Podcasts about rational believe

Why do we have the tendency to believe things when they may not be true? Why do we project patterns, agency and meaning onto the world when sometimes there is none? How can we consider the probabilities of conspiracies to identify the ones that may be true? How do we encourage brave journalism that calls out conspiracies even by powerful institutions, in spite of the pejorative term ‘conspiracy theorist'? Today we have the uncomfortable topic of how our brains often believe things which aren't true. The topic fits perfectly with our theme for series 4 of Self-transcendence vs Self-delusion. Our innate ability to notice patterns in systems, assign agency and find meaning in the world are among the reasons we've evolved to become so successful at predicting, understanding and creating meaningful collaborations in the world. But the issue with these abilities is that we might make the mistake of thinking what the brain assigns to the world for our own survival, is necessarily true of the world itself. Sure our brains do track the truth but truth is not always what's needed for survival; so issues like negativity bias, confirmation bias and creating narrative stories that conveniently map onto our existing world view have become a deeply engrained part of our society. Add to this modern phenomena like the siloing of information by the internet into small echo chambers where only like minds come together; algorithmic amplification of memes led by the internet business model of “maximising engagement”; and decreasing trust in institutions, as economic inequality in the world increases exponentially, and you get a perfect storm of clashing beliefs about the truth. Fortunately, our guest today is one of the most established sceptical voices in science who reminds us that we need to track closely the difference between what can be collectively confirmed to be true, and what our brains project to be true from the inside out. He is of course, New York Times best selling author and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine Michael Schermer; he wrote for 18 years for the Scientific American. He's written nine books but today we're going to focus on his books “The Believing Brain” and his new release “Conspiracy: Why the rational believe the irrational”. What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 07:00 The philosophy of scepticism. 12:00 Oppenheimer quote - the freedom to doubt dogma to progress science. 15:40 Moral truth VS moral relativism. 19:00 Scientific revolutions overturning consensus. 24:30 ‘The Believing Brain'. 25:40 The ability to see patterns 26:50 Evolution selects for assuming more things are real than not, just in case. 30:10 Bayesian inference: levels of confidence in being right or wrong. 32:40 ‘Agencicity', impugning patterns with intentional agency. 36:50 Identical twin studies 41:10 Assigning meaning to patterns in nature. 44:40 Teleology: goal directness in life. 48:50 Confirmation bias - cherry picking data to belong in groups with certain beliefs 57:40 There are many real conspiracies. 01:00:20 Tribal, proxy and paranoid conspiracism. 01:03:35 Being overly suspicious - negativity bias. 01:07:50 Critical thinking - how not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. 01:16:50 Conflict of interest in media 01:18:40 The pejorative term ‘conspiracy theorist' demotivating brave journalism. 01:26:30 Reductionism and determinism evaluated. 01:32:20 Remote Viewing and psi phenomena: sceptics view. 01:46:30 The UFO phenomena: sceptics view. References: Michael Schermer, “The Believing Brain" Michael Scheremer, “Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational” Michael Schermer, “The Moral Arc” Scepticism 101 course: How to think like a scientist Remote viewing Stargate Program documentary “Third Eye Spies” Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean - ‘Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program', NYTimes article

Longtime friends Peter Boghossian and Michael Shermer sit down to talk about ideological capture in American institutions, skepticism, the Grievance Studies Affair, the Fermi Paradox, and more!Dr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. Michael wrote a monthly column for Scientific American for 18 years. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational" His next book is set to be published in Fall 2025. Watch this episode on YouTube. 

Josh and M review the final part (part 3) of Michael Shermer's 2022 book, "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational." It's nota lot of sound and fury, and it signifies... Well, you will have to listen and find out!

In the sequel to last week's episode, we look at Part II of Michael Shermer's book "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational". This part is all about determining which conspiracies are real - judging them, if you will. So the title works - it's not just a gratuitous pop culture reference! Not that there's anything wrong with a gratuitous pop culture reference.

Josh and M review part 1 (of 3) of Michael Shermer's 2022 book, "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational."

