50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
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Narrated by:
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Erik Synnestvedt
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By:
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Guy P. Harrison
About this listen
Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon.
How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? Longtime skeptic Guy P. Harrison shows you how in this down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims.
A veteran journalist, Harrison has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien."
Harrison is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction.
Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, Harrison invites listeners to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.
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- By Justin on 04-27-22
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The Mind Club
- Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters
- By: Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the "mind club". It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of minds do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds - while incredibly important - are a matter of perception.
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Who is the self in me? Am I part of something bigger?
- By Philomath on 03-24-16
By: Daniel M. Wegner, and others
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Fantasyland
- How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
- By: Kurt Andersen
- Narrated by: Kurt Andersen
- Length: 19 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A razor-sharp thinker offers a new understanding of our post-truth world and explains the American instinct to believe in make-believe, from the Pilgrims to P. T. Barnum to Disneyland to zealots of every stripe...to Donald Trump. In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen demonstrates that what's happening in our country today - this strange, post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through - is not something entirely new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character and path.
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Bland Title For An Amazing Book!
- By David Larson on 09-07-17
By: Kurt Andersen
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Deep Truth
- Igniting the Memory of Our Origin, History, Destiny, and Fate
- By: Gregg Braden
- Narrated by: Gregg Braden
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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A new world is emerging before our eyes, while the unsustainable world of the past struggles to continue. Both worlds reflect the beliefs of our past. Both exist - but only for now. Which world do you choose? Best-selling author and visionary scientist Gregg Braden suggests that the hottest issues that divide us as families, nations, and civilizations-seemingly separate concerns such as war, terror, abortion, suicide, genocide, the death penalty, poverty, economic collapse, and nuclear war - are actually related.
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Good Information
- By David on 08-13-12
By: Gregg Braden
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Riveted
- The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One with the Universe
- By: Jim Davies
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor Jim Davies's fascinating and highly accessible book, Riveted, reveals the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling. Drawing on work from philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, economics, computer science, and biology, Davies offers a comprehensive explanation to show that in spite of the differences between the many things that we find compelling, they have similar effects on our minds and brains.
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Fun and excellent listen!
- By Alejandro Franco on 04-13-18
By: Jim Davies
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You Are Now Less Dumb
- How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself
- By: David McRaney
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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You Are Now Less Dumb is grounded in the idea that we all believe ourselves to be objective observers of reality - except we’re not. But that's okay, because our delusions keep us sane. Expanding on this premise, McRaney provides eye-opening analyses of 15 more ways we fool ourselves every day. This smart and highly entertaining audiobook will be wowing listeners for years to come.
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Not a lot of guidance
- By A. Yoshida on 02-08-14
By: David McRaney
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Life After Death, Powerful Evidence You Will Not Die
- By: Stephen Hawley Martin
- Narrated by: Michael Bowen
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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What happens when we die? This new edition of Life After Death adds to powerful evidence consciousness which continues the author presented in his 2015 release. He spent two years gathering information that demonstrates this and along the way interviewed more than a hundred experts in a number of different fields. Among them were parapsychologists, medical doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, quantum physicists, and researchers into the true nature of reality.
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Promises to be agnostic but quotes Christ often
- By STS95 on 02-21-22
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The Ascension Mysteries
- Revealing the Cosmic Battle Between Good and Evil
- By: David Wilcock
- Narrated by: David Wilcock
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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David Wilcock's previous New York Times best sellers, The Source Field Investigations and The Synchronicity Key, used cutting-edge alternative science to reveal oft-hidden truths about our universe. In The Ascension Mysteries, David takes us on a gripping personal journey that describes the secret cosmic battle between positive and negative happening every day, hidden in both the traumas of our own lives and the world's headlines.
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mentally agonizing, embarrassing, awkward, tedious
- By Diana on 09-01-16
By: David Wilcock
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The Worm at the Core
- On the Role of Death in Life
- By: Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, Tom Pyszczynski
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 100 years ago, the American philosopher William James wrote that the knowledge that we must die is "the worm at the core" of the human condition - a universally shared fear that informs all our thoughts and actions, from the great art we create to the devastating wars we wage.
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Skeptical at first, but they won me over.
