The believing brain : from ghosts and gods to politics and conspiracies--how we construct beliefs and reinforce them as truths by Shermer, Michael

The believing brain : from ghosts and gods to politics and conspiracies--how we construct beliefs and reinforce them as truths
by Shermer, Michael

(#0151LYX)

Paperback St. Martin's Griffin, c2011, p2012

Price: USD 18.96

Description: x, 385 pages : illustrations; 21 cm
Dewey: 153.4; Audience: Adult

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Product Overview
From Follett

Includes bibliographical references (page 345-368) and index.;Mr. D'Arpino's dilemma -- Dr. Collins's conversion -- A skeptic's journey -- Patternicity -- Agenticity -- The believing neuron -- Belief in the afterlife -- Belief in god -- Belief in aliens -- Belief in conspiracies -- Politics of belief -- Confirmations of belief -- Geographies of belief -- Cosmologies of belief -- Epilogue: the truth is out there. Presents the author's theory on the way humans form beliefs, arguing that the brain looks for patterns in sensory data, attaches meaning to these patterns, and then searches for confirmatory evidence in support of these beliefs.

From the Publisher

Synthesizing thirty years of research, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world. Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. Using sensory data that flow in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning, forming beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, accelerating the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop.

In The Believing Brain, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. And ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not our beliefs match reality.

Product Details
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
  • Publication Date: August 7, 2012
  • Format: Paperback
  • Edition: 1st St. Martin's Griffin ed.
  • Dewey: 153.4
  • Classifications: Nonfiction
  • Description: x, 385 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
  • ISBN-10: 1-25000-880-8
  • ISBN-13: 978-1-25000-880-0
  • Follett Number: 0151LYX
  • Audience: Adult