Peter Boghossian joined two of his favorite Michaels for Spectrum Street Epistemology in Santa Barbara, California. Bestselling authors and esteemed public intellectuals Michael Shermer and Michael Shellenberger discussed a number of topics ranging from religion to alien life. Peter began with a claim that elicited points of agreement and disagreement: “Christianity is a better bulwark against ‘woke' than humanism.” This opens a discussion of nihilism, objective vs. subjective views of reality, and moral realism and pragmatism. They consider the primal (and political) rejection of free speech, history's moral arc, the limits of knowledge, and epistemic humility. Both gentlemen clarify their views on alien life and Mr. Shellenberger, a Christian, identifies the “most important” Biblical passage. Michael Shellenberger is an author, investigative journalist, and the founder & president of Environmental Progress, a nonprofit research organization. He also co-founded the California Peace Coalition, an alliance of parents of children killed by fentanyl and parents of homeless addicts. Michael is the author of “Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility” (with Ted Nordhaus), “Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All,” and most recently, “San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities.” Peter and Michael published “Woke Psychopathology: A Taxonomy” in October 2023. Michael Shermer is the world's leading skeptic and Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine. He hosts the podcast The Michael Shermer Show and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. Dr. Shermer is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers “Why People Believe Weird Things” and “The Believing Brain.” His latest book is “Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.” Watch this episode on YouTube.

Why do people believe what they believe? Are religious convictions any different than believing that aliens have visited earth? Dr. Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, host of The Michael Shermer Show, and author of many books, most recently Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational, helps us calibrate our skeptic's compass and find our way through the labyrinth of belief. You can find Amanda's previous appearance on The Michael Shermer Show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaS8tNmV50s&list=PLRdTugBInz19PmwsPhMjrzABr7yPUl1ry&index=65 You can find Amanda's article about cognitive bias for Skeptic Magazine here: https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/gift-of-bias-how-wrongful-conviction-helped-amanda-knox-become-better-thinker/ Get early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more by supporting Labyrinths on patreon. https://www.patreon.com/knoxrobinson www.knoxrobinson.com Twitter: @amandaknox | @manunderbridge IG: @amamaknox | @emceecarbon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Chabris is a cognitive scientist who has taught at Union University and Harvard University. His research focuses on decision-making, attention, intelligence and behavior genetics. Christopher received his Ph.D. in Psychology and A.B. in computer science from Harvard University. He joined us today to talk about the book he co-authored, Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It.Join us as we dissect the complexities of belief, deception, and human psychology. [10.08] Willing suspension of disbelief – Christopher defines willing suspension of disbelief and how the position of belief can get us into trouble. [14.12] The illusory truth – We dive into how we mistakenly attribute qualities such as credibility, truth, and trustworthiness to things like familiarity and recognition.[24.12] Using AI – Artificial intelligence and its current usage. [32.27] Survivorship bias – Christopher explains what survivorship bias is with some examples.[38.18] Opinions - Opinions come a lot easier than justifications. We talk about the famous saying, ‘The work required to have an opinion.'[48.10] Predictions – We dive into predictions, outcomes, and the effect predictions have on people.[51.27] Consistency – Consistency and what happens when it's impossible.[01.07.25] Dealing with scams – Christopher shares how to identify if you are working with a scam and how to stay safe from them.ResourcesConnect with ChristopherLinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/christopherchabris/ Twitter - twitter.com/cfchabris Website - chabris.com/Book by Christopher Chabris Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do about ItBook by Duncan J. WattsEverything Is Obvious: How Common Sense Fails UsBook by Michael ShermerConspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational

The Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, podcaster, and Presidential Fellow at Chapman University talks about why we believe weird things, how our brains seek patterns to stay safe, the state of science and journalism, intellectual humility vs. certainty, the surprising rise of antisemitism, and his book Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.  Big thanks to our sponsor PrizePicks.com/Mike Use code MIKE for a first deposit match up to $100.

Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, Heavens on Earth, Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational, and was a monthly columnist for Scientific American for 18 years. He received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979, also teaching at Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University, where he taught a transdisciplinary course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain. EPISODE LINKS: - Michael's Website: https://michaelshermer.com/ - Michael's Channel: https://youtube.com/@skepticmagazine/ - Michael's Books: https://tinyurl.com/5t4ef2zr - Skeptic: https://www.skeptic.com/ TIMESTAMPS: (0:00) - Introduction (0:42) - The Null Hypothesis (5:00) - Popperian Falsification & Bayesian Reasoning (13:41) - Ontology vs Epistemology (18:39) - Anthropomorphising God & The Fermi Paradox (25:08) - Non-Human Biologics & Teleology (35:32) - The Lamarckian Fallacy (40:15) - Skepticism 101 (Biases & Fallacies) (55:45) - Hard Problem of Consciousness & Mind-Body Skepticism (1:02:15) - Navigating Beyond Materialism (1:08:43) - Free Will (Self-Determined) & Moral Responsibility (1:30:36) - Idealogies & Conspiracies (1:37:38) - Sentience & Metacognition (1:46:27) - Extraterrestrials & Artificial Intelligence (1:53:27) - Protopia (1:59:48) - Signal Detection Problems & Truth (2:04:15) - Magic & Illusions (2:08:46) - Conclusion CONNECT: - Website: https://tevinnaidu.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drtevinnaidu - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtevinnaidu/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtevinnaidu/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtevinnaidu/ For Business Inquiries: info@tevinnaidu.com ============================= ABOUT MIND-BODY SOLUTION: Mind-Body Solution explores the nature of consciousness, reality, free will, morality, mental health, and more. This podcast presents enlightening discourse with the world's leading experts in philosophy, physics, neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, AI, and beyond. It will change the way you think about the mind-body dichotomy by showing just how difficult — intellectually and practically — the mind-body problem is. Join Dr. Tevin Naidu on a quest to conquer the mind-body problem and take one step closer to the mind-body solution. Dr Tevin Naidu is a medical doctor, philosopher & ethicist. He attained his Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery degree from Stellenbosch University, & his Master of Philosophy degree Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria. His academic work focuses on theories of consciousness, computational psychiatry, phenomenological psychopathology, values-based practice, moral luck, addiction, & the philosophy & ethics of science, mind & mental health. ===================== Disclaimer: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information provided at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and audio channel contain dialog, music, and images that are the property of Mind-Body Solution. You are authorised to share the link and channel, and embed this link in your website or others as long as a link back to this channel is provided. © Mind-Body Solution

FFRF litigation attorney Sam Grover tells us about his trip to Little Rock to do oral arguments in FFRF's federal lawsuit challenging the placement of a Ten Commandments monument at the Arkansas capitol. Then we interview the well-known skeptic Michael Shermer about his book Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.

The world's leading skeptic, author Michael Shermer, explains what it would take for him to believe claims of extraterrestrial visitation. Michael follows Pierre-Simon Laplace's principle, popularized by Carl Sagan: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Michael has bet $1,000 that irrefutable evidence of human contact with aliens will not materialize by the end of next year. So far, he has no takers. Peter and Michael discuss the brain as “an engine of belief” and how the human desire for transcendence and moralization leads people to extend their confidence beyond the warrant of the evidence. Education is one antidote to this cognitive malady, and Michael promotes teaching children statistics, probability, and how to “think like scientists”.  Peter and Michael also discuss organizational splintering (including in the skeptic and atheist movement), fashionable beliefs, why believers in alien visitations aren't interested in SETI, Bayesian reasoning, the deep state, true conspiracies, Dr. Paul Hotez vs. RFK Jr., childhood gender transition, and Michael's forthcoming book, Truth.  Dr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. Michael wrote a monthly column for Scientific American for 18 years. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain. His latest book is Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.  Twitter: @michaelshermerYou can watch this conversation on YouTube!

New York Times Best-Selling author and frequent Joe Rogan guest @skepticmagazine founder Michael Shermer chats with Josh Molina about climate change, RFK Jr., doomers, culture wars, vaccines and much more in this hour-long podcast. Shermer, whose Skeptic magazine regularly offers science-based stories that debunk conspiracy theories. Shermer's latest book is Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. In this podacast, Shermer talks about politics, free-will and logic all through the lense of our current political backdrop with RFK Jr. making the rounds on podcasts and what that says about the state of the media. He also discusses the doomer attitude about climate change and why he disagrees with end of the world predictions. "When I plug in my Tesla, the electricity doesn't come out of the electricity fairy in the wall. It's gotta come from somewhere and most of that is coal-burning power stations," Shermer said. About Robert Kennedy Jr., Shermer says the Democratic presidential candidate has strong views on foreign policy, but he's skeptical of some of his other views. "This guy is pretty sharp, why is he so wrong on other things, these vaccines, I don't know," Shermer said. Joshua Molina is a journalist and college instructor who interviews a wide variety of people on the issues of environment, education, housing, politics, culture and business. Molina is a former reporter at the San Jose Mercury News and teaches at Cal State University, Northridge and Santa Barbara City College. Visit SantaBarbaraPodcasts.com or SantaBarbaraTalks.com to sign up for his newsletter and make a contribution to this privately owned podcast.