- By Tory Giddens on 06-07-20
By: Jeff Greenberg, and others
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Finding God in the Waves
- How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science
- By: Mike McHargue
- Narrated by: Mike McHargue
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In Finding God in the Waves, "Science Mike" draws on his personal experience to tell the unlikely story of how science led him back to faith. Among other revelations, we learn what brain scans reveal about what happens when we pray; how fundamentalism affects the psyche; and how God is revealed not only in scripture but in the night sky, in subatomic particles, and in us.
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For those wrestling with the Christian faith
- By steve on 09-14-16
By: Mike McHargue
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Humankind
- A Hopeful History
- By: Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore, Elizabeth Manton
- Narrated by: Rutger Bregman, Thomas Judd
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.
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He’s correct but he misrepresented the data
- By Andrea Allen on 02-09-21
By: Rutger Bregman, and others
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It's all stuff from QI
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great info
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About 60,000 years ago, the first Homo sapiens were just beginning their move across the grasslands and up the ladder of civilization. Everything since then, as they say, is history. Just in case you were sleeping in class that day, the geniuses at mental_floss magazine have put together a hilarious (and historically accurate) primer on everything you need to know---and that means the good stuff.
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Buenas fabulas de humor
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Think
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This fresh and exciting approach to science, skepticism, and critical thinking will enlighten and inspire listeners of all ages. With a mix of wit and wisdom, it challenges everyone to think like a scientist, embrace the skeptical life, and improve their critical thinking skills. Think shows you how to better navigate through the maze of biases and traps that are standard features of every human brain.
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How to be a skeptic
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Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted.
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I put together this book because; most people want to learn about things we don’t know. Even as a kid I loved to read about these things. The Book of world records has been one of my favorite reads. I will share with you many subjects to peak your interest in fun facts and useful information. We will cover The Earth. Geography History Food People Animals Plants Science Space Technology The Universe Weather Sports And a misc category for other stuff. You will be interested and you will learn as you read. As you read through the book, you will learn about many things you didn’t know. You ...
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Too American
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The Complete (Short) Guide to Absolutely Everything
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Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry guide listeners through time and space, through our bodies and brains, showing how emotions shape our view of reality, how our minds tell us lies, and why a mostly bald and curious ape decided to begin poking at the fabric of the universe.
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Humour and understandability.
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Worst Ideas Ever
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From memorable disasters such as New Coke, the XFL, and Tiger Woods’ marriage to less-remembered failures such as Yugo, Cop Rock, and Microsoft’s BOB, Worst Ideas Ever revisits history’s biggest blunders. Whether it’s a pop culture failure or a political one, Worst Ideas Ever uncovers the ridiculous stories behind mistakes so huge, you’ll have to constantly remind yourself that they actually happened.
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Wears out quickly
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All That's Wrong with the Bible
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Written by a linguist, ex-fundamentalist graduate of Liberty University, this book goes straight to the evidence and presents a concise case-by-case analysis of the most salient problems in the Christian Scriptures. With insightful commentary concerning frequent rebuttals used by apologists, it makes a solid case against evangelical claims to inerrancy.
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Connor is Not Great
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What listeners say about 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Scott Marabillas
- 07-20-21
Training Your Thinking
I truly enjoyed this book! Great topic. Many hours of background research went into it.
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- Marsha L. Woerner
- 08-06-18
No flat earth ideas, but LOTS of nonsense!
I am sure that if I were one of those people who believe any of those "50 Popular Beliefs" I would probably not have enjoyed this book so much: I love the confirmation bias with which it supports me :-) . But it is nice to hear support for the non-woo, non-sky fairy beliefs that I have and have basically always had.
Provided some evidence for anti-cam which I like to practice, and I really liked the statistics that were stated about numbers of people actually believe some of the nonsense and about numbers of lies saved and affected by real medicine and vaccines. Every time I hear arguments about the horrors of vaccine ingredients, I shake my head up out the horrors of not providing protection to children (or self – I believe in flu shots!).
And the section on religion is right on! A great book, but as I say, those who actually believe in support any of those 50 beliefs may not get full benefit of it. My experience is that providing evidence is, unfortunately, not enough.
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-18-23
It’s not bad, got some good points, I enjoyed it
Ehh wasn’t all for the “I’m right ,you’re wrong, I’ve been there and you haven’t “ mentality and tone but other than that it’s a good listen , I learned some things
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- thomas a. rowden
- 09-10-23
Still willfully ignorant 15 years later
loved this. In light of recent history, a very needed reminder for me. Many are still willfully ignorant after all these years!
