Carl Sagan - The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Eminent Cornell astronomer and bestselling author Sagan debunks the paranormal and the unexplained in a study that will reassure hardcore skeptics but may leave others unsatisfied. To him, purported UFO encounters and alien abductions are products of gullibility, hallucination, misidentification, hoax and therapists' pressure; some alleged encounters, he suggests, may screen memories of sexual abuse. He labels as hoaxes the crop circles, complex pictograms that appear in southern England's wheat and barley fields, and he dismisses as a natural formation the Sphinx-like humanoid face incised on a mesa on Mars, first photographed by a Viking orbiter spacecraft in 1976 and considered by some scientists to be the engineered artifact of an alien civilization. In a passionate plea for scientific literacy, Sagan deftly debunks the myth of Atlantis, Filipino psychic surgeons and mediums such as J.Z. Knight, who claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old entity called Ramtha. He also brands as superstition ghosts, angels, fairies, demons, astrology, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and religious apparitions. Amazon

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/49959244/Carl.Sagan.-.The.Demon.Haunted.World.-.science.as.a.candle.in.the.dark.pdf

Share this post :

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on StumbleUpon Share on Delicious Share on Reddit

Share on Digg Share on simpy Share on Technorati Share on furl Subscribe to Feeds RSS

Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time - Michael Shermer (Audiobook and E-book)

Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known."

Also read: Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction - Charles M. Wynn


Audiobook [65 MB]:
http://rapidshare.com/files/66375397/Michael.Shermer.-.Why.People.Believe.Weird.Things.zip

E-book:
http://rapidshare.com/files/140012117/Michael_Shermer_-_Why_people_believe_weird_things.pdf


Share this post :

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on StumbleUpon Share on Delicious Share on Reddit

Share on Digg Share on simpy Share on Technorati Share on furl Subscribe to Feeds RSS

The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions

"Use this book as protection against attacks by New Agers, alternative therapists and others who have chosen to abandon reason..." The Times

A collection of short articles explaining strange phenomenons under the light of the critical thinking. It can be described as a comprehensive and entertaining encylopedia with thousand pages rather than a book.

Here is the list of the some topics in the book: acupuncture, alchemy, alien abductions, angels, Area 51, aromatherapy, astrology, atheism, Atlantis, Bigfoot, Cabala, chakras, creationism, crystal skulls, déjà vu, Erich von Däniken, hypnosis, incantation, The Indigo Children, karma, mind-control, Nazca lines, Nostradamus, numerology, occult & occultism, ouija board, out-of-body experience, parapsychology, pentagram, reiki, reincarnation, Roswell, Santa Claus, Satan, Scientology, sixth sense, telekinesis, telepathy, UFOs, vampires and so on...

Official Site:
http://www.skepdic.com/


File Size: 14.5 MB

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/87864428/The.Skeptics.Dictionary.pdf


Share this post :

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on StumbleUpon Share on Delicious Share on Reddit

Share on Digg Share on simpy Share on Technorati Share on furl Subscribe to Feeds RSS