Michael Shermer, a professional skeptic, recently appeared on the noted apolitical podcast Triggernometry to outline his advice on How to Spot a True Conspiracy Theory. Shermer is someone who has spent decades on the subject and just last year published a new book, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational, so you might imagine he has some important insights to share.Well... sort of.Join us as we cast a quizzical eye over suggestions that every reasonable person should be a conspiracy theorist, Barack Obama may have been controlled by shadowy masters, the CIA invented the very notion of conspiracy theories, and that what we really need is to return the good old days when anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish conspiracies were commonplace and spoken of freely... yes, really!Back soon enough with a full waffle episode!LinksTriggernometry- Conspiracy Expert: How to Spot a True Conspiracy TheoryShermer explaining his Tweet endorsing Stefan MolyneuxShermer's participation in Dave Rubin's Book Club for Don't Burn This BookShermer's 2021 interview with Bret and Heather with no mention of vaccinesShermer correcting his Tweet about the Nazis being leftwingPositive review at Skeptic for Milo's "Dangerous" BookShermer explaining why he thinks it is good he mixes his Libertarian politics with his science/skepticism

Michael Shermer is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a publication focussed on investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. He is the author of over a dozen books, the most recent of which is ‘Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.' You can find Michael's book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1421444453/  SPONSORED BY: ATHLETIC GREENS. Get a free 1-year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase. Go to https://athleticgreens.com/triggernometry/ Join our exclusive TRIGGERnometry community on Locals! https://triggernometry.locals.com/ OR Support TRIGGERnometry Here: Bitcoin: bc1qm6vvhduc6s3rvy8u76sllmrfpynfv94qw8p8d5 Music by: Music by: Xentric | info@xentricapc.com | https://www.xentricapc.com/ YouTube:  @xentricapc   Buy Merch Here: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/shop/ Advertise on TRIGGERnometry: marketing@triggerpod.co.uk Join the Mailing List: https://www.triggerpod.co.uk/sign-up/ Find TRIGGERnometry on Social Media:  https://twitter.com/triggerpod https://www.facebook.com/triggerpod/ https://www.instagram.com/triggerpod/ About TRIGGERnometry:  Stand-up comedians Konstantin Kisin (@konstantinkisin) and Francis Foster (@francisjfoster) make sense of politics, economics, free speech, AI, drug policy and WW3 with the help of presidential advisors, renowned economists, award-winning journalists, controversial writers, leading scientists and notorious comedians. 00:00 Intro  01:16 Michael Shermer's Background 03:21 The Information Era's Impact on Conspiracies 10:06 Big Tech Speech Censorship 16:40 When Should a Media Platform Censor Someone?  19:27 Sponsor Message: Athletic Greens 20:58 The Twitter Files 28:33 Have We Become More Conspiratorial? 36:51 Epstein's Island & Flight Logs 42:33 The Great Reset 48:11 The Conspiracy Theorist Demographic 55:52 Conspiracy & Victimhood 1:00:54 What's the One Thing We're Not Talking About?

