The Skeptics Guide to the Universe

Posted on 26 March 2018 by Steven Novella

An all encompassing guide to skeptical thinking in the popular The Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast s dryly humorous, accessible style.It s intimidating to realize that we live in a world overflowing with misinformation, bias, myths, deception, and flawed knowledge There really are no ultimate authority figures no one has the secret and there is no place to look up the definitive answers to our questions not even Google But, by thinking skeptically and logically, we can combat sloppy reasoning, bad arguments and superstitious thinking It s difficult, and takes a lot of vigilance, but it s worth the effort.In this tie in to their incredibly popular The Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast, Steven Novella, MD along with Skeptical Rogues Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein will explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies and conspiracy theories Anti vaccines, homeopathy, UFO sightings, etc They ll help us try to make sense of what seems like an increasingly crazy world using powerful tools like science and philosophy THE SKEPTICS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE is your guide through this maze of modern life It covers essential critical thinking skills, as well as giving insight into how your brain works and how to avoid common pitfalls in thinking They discuss the difference between science and pseudoscience, how to recognize common science news tropes, how to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy coworker of yours, and how to apply all of this to everyday life.So, are you ready to join them on an epic scientific quest, one that has taken us from huddling in dark caves to stepping foot on the Moon Yes, we really did that Like all adventures, this one is foremost a journey of self discovery The monsters you will slay and challenges you will face are mostly constructs of your own mind With the SKEPTIC S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE, we can do this together. Download The Skeptics Guide to the Universe – kino-fada.fr Long time listener here I have been anticipating this book for a while, and it did not disappoint I enjoyed the audiobook Steves narration is easy to listen to while also being engaging However, the encyclopedia like layout make the printed version a practical compendium for later reference It is excellent for understanding how the mind works doesn t work, and how we all deceive ourselves into thinking that we actually understand probability For people who are just getting into critical t Long time listener here I have been anticipating this book for a while, and it did not disappoint I enjoyed the audiobook Steves narration is easy to listen to while also being engaging However, the encyclopedia like layout make the printed version a practical compendium for later reference It is excellent for understanding how the mind works doesn t work, and how we all deceive ourselves into thinking that we actually understand probability For people who are just getting into critical thinking and scientific skepticism and want to learn about how to know what s really real , but don t want to do this whole podcast nonsense This book is a great place to start It is well written, with just the right balance between entertaining examples and compelling explanations For SGU veterans If you have worked through every episode of the SGU, monitored a wide selection of s...This was one of the books I waited with utmost anticipation and so glad to get a chance to read it finally I have been a long time SGU listener almost 10 years , and they have been a major inspiration for me to teach myself critical thinking I still do and initiate a grassroots skeptical movement in Turkey along with a website as well as a top podcast of our own So naturally, when I heard the team was coming up with an actual book, I was very excited and pre ordered it immediately.Steve and This was one of the books I waited with utmost anticipation and so glad to get a chance to read it fin...This is one of the best books on critical thinking and skepticism since Carl Sagan s The Demon Haunted World Although you would hope, in the 21st century, that it shouldn t have to be explained why treating eczema with turmeric infusions is a bad idea, gullibility for pseudoscience is a recurring feature of human psychology and in need of constant debunking The first part of the book covers the unreliability of our senses, cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and the difference between science This is one of the best books on critical thinking and skepticism since Carl Sagan s The Demon Haunted World Although you would hope, in the 21st century, that it shoul...This is one of the better skeptic books The author doesn t merely debunk the usual suspects of pseudoscience although there is plenty of debunking of UFOs, Ghosts, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Astrology et al The author goes into our cognitive biases and blind spots and illogical thought processes and provides tools for fighting ever new pseud...I would describe this book as excellent tool for structuring your knowledge about science thinking I like that most of chapters are quite short, because it was easy to read it on the go At some paragraphs I had to really focus to uderstand the full meaning of it, but I...A huge caveat to this review the authors of this book are hosting a weekly podcast of the same name I ve been keenly listening to for 7 years They feel like friends I ve never met and this has certainly coloured my views of the book.That said, it s fantastic I love it.The Skeptic s Guide is not about automatic doubt and dismissal of everything as the title might suggest It is about the exploration of scientific scepticism how to approach claims and investigate whether or how likely th A huge caveat to this review the authors of this book are hosting a weekly podcast of the same name I ve been keenly listening to for 7 years They feel like friends I ve never met and this has certainly coloured my views of the book.That said, it s fantastic I love it.The Skeptic s Guide is not about automatic doubt and dismissal of everything as the title might suggest It is about the exploration of scientific scepticism how to approach claims and investigate whether or how likely they are correct and why might people believe otherwise.It contains discussions on the methods of science, workings of the human brain and the various ways one can deceive oneself A good portion of the book is a sort of...I have followed Steven Novella s blog for quite a while and have found his analyses to be nicely balanced and reasoned So I thought I may as well give his book a shot I was expectingof an overarching story about skepticism, but it waslike a bunch of entries in an encyclopedia this is not meant to be a bad thing I am just saying each chapter isor less self contained This is not to say that this is a bad book, just that it was not what I expected I considered giving it 4 s I have followed Steven Novella s blog for quite a while and have found his analyses to be nicely balanced and reasoned So I thought I may as well give his book a shot I was expectingof an overarching story about skepticism, but it waslike a bunch of entries in an encyclopedia this is not meant to be a bad thing I am just saying each chapter isor less self ...In the past, I d often have arguments about whether I remembered a certain incident accurately or not The brain does a better job of remembering the emotion associated with a memory rather than the actual details of the incident itself Knowing this would have saved me some of those arguments The first section on metacognition was a great compilation of mental calisthenics and how why our brain tricks us easily Having a vocabulary of cognitive biases is helpful in self awareness too.I have n In the past, I d often have arguments about whether I remembered a certain incident accurately or not The brain does a better job of remembering the emotion associated with a memory rather than the actual details of the incident itself Knowing this would have saved me some of those arguments The first section on metacognition was a great compilation of mental calisthenics and how why our brain tricks us easily Having a vocabulary of cognitive biases is helpful in self awareness too.I have never listened to the podcast, so all of the content was fresh for me The bit on GMO was well researched, the pieces on homeopathy and UFOs were mildly interest...I ve been listening to the SGU podcast for about five years, and this summer I have been catching up on all the episodes since the beginning One of my favorite things about the podcast is having some of my own long held beliefs debunked I ve been looking forward to this book for a long time I m always telling friends that the podcast is the best primer on critical thinking I ve found, and it s so nice to have a format that I can easily share.One of the topics I awaited most eagerly is GM Eve I ve been listening to the SGU podcast for about five years, and this summer I have been catching up on all the episodes since the beginning One of my favorite things about the podcast is having some of my own long held beliefs debunked I ve been looking forward to this book for a long time I m always telling friends that the podcast is the best primer on critical thinking I ve found, and it s so nice to have a format that I can easily share.One of the topics I awaited most eagerly is GM Even my most skeptical friends are still on the fence on this issue I recently attended a discussion group on the...First half is excellent People tend to believe and this is inevitable anything Skepticism is a good way to get real, but I am still not sure if reality is better financially, because see, it is inevitable that you will end up selling some needless, miraculous shit I ll smoke a ton of marijuana, DMT and will try to test it again, i.e the real is what you say it is , which way s better D I think I can find clients for almost anything Send me ideas what can I do, materialize gold out fr First half is excellent People tend to believe and this is inevitable anything Skepticism is a good way to get real, but I am still not sure if reality is better finan...

26 March 2018

Steven Novella