Pssst. You know the Roswell alien autopsy video? It's a government plant- the real alien they found had