On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast we are joined by Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine to discuss the rise of conspiracy theories in America.  Make sure to check out Shermer's new book on the subject, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.  The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions. Episode Music: “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa (Free Music Archive) “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones) "Last Dance" by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive) “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist's permission)  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Youtube link Author Leah Sotille will be joining John and Rebecca to discuss her book examining the culture of end times paranoia and the trail of mysterious deaths surrounding former beauty queen Lori Vallow and her husband, grave digger turned doomsday novelist, Chad Daybell. When The Moon Turns to Blood tells a gripping story of extreme beliefs, snake oil prophets, and explores the question: if it feels like the world is ending, how are people supposed to act? Join the Mormon Stories Book Club Facebook Group Here! Next book: Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational by Michael Shermer Episode Show Notes Mormon Stories Thanks Our Generous Donors! Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today: One-time or recurring donation through Donorbox Support us on Patreon Our Platforms: Youtube Patreon Spotify Apple Podcasts Contact us: MormonStories@gmail.com  PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117  Social Media: Insta: @mormstories Tiktok: @mormonstoriespodcast Join the Discord

Michael Shermer stops in to talk about his new book Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational . He and Bridget discuss trying to diffuse the pejorative nature of the word “conspiracy”, the difference between a hypothesis and a conspiracy, why a lot of conspiracy theories turn out to be true, the eroded trust in our institutions, and why we still have to maintain some of that trust or we can't have a civil society, and the entertainment value and appeal of conspiracy theories - they make you feel like you have an inside track on complex issues. They also cover Ponzi schemes & crypto, people who fall down a Q rabbithole, queer science, price gouging and price fixing, conscious capitalism vs. effective altruism, scientific fraud, selection bias, audience capture, and the most important factor in being able to tell the likelihood that a conspiracy is legit. Sponsor Links: - Congressional Dish podcast - https://bit.ly/WiWCongressDish - Your Welcome podcast - https://bit.ly/WiW-YourWelcome

Dr. Michael Shermer: Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, and Heavens on Earth. His new book is Conspiracy: Why The Rational Believe The Irrational.Michael Shermer's Website: - https://michaelshermer.comIn this episode, we cover:Why The Rational Believe The Irrational.Conspiracies During The 2024 Presidential Election.Are We Heading Towards a Civil War?Sports and Trans Rights.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, here's what to do next:Subscribe now to learn from the world's most brilliant minds.Share this episode with a friend.Rate the show on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.------Highlights00:00 Intro01:23 Michael's Trajectory04:30 Defining Skepticism06:06 Can Science Answer the Question of Meaning?09:57 What Are the Key Challenges We Face Today.14:28 How Much Can We Trust Our Modern Scientific Tools?19:20 The Emergence of Ideology Becoming Identity.22:44 Why The Rational Believe The Irrational.27:17 The Twitter Files Conspiracy.34:30 How To Distinguish Signal From Noise on Twitter.37:03 Conspiracies During The 2024 Presidential Election.43:10 Are We Heading Towards a Civil War?47:52 Sports and Trans Rights.51:20 What is Epistemic Humility?52:50 One Conspiracy Theory That Blew Michael's Mind?55:35 What Are Some Conspiracy Theories That Michael is Keeping a Mind On?59:30 Closing Remarks.----

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101.For 18 years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He writes a weekly Substack column.He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, Heavens on Earth, Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist and Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.Dr. Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979, also teaching at Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University, where he taught a transdisciplinary course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain.Websitesmichaelshermer.comskeptic.commoralarc.orgBooksConspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the IrrationalHow We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for GodWhy People Believe Weird ThingsThe Believing BrainFollow him on Twitter @michaelshermer.

A very important conversation with one of the top skeptics in the world about his new, excellent book, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. Dr. Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, the host of the podcast The Michael Shermer Show, and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, where he teaches Skepticism 101. For 18 years, he has been a monthly columnist for Scientific American. In this interview, you will learn about the biology that motivates people to believe in conspiracy theories as well as understand there are, in fact, actual conspiracies. The important thing is understanding what one needs to consider in order to accept a belief about a conspiracy as “true.” Shermer gives very practical, good advice on how to interact with folks that mirrors my work of what is effective. Most importantly–being willing to be curious, respectful, ask good questions, don't be emotional or attack the individual and much more. Please check it out. Learn more about Steven Hassan and Freedom of Mind Resource Center. Visit freedomofmind.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Conspiracy theories are now mainstream in American politics. The most recent was the rigging allegations surrounding the 2020 election when somehow a cabal of independent state actors, many of whom were Republicans, and computer hackers conspired to give Joe Biden a seven million vote plurality in the popular vote, even though he actually lost … Continue reading EP 609 Why the Rational Believe the Irrational →

Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine and the author of many books, including Why People Believe Weird Things, the Moral Arc, and most recently, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.Conspiracy:https://www.amazon.ca/Conspiracy-Why-Rational-Believe-Irrational/dp/1421444453Richard Hanania Interview:Jon Askonas: Reality is Just a Game Nowhttps://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/reality-is-just-a-game-now0:00 History6:30 Conspiracy Theories24:00 Religious Sects41:00 Evolutionary Adaptation57:30 Social Media Algorithms1:13:30 Sex Differences1:17:00 Trump1:31:00 Pandemics1:36:00 Deep State1:51:00 Lab Leak1:59:00 The Intellectual Dark Web2:10:00 Academia2:28:00 Chaos and Order This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cactus.substack.com

Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to expert skeptic Michael Shermer about his new book “Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational”; how he detects political media bias when he reads the news; what he thinks the most objective news source is; why even rational people believe conspiracy theories; how the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci lost the trust of the American people; how online conspiracy theories can spread exponentially faster than ever before; why online censorship of misinformation will always backfire; the simple test you can use to disprove most conspiracy theories; whether the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story counts as a conspiracy; and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founder of Skeptic magazine and the Executive Director of The Skeptics Society. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, Heavens on Earth, Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist and his new book is called Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. He has also delivered two popular TED talks, appeared on Oprah, The Colbert Report, 20/20, Dateline, Charlie Rose, Larry King Live, Joe Rogan (7 times) and now, in what is clearly the highlight of his career (lol), he finds his way to TYP-HQ. Dr. Shermer received his B.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University, M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in the history of science from Claremont Graduate University. He has been a college professor since 1979, also teaching at Occidental College, Glendale College, and Claremont Graduate University, where he taught a transdisciplinary course for Ph.D. students on Evolution, Economics, and the Brain. Enjoy. michaelshermer.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted, in part, by followers of the mysterious QAnon community, itself a network of believers of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving pedophilia among elected officials and other civic and business leaders. But these are only the latest examples of a long history of conspiracies that have gained adherents in society. In his timely new book, Conspiracy, Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, discusses what makes conspiracies so appealing to segments of the population. Shermer finds that conspiracy theories cut across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status―and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial: elections have been rigged, medical professionals have intentionally harmed patients in their care, your government does lie to you, and, tragically, some adults do conspire to sexually abuse children. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control play a role in conspiratorial cognition patterns, as do certain personality traits. Join us for Dr. Shermer's discussion in our continuing series on false narratives. It is for anyone concerned about the future direction of American politics, as well as anyone who has watched friends or family fall into patterns of conspiratorial thinking. MLF ORGANIZER Eric Siegel SPEAKERS Michael Shermer Publisher, Skeptic Magazine; Executive Director, The Skeptics Society; Author, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational Eric Siegel Chair, Personal Growth Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 1st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to episode 370 with Dr. Michael Shermer, author of “Conspiracy”, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine. “This book is a must read for understanding conspiracy theories, who believes them and why, and how to counter them. When author Michael Shermer saw the video of a […]

Dr. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, host of the podcast "The Michael Shermer Show," and a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He is the author of several books, the most recent of which is "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational." https://michaelshermer.com/

In Episode 278 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Michael Shermer. Michael is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine. He hosts his own podcast, “The Michael Shermer Show,” and is the best-selling author of books like “The Believing Brain, “Giving the Devil His Due,” “The Moral Arch,” “The Mind of the Market,” and many more. Shermer's latest book titled "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational" presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories—who believes them, why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted by the mysterious group QAnon. But this is only the latest example in a long history of ideas that include the satanic panics of the 1980s, the New World Order and Vatican conspiracy theories, fears about fluoridated water, speculations about President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and the notions that the Sandy Hook massacre was a false flag operation and 9/11 was an inside job. The purpose of today's conversation is to provide you with a framework for thinking about conspiracies—what they are, the different types of conspiracies that exist, and why we believe in them. You will also learn how to distinguish between real conspiracies and imagined ones and what we can do as a society to tilt the information landscape toward producing more accurate models of the world without resorting to censorship or the policing of thought and information. You can access the full episode, transcript, and intelligence report to this week's conversation by going directly to the episode page at HiddenForces.io and clicking on "premium extras." All subscribers gain access to our premium feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application. If you want access to our Hidden Forces genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can learn more at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. feel free to send an email to info@hiddenforces.io and I or someone from our team will right back to you. If you have further questions, feel free to send an email to info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone else from our team will get right back to you. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 10/21/2022

