiculing, and dismissing those who cling to unproven beliefs. I prefer to be positive and offer help rather than condemnation to those who have yet to realize that not everything told to us in childhood is true.

I want readers to know my motivations for writing this book. I'm not scolding, lecturing, or preaching to make myself feel important. I'm only trying to encourage and inspire critical thinking and spread the word that skepticism is important. I want to help and to build, not condemn and tear down. Truth is, I really couldn't care less about what someone believes. It's only when I see unproven beliefs diminishing someone's life or causing harm to others that I feel obligated to speak up and offer a helping hand. If irrational beliefs weren't so often dangerous and such a drag on human progress, you would never hear a peep from me about anyone's beliefs. The way I see it, promoting reason and skepticism is a moral issue. It's about caring for your fellow humans.

Being a skeptic is the only way I can imagine living my life. It is part of a positive worldview that helps motivate me to get out of bed each morning. There are so many exciting experiences and important discoveries out there waiting on me that I don't want to be distracted or waste time believing things that are unlikely to be true. We should not be afraid to doubt and question, even when those around us do not. Skepticism is constructive, not destructive. It is a positive affirmation of being fully alive and mature enough to accept reality as it is rather than what we might like it to be or what somebody told us it is. The best kind of skeptic is not focused on rejecting and ridiculing. She or he embraces more of life, not less. Skepticism helps us to abandon astrology for astronomy, to see through the fog and find the stars, to stand up and exist fully as thinking human beings. Living a life as free from illusions and delusions as possible is to value that life and to understand that not one precious moment of it should be willingly sacrificed to a lie or an unproven belief.

Guy P. Harrison.

Earth, 2011.

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.

-Thomas Paine.

Every day we are confronted with paranormal, supernatural, or extraordinary beliefs. These claims find us no matter where we go. At the drugstore, homeopathic medicines are on the shelves right next to science-based treatments. The newspaper offers an astrological prediction of your future. A preacher promises that if you give him money, you will be rewarded one-hundred-fold via the supernatural hand of a G.o.d. TV commercials suggest that we can have better health with a pill or be better athletes if we wear a special bracelet. A friend swears she saw an alien s.p.a.ceship in the sky last night. A family member tries to convince you that the end of the world is near. Is that strange noise you heard before falling asleep a ghost?

When weird ideas come along, we owe it to ourselves to pause and think before accepting them as real or true. Bad things can happen when people embrace beliefs for reasons no better than trust in authority or tradition, or because it "feels true." Countless people have died throughout history because they were not skeptical enough. Countless people who probably meant well have supported or partic.i.p.ated in the exploitation, abuse, and even killing of fellow humans because they were not skeptical enough. Wherever and whenever skepticism is lacking, serious problems are sure to follow. Medical quacks and con artists cause great harm to people who don't know the difference between science and pseudoscience. How many times throughout history have unproven supernatural beliefs stood in the way of social and scientific progress? Where might we be today if we had rejected superst.i.tion five centuries ago? But the shortage of skepticism in the world today is not only a burden to advancement, it threatens to drag us back to the Dark Ages. Wait, did we ever really leave the Dark Ages? Even now, in the twenty-first century, witches are tortured and executed in some societies because people fear their magical powers. Many people still look to the stars and planets for insights into their personality and romantic prospects-even though the scientists who know more about the stars and planets than anyone say astrology is a preposterous concept. Millions believe that psychics read minds and the government is hiding extraterrestrial bodies at Area 51. As a species we are crippled by irrational beliefs. If we hope to ever shake off the costly and time-wasting habit of believing things that are almost certainly not true, then we have to embrace the scientific method and skepticism. Critical thinking skills must be appreciated and promoted widely. Progress depends on it.

Paranormal and supernatural beliefs-loosely defined as things that exist or occur outside the natural world-are not necessarily tied to intelligence or education. There may be some correlation between education level and the acceptance of a baseless claim such as tarot card reading or astrology, for example. But I warn against reading too much into that because we are all vulnerable. It is well established that intelligent and educated people can and do believe extraordinary claims that lack good evidence. Renowned scientist Jane Goodall is a Bigfoot believer, for example.1 I once worked with a university-educated journalist who was convinced that a girl in Russia had X-ray vision that enabled her to see inside people and diagnose internal medical problems.2 My colleague was reeled in, hook, line, and sinker, by an interesting but unproven claim. She isn't dumb, just short on skepticism and critical thinking skills. And she is hardly alone. When it comes to weird beliefs, accepting them seems to be more natural, or more human, than rejecting them.