" Once you give charlatans power , they don't give it back"
Carl Sagan
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Overall
- Althea Nelson
- 03-18-15
Mixed emotions
What a monumental task! The explanations saying why these beliefs are false were sometimes illogical and flimsy. Religious beliefs were mentioned over and over again. The title should have been... 30+ Popular Beliefs About Religion That People Think Are True.
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- Terrence Batiste
- 03-06-23
Meh...
It's a shame that a topic so interesting could be presented in such a fashion that it becomes anything but. The narrator is so monotone that even when he says something interesting or personal, it's a chore to empathize with him. Like, a literal chore. My empathizer is sore from all the heavy lifting.. In any case, this is the rare time when I would suggest reading the actual book instead of experiencing it through sound.
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- R. Zapor
- 04-24-13
Be prepared to Question Your Beliefs
Would you consider the audio edition of 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True to be better than the print version?
Yes. By listening to the opinions and philosophies of the author, it is possible to engage in conversation, either internally or with others. While there are many beliefs that are based upon popular misconceptions of facts, such as the "fake" moon landing, the author also takes on religion - any religion - and belief in God. He is a died in the wool skeptic, and approaches all topics from the skeptic's point of view. If you like the comedy of Bill Maher on HBO, you will understand the point of view of this author. The good part about listening to the book instead of reading it, I was able to interact with the opinions and statements made by the author.
The reading was very good and matter-of-fact in a way that allowed the author's philosophy to come through rather than the narrator's beliefs. It was an enjoyable read and a good introduction to the world view of others (I am a Christian and so disagree with some of the author's opinions, but did not find them to be objectionable.)
What other book might you compare 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True to and why?
I tend to enjoy listening to books that expand my mind. Freakonomics, How the Mind works, other non-fiction books that allow me to learn are very enjoyable to me. The 50 Popular Beliefs was a very interesting book that, in my experience, revealed much more of the author's philosophy that actual facts - although there are many facts in the book that are irrefutable. I particularly enjoyed his use of the research of Randi ("The Amazing Randi") who has done a lot of research into ESP, Nostradamus, and psychics. Even if you are able to understand that charlatans exist in the paranormal world but think the phenomenon is viable, the research into how a skeptic discounts the experience is perceived by others is terrific. Since reviewing the Randi materials, I have been able to spot the things that psychics do that are not honest.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
I learned a different point of world view, although I disagree with the religious portion of that view.
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4 people found this helpful
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- KH85
- 01-29-24
well thought out ideas and examples
Will recommend. covered a lot of topics with a broad range. it's amazing how gullible we are as a species.
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- Nancy Olson
- 03-05-13
Some things can’t be proven.
I know what this author is trying to prove. He wants you to believe that if there isn’t hard scientific and factual proof to back up a belief it can’t be true until there is this proof. He is a scientist and wants that hard proof. The problem is some beliefs are faith based and will likely never have this proof. I finally had to stop listening because while some of the beliefs he picked apart I think are ridiculous too others like God, Heaven and the afterlife are entrely faith based and I got irritated at his insistence that if it can’t be proven it doesn’t exist and I got a feeling of condesention from him. So, if you too believe there has to be hard scientific proof and that softer proof or simply faith based beliefs are bunk then this is the book for you. I feel like I wasted my money.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andrei Stavtsev
- 11-28-12
A bible of political correctness and platitudes
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
I don't think anyone can enjoy listening to a recitation of platitudes delivered in such a condescending tone and without any actual argument
Has 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True turned you off from other books in this genre?
It is not the first book written by the self-proclaimed sceptics that I've listened to. I think I've had enough of their shallow argumentation. I'll try and avoid listening to books written by the so-called sceptics in the future.
What about Erik Synnestvedt’s performance did you like?
Performance was all right.
What character would you cut from 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True?
I've always believed that Americans did indeed land on the Moon in the late 1960-s and early 1970-s, but after listening to Guy Harrison arguing with those who do not believe it, I'm beginning to have my doubts.
Any additional comments?
It is irritating listening to an author who feels so morally superior to his opponents that he never even condescends to arguing with them on the merits of the issue. He kind of says, I am a sceptic so I know better, just take my word for it, and if you disagree you are a gullible idiot.
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6 people found this helpful