In this Roots of Reality Experiences episode, historian Ben Baumann talks with the publisher of Skeptic magazine Dr. Michael Shermer about all aspects of conspiracy theories and his latest book Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. New Book: https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Why-Rational-Believe-Irrational/dp/1421444453/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2TO2ZFV7ZPUVK&keywords=Conspiracy,+shermer&qid=1665347083&sprefix=conspiracy,+shermer,aps,178&sr=8-4 Website- https://michaelshermer.com/ Skeptic magazine- https://www.skeptic.com/ Podcast- https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/ Substack- https://michaelshermer.substack.com/ Twitter- https://twitter.com/michaelshermer Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Brant.Shermer If you like the podcast, leave a review at: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/root…ty/id1466338710 Follow Roots of Reality on Social Media: Facebook- facebook.com/RootsofReality Twitter- twitter.com/_RootsofReality Instagram- instagram.com/rootsofreality/?hl=en YouTube- youtube.com/channel/UCvmG6sKFW9…isable_polymer=true (Views and memories stated by guests in interviews do not represent Roots of Reality)

Michael Shermer discusses his new book Conspiracy, out October 25, 2022. In Conspiracy Shermer: reviews and integrates evolutionary, psychological, social, cultural, political, and economic conditions that fuel conspiracy theories presents his own original three-tiered theoretical model of Proxy Conspiracism, Tribal Conspiracism, and Constructive Conspiracism classifies and systematizes conspiracy theories in order to tease apart their different causes (incl. JFK's assassination, the 9/11 Truth movement, Pizzagate, QAnon, the Big Lie, Project MKULTRA, Operation Paperclip, and the perennial conspiracy theories surrounding UFOs) offers his Conspiracy Detection Kit on how to tell if a conspiracy theory is true, false, or undecidable and suggests how to talk to a conspiracy theorist. You can order your copy on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3Eza8Lf) and Audible (https://adbl.co/3eGXkaT) now.

On episode 149, we welcome Michael Shermer to discuss why people believe in conspiracy theories; focusing on the evolutionary perspective: better to be safe than sorry, the proxy: that they're symbols to, or natural inferences from, more fundamental beliefs, the tribal: they further unite us with our communities; how they're maintained through cognitive biases; Leon's past conspiratorial mindset and his beliefs about global conspiracies; real conspiracies and why they're more likely to be caused by few people and have a narrow goal/effect; 2Pac's murder and why we struggle with accepting that celebrities can be killed randomly; the real conspiracy that fostered World War I; how to effectively talk to conspiracy theorists; the difficulty of debunking theories that explain every major political event with one fundamental cause; and why and how wars and international conflicts are reduced over time. Michael Shermer is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and Editor in Chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. He is the author of New York Times bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Believing Brain, Why Darwin Matters, The Science of Good and Evil, The Moral Arc, and Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist. He's the host of the largely popular podcast, The Michael Shermer Show, and his newest book, out on October 25, 2022 is called Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.  | Michael Shermer | ► Podcast | https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show ► Website | https://michaelshermer.com ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/michaelshermer ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/michaelshermer1 ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Brant.Shermer ► Books | https://amzn.to/3MZ9qJh Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast ► Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32208666

This week our guest is Michael Shermer, who founded Skeptic Magazine and is the executive director of the Skeptic's Society. Michael's written many books over the years, including Heavens on Earth, which explores technologists efforts towards immortality; Giving the Devil His Due, which is a collection of essays on scientific humanism; and later this month he'll be publishing Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational. Given Michael's wide array of interest, we take a wide tour of many different ideas in this episode, including: free speech online, governmental regulation, how the internet has impacted conspiracy theories, reasons to be skeptical about technology, and much more. Find Michael's podcast and latest publications on his website michaelshermer.com, or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/michaelshermer ** Host: Steven Parton - LinkedIn / Twitter Music by: Amine el Filali