According to a Gallup poll, three in every four Americans profess to hold at least one of the popular beliefs such as ghosts, astrology, and reincarnation.3 This is important: Most people in the United States-and throughout the world, no doubt-are supernatural/paranormal believers. In America, ESP (extrasensory perception) leads with 41 percent, followed closely by haunted houses (37 percent) and ghosts (32 percent). Clairvoyance or the ability of psychics to read minds and know the future is real, according to 26 percent of Americans. Astrology's claims have convinced 25 percent, and 20 percent believe in reincarnation. More than half (57 percent) of all American adults have at least two paranormal beliefs, and 22 percent say they believe five or more.

In Great Britain, 40 percent of British people believe that houses can be haunted and 24 percent believe astrology works. In Canada, 28 percent believe in haunted houses and 24 percent believe that it's possible to communicate with dead people.4 I didn't conduct a scientific survey, but my travels outside the United States leave me with no doubt that belief in claims that are unproven and unlikely to be true are immensely popular. Virtually everywhere I have visited-Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean-I came to the conclusion that an overwhelming majority of people believe in an a.s.sortment of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Without even including religious beliefs, I estimate that more than 90 percent of the world's people hold at least one paranormal belief. We are a believing species.

WHO CARES?.

The easy reaction would be to just try to ignore all this irrational belief. After all, don't things like astrology, faith healing, and psychic readings make people feel good and give them a bit of rea.s.surance in an often-confusing and scary world? Who am I to try to rob anyone of a source of comfort or amus.e.m.e.nt? It's none of my business what people decide to believe, right? What's the harm, anyway?

In my opinion, there is no choice but to speak out against irrational belief, if one has any concern and compa.s.sion for fellow humans. It doesn't require being mean or obnoxious about it, but silence is not an option. Belief in paranormal and pseudoscience claims is a chronic crisis that burdens us century after century. Those who do understand the damage caused by these beliefs every day around the world would be heartless monsters if they chose to do and say nothing. This is a matter of compa.s.sion for fellow humans and a belief that our world could be better if it were not so blinded and hobbled by superst.i.tion and unscientific thinking. I am not being mean and heartless when I explain to someone why alternative medicine is dangerous or how faith healers fool people. Keeping quiet would be mean and heartless. The proper question is not why skeptics protest, but rather how anyone can learn of "child witches" being murdered in Africa and feel no moral obligation to promote skepticism. Who can hear the story about an ill baby suffering and dying because stubborn parents treated her with homeopathic water instead of science-based medicine and not feel disgust toward all pseudoscience and medical quackery? We all share this world together and when an elected leader thinks Earth is six thousand years old or your neighbor believes that the position of a few stars determines what sort of day she will have, the stage is set for trouble. Dim thinking is dangerous thinking.

THE SHIELD OF SKEPTICISM.

So how exactly does one wade through all the weird claims out there and make it to dry land safely? It's not as difficult as you might imagine. As readers will discover throughout this book, it often takes only one or two pointed questions to identify fatal weaknesses in claims that are unworthy of our belief. Constructive skepticism is compatible with open-minded curiosity, but it demands consistent vigilance and the courage to question anything and anyone.

It is important to always remember that the burden of proof is on those who make the claim. I would love for Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster to be real, but I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a ten-foot-tall bipedal primate running wild in the Pacific Northwest or an extinction-dodging plesiosaur in Scotland. I think this because, after all these years, no one has ever presented any convincing evidence, such as bones, DNA samples, or a body. If Bigfoot believers want me to believe, they need to show me proof. It's not my job to disprove the existence of Bigfoot. How could I do such a thing, anyway? I can't look in every cave and behind every tree in North America.

Be on guard against stealth beliefs. These are partial truths that swell to include paranormal elements once you let them inside your head. For example, undoubtedly there are many cases of ancient coastal or island communities being devastated by earthquakes and tsunamis over the last several thousand years. But this is far different from the claim made by Atlantis believers who say a lost city or continent once ruled the world and was technologically advanced beyond even our time. Some UFO believers argue that intelligent life probably exists somewhere in the universe (a reasonable possibility) but then they seamlessly shift to the claim that extraterrestrials are visiting Earth regularly (unknown, unproven, and unlikely). We also have to be on the lookout for claims that are dressed up in science but are in fact pseudoscience. Just because someone-new age guru Deepak Chopra is a good example-frequently mentions "quantum mechanics" or other fancy science phrases does not mean that what they are promoting is necessarily valid or even scientific.

