SuperSense
Why We Believe in the Unbelievable

Like many of you who are reading this, I can't throw books away. Even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, so there is no way I could possibly hold a book over a garbage can and just let it drop. Ugh. I don't know why this should be, to be honest. I mean, they're just books, right? Paper and ink......more

My sister and I sort of looked at this together -- a sceptical atheist about to do a medical degree and a religious humanities graduate would not, you might think, agree at all when it comes to a book about supernatural feelings, thoughts and beliefs. (Before we go further, I'll add that I am the hu......more

“Supersense. Why we believe in the Unbelievable” é o segundo livro que leio de Bruce Hood, professor britânico de neurociência cognitiva do desenvolvimento, e se não traz nada de muito novo, acaba tocando e aprofundando um assunto pelo qual tendemos a passar e definir de dois modos opostos, dependen......more

OK, so this is a solid book by a neuroscientist on why we believe things that have no rational or logical pattern behind them. It starts with a cardigan, then Hood tells people that a mass murderer wore the cardigan. All of the sudden, people are skeeved out; they feel the material is contaminated w......more

It's pretty easy to spot books that are stitched together from lectures and talks. They tend to be amorphous and directionless, and this one is no exception. It wouldn't be so bad except I've heard similar lectures and talks, so this was like a bad dream where I'm back in college, but I haven't stud......more