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

The problem with a book like this, which could be (and in a sense already is) a website, is that the content that it tackles is really "dynamic" content, changing as new actors and belief systems come on the scene. Even so, this is a generally good book by the largely admirable author, and better I would say then James Randi's "Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural," which governs some of the same territory.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in some of the ideas that have more recently gained currency, including but not limited to those associated with "new age" thinking.The book's subtitle ("A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions & Dangerous Delusions") is misleading. The subjects of many of the entries are not at all controversial; for example, "positive-outcome bias" and "placebo effect." These may be included because some may *view* the concepts as strange, or because some may misuse the concepts to defraud others. In any case, their inclusion, the subtitle notwithstanding, is helpful to those of us who are not sure about the legitimacy of a particular practice.One strength of the book is the thoroughness of the entries.The article on the aforementioned placebo effect covers more than 3 large two-column pages. Yet there are close to 400 articles in all, of varying sizes. Occasional illustrations add to the interest.

Broad range of topics covered and fairly accurate, but the extreme bias (due to the author's worldview) has resulted in an unfair and misrepresented view of many of the topics involving the possibility of a God interfering with the world or not (such as creationism/creation science, atheism, miracles, naturalism, etc...). The author tends to be definitive about the nature of these topics, but at the same time, he is vague when dealing with whether there is a god/God of some sort. An example: An atheist is a person that does not believe in any sort of higher power, but the author tries to dance around this in order to not offend anyone. Another example is the attempt of the author to relegate creation science to nothing more than a metaphysical theory. Creation scientists conduct real science, but all because they believe in a non-natural origin of things, the author dismisses it as junk science entirely. To prove the author is avoiding areas that disagree with his views, one only has to consider the fact that he does not include intelligent design as a topic in his book. He claims creationism can not be refuted or falsified, but he ignores the fact that evolution suffers from the same problem. When any new evidence comes out that is incompatible with current evolutionary theory, the theory is adjusted to accommodate, but the author ignores this. Both creationism and macro-evolution are irrefutable, but this is ignored. The author also does not deal with arguments regarding the notion that there is a significant difference between small-scale evolutionary changes (Ex. Birds changing color or beak size... sometimes referred to as microevolution) and large-scale evolutionary changes (pond scum becoming animals...sometimes referred to as macro-evolution). The author also does not deal with cryptozoology in a fair manner. He avoids dealing with historical and documented evidence that humans have seen and interacted with animals (dragons/dinosaurs, pterodactyls, etc.) that should have been extinct for millennia. He only considers animals that are allegedly alive today. The soft tissue of dinosaurs (with intact blood cells and DNA) discovered in multiple locations is not mentioned... meaning they could not have been extinct for millions of years. I could go on and on with evidence that is contrary to what this book is meant to portray, but the author chooses not to deal with them. If an author is going to write a definitive book on skeptism, the author should not cherry-pick the topics and evidence covered. These topics should be covered fully and fairly. A biased work.

This is a very wonderful book! It is filled with all sorts of facts and theories on a wide range of topics. Even Santa and Bigfoot have entries that are worth checking out. Alongside the Druids and Psychoanalysis. From the strange to the mundane, there is something for even the most skeptical of skeptics here. Offers up some very compelling arguments, depending upon the topic discussed. In fact, it might make you reconsider how much of a skeptic you are or have become.

The range of beliefs considered in this book is very large. I was impressed with the varieties of beliefs, superstitions, doctrines, teachings, etc that human beings accept. The book is generally well-written with the apparent biases one would expect in this genre. I enjoy reading it in small doses and always learn something new when I do.

This book is awesome, fair enough that a lot of it you could just find online or amongst blogs and wiki, but the whole book sits a nice little bundle of all the wacky garbage you can find in the pseudo loving world. I used it to help shoot down some NLP cult members.

This is a good book for a rainy day, because it is a lot to absorb. But I really like this book. I actually bought it because of all the negative reviews - I wanted to see what all the hooplah was about. It has many interesting theories - and you do not HAVE to believe all of them - but they all deserve consideration.

I always use urban myths in my storylines so this book was an interesting read and as all reference books are you take what you will and believe what your choose.More things are unknown than known.And that should always be the case.

This book is an absolute delight!It is in the form of a dictionary or is it more appropriately an encyclopaedia?You can start reading at page 1 but I think most people will dip in and out of what catches their eye,or they may just look things up as they occur.There are so many things in here that are weird, wonderful, unbelievable or proven to be false.That's what a lot of the book is about - undermining what a lot of us have been told over the yearsand it just ain't so! Whether it's fairy stories, gossip, old wives' tales or moonshine, this book looks into it andtells us if it's true - or not.There's a lot of people out there who are prepared to make money out of the gullible, and there'sa lot of gullible people out there prepared to part with that money too!A wonderful addition to any bookshelf.

If, like me, you have ever found your self in an argument, either with a peddler or believer, of some bizarre, non-sensical or illucid ideology, cult or quackery and needed some ammunition, then Carroll's book is for you. While no subject is covered in fine detail, it is comprehensive, with everything, from new-age spirituality and the supernatural to paranoid conspiracy theorists covered, it provides a rich antidote to the flood of ill-thought and delusional beliefs that plague us daily. With the popular media, uncritically promoting new-age fads (homeopathy etc.) or recycling old ones (psychic crime solvers), there is too little literature, championing critical thought and objective analysis. This book is just a part of the small canon of work that sets out to present a reasoned response to the fuzzy-thinking and self-deception that is passed off as spiritual truth. I doubt whether it will manage to change the mind of many a true-believer, in fact that's not the author's purpose. It is more of an overview of what currently held beliefs and fallacies and their counter-arguments. Hopefully it will enable a person, unsure of what to make of the claims they are faced with, to make a more informed decision and also to strengthen the argument and thinking of the casual skeptic. My only criticism of the book is purely on the low-grade quality of some of the images inside, a minor point as the strength of the book comes purely from the text.

I very much enjoy reading this book, which is on the whole, a good guide to some of the most absurd and unbelievably insane notions and practices ever conceived. There are some entries, albeit very few, that let it down, either because they shouldn't be there (psychoanalysis is not a paranormal phenomenon), or because Mr Carroll's counter-arguement is weak, to inaccurate, to non-existent. The entry for Deja-Vu, is one such example; the author presents us with a catalogue of possibilities for the cause of Deja-Vu, each as weak as the next, before finally implying that people with strong experiences in this area, are potential psychiatric cases!Despite its relatively small failings, this volume is informative, witty and fairly well researched - my personal favourite is The Forer Effect, which gave me a good laugh for its amazing ability to demonstrate just how our levels of gullibility and excessive self-preoccupation, help to line the pockets of quacks and charlatans.

The Skeptic's Dictionary is classic of the genre! It remains the best book on skepticism. The most comprehensive, detailed and informative encyclopedia type collection of strange beliefs, skeptic terms, various scams and spiritual frauds. I've found, as was expecting, full information on all the phenomena and beliefs modern man is facing today. Stereotypes explained, evil charms broken, naive spells swept away! Recommended for everyone!

Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai acheté ce livre ! C'est effectivement un dictionnaire de mythes, rumeurs, légendes urbaines etc, mais tout cela est traité de façon très superficielle et peu intéressante. On se doute bien que l'auteur va se moquer des ces croyances irrationnelles, mais on aimerait qu'il soit plus documenté. J'ai revendu le livre avant de l'avoir terminé. Je me suis manifestement trompé dans cet achat, et j'en assume la responsabilité.