THE BIGGER THE CLAIM, THE BIGGER THE BURDEN OF PROOF.

The smart skeptic adjusts the demand for evidence according to the scale of the claim being made. The nature of the claim being made-how outrageous or weird is it?-determines the degree of skepticism required. If my neighbors claim they saw a bird in their backyard yesterday, I'll probably give them the benefit of the doubt and believe it. No big deal. However, if they claim to have seen something far more unusual, say a thirty-ton dragon wearing leather pants and makeup, then I'm going to need to see high-definition video, footprints, and a DNA sample before I even consider believing it. Again, the quality and quant.i.ty of evidence should rise in conjunction with the claim. Although the quote did not originate with him, the late astronomer Carl Sagan popularized this important concept: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Keep those five words in mind whenever you think about ghosts, G.o.ds, astrology, psychics, intelligent design, UFOs, and other such beliefs.

Being a skeptic does not mean one is closed-minded or uninterested in everything that is weird and unproven. The history of science is filled with examples of bizarre ideas that turned out to be true. Germs were once a pretty strange idea, and were difficult to believe until Van Leeuwenhoek developed the microscope and helped establish the field of microbiology. Continental drift was difficult to accept until plate tectonics explained how it worked. The idea of rogue waves smashing ships under clear skies far out at sea seemed impossible, but we now know that they are real. What about meteorites? Rocks falling out of the sky? You must be joking-oops, it turns out that it really does rain rocks sometimes. The point is that good skeptics who understand how science works don't accept any wacky claim that comes along without evidence, but neither do they reject every wacky claim with absolute finality. The door is always slightly ajar, and if enough evidence comes forth, the door to acceptance opens.

When thinking about weird beliefs, it is important to be aware of how we perceive and a.s.sess the world around us. We know that humans are pattern-seeking creatures. Without even trying, we naturally attempt to "connect the dots" in almost everything we see and hear. This is a great ability if you are trying to catch a camouflaged bird in a tree for your dinner, trying to hear a potential mate's call amid a cacophony of distractions, or trying to spot your enemy hiding in the forest, hoping to ambush you. But pattern seeking also leads us to see things that are not there (see fig. 2), which might waste our time and maybe get us into trouble. Furthermore, our obsession with patterns doesn't stop at vision and hearing. We also have a tendency to automatically make connections and find patterns in our thinking. This is one reason that unlikely conspiracy theories are able to take root and blossom in the minds of so many people.

Former psychic-turned-skeptic Tauriq Moosa agrees that this pattern-recognition software in our heads is a primary reason irrational beliefs are so common. He saw it firsthand when his clients made absurd connections in order to support their prior belief that he was a genuine mind reader. Their minds did much of the work, making his job easier.

"We are by nature incredible at picking out patterns; but this also means we see patterns where there are, in fact, none," said Moosa. "This, to me, is the explanation behind all the supernatural or superst.i.tious engagements people have, from UFOs to ghosts, from conspiracy-theories to astrology."5 CONFIRMATION BIAS.

One of the primary reasons that it can be so hard to dump a paranormal belief once it has set up camp inside your skull is that we all have a natural tendency to cheat. We just don't normally think about our beliefs objectively and honestly. Instead we tend to focus on and remember anything that confirms the belief, while missing, ignoring, and forgetting everything that contradicts or casts doubt on the belief. This is called confirmation bias, and it can lead the best of us astray, so be on guard.

"The confirmation bias is one of the most insidious and persuasive bits of software in your head," declares psychology professor Hank Davis, author of Caveman Logic: The Persistence of Primitive Thinking in a Modern World. "It is as much a part of being human as having two eyes, one nose, and two feet. To avoid evaluating the world through the confirmation bias, you have got to take conscious steps against it. Even then there is no guarantee you will succeed. If you allow your mental software to operate on its Pleistocene default settings, you will bring this bias into play."6 You have been warned.

SEEING IS BELIEVING AND BELIEVING IS SEEING.

There should be little doubt that many claimed sightings of ghosts, UFOs, angels, and monsters by sincere witnesses are a result of the way our vision works. Contrary to what you may have a.s.sumed, we don't really "see" what we look at. What happens when you aim your eyes at something is that your brain "tells" you what you see. And your brain never tells you with 100 percent accuracy. It does this to be efficient and it really does help us function in a world with far too much detail and movement to take in. But sometimes this causes us to "see" things that were never there or at least not there in the form presented to us. It can also cause us to miss things that really are there. Sometimes things that our vision misses might have been the critical pieces of information that would have revealed to us that the UFO or ghost hovering out there is really just a bird or a patch of fog, for example.

FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT MEMORY.

What is currently known about human memory should send jarring waves of doubt up and down the spines of every paranormal enthusiast. Memory, researchers have discovered, does not work like a video camera. Many people think our eyes are like camera lenses and the brain is a hard drive that dutifully records all the images that enter. Not so. There is no such capturing of complete scenes before us and no such thing as rewind and playback. The reality is that our memories are constructed by our brains. Some things are left out. Some things that never happened are added. And sometimes the order of events is switched around. Weird as it seems, your brain produces the memory that it thinks is needed-100 percent accuracy be d.a.m.ned.

This means, of course, that all those stand-alone stories about sightings and encounters with everything from aliens to angels cannot be considered proof of anything because we know without a doubt that any honest, sane, and sober person can easily remember an event incorrectly through no fault of his own. Human memory is unreliable, which means something more than a story about a personal experience is called for when it comes to extraordinary claims. It has also been shown repeatedly by researchers that we all are highly vulnerable to suggestions and prior beliefs when forming our perception of reality and our recollections of what we experienced.

Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, has spent more than thirty years researching weird beliefs and talking to everyone from alien abductees to Holocaust deniers to psychics. He thinks that much of irrational belief comes down to "belief-dependent realism," the idea that we believe first and then come up with reasons for believing: We form our beliefs for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional, and psychological reasons in the context of environments created by family, friends, colleagues, culture, and society at large; after forming our beliefs, we then defend, justify, and rationalize them with a host of intellectual reasons, cogent arguments, and rational explanations. Beliefs come first, explanations for beliefs follow. I call this process belief-dependent realism, where our perceptions about reality are dependent on the beliefs that we hold about it. Reality exists independent of human minds, but our understanding of it depends upon the beliefs we hold at any given time.7 Like it or not, the fact is we can't be sure about everything we see, hear, think, feel, and remember. This has obvious implications for popular beliefs that so intrigue and entrance billions of people around the world. More people need to understand that our brains, wonderful as they are, are not very good at consistently sorting out reality from fantasy and illusion. Fortunately, we already have a system that is very good at doing just that.

SCIENCE HELPS US FIND OUR WAY.

An appreciation for science goes hand-in-hand with constructive skepticism. It's unfortunate that so many people don't appreciate science's greatness and its importance to us. Science is not just a collection of facts and discoveries or some fringe pursuit of intellectuals. Science is the foundation of our modern world. Our civilization couldn't last one day without the products of the scientific method. However, science can be used by anyone for many different purposes, so no one should ever slip into naive worship or deference to all scientists. Yes, science may generate cures and vaccines for diseases, feed billions through scientific agriculture, and reveal the working of the universe, but it is also the source of weapons with the potential to destroy humanity. Science may be necessary and wonderful, but it is only as good as the person using its methods.

More than anything, science is a method for figuring out and discovering things in our universe. It is also through science that we can best determine whether or not something is real. If something cannot be proven scientifically, it may still be real or true, but this would be a very good reason to have strong doubts until it is. We know science works because it has a record of success far superior to anything else. Even supernatural and paranormal believers rely on science and technology when they could try solutions more in line with their beliefs. People who need to communicate with someone far away don't use ESP, they pick up a phone. People who want to visit a place that is far away don't use astral projection, they board an airplane. Many believers in alternative medicine still turn to medical science when struck by a serious illness or injury. Why do most people who believe in a utopian afterlife fear death and avoid it at all costs?

A final point to keep in mind when thinking about paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific beliefs is that letting go of them is not necessarily a sacrifice. Not only can thinking skeptically be safer and more economical over the course of a lifetime, it doesn't have to be any less fun, either. Whatever I may have lost by not believing in things like astrology and ghosts, I am confident that I more than make up for it by embracing reality with great enthusiasm. All scientific discoveries to date and all the mysteries still to be solved excite me, and I find plenty of reason for optimism and hope, even amid harsh realities. In my opinion, plenty of comfort and joy can be found in friends, family, romance, creative work, adventure, art, acts of kindness, nature, and fun in all its forms. I understand that it may feel comforting or stabilizing to believe that invisible forces influence us, but it can also be comforting and stabilizing to realize that as humans we are smart enough and strong enough to face up to the universe as it really is and get on with our lives.

GO DEEPER...

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Shermer, Michael. The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and G.o.ds to Politics and Conspiracies-How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. New York: Times Books, 2011.

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