Early last year I reviewed Will Storr’s book The Heretics, a wonderful exploration of how we reinforce our own belief system and fight off attacks upon it. I also noted a controversial story that emerged with the book’s publication – James Randi’s defence of Social Darwinist philosophy, not to mention his admission that he lies to win arguments. For those that haven’t got around to buying the book yet, you’ll be happy to learn that The Heretics is now out in a very affordable paperback edition, which you can grab from Amazon UK. Here’s the blurb:
Why do obviously intelligent people believe things in spite of the evidence against them? Will Storr has travelled across the world to meet an extraordinary cast of modern heretics in order to answer this question. He goes on a tour of Holocaust sites with David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during ‘past-life regression’ hypnosis, takes part in a mass homeopathic overdose, and investigates a new disease affecting tens of thousands of people – a disease that doesn’t actually exist. Using a unique mix of personal memoir, investigative journalism and the latest research from neuroscience and experimental psychology, Storr reveals why the facts just won’t convince some people, and how the neurological ‘hero-maker’ inside all of us can so easily lead to self-deception and science-denial. The Heretics will change the way you think about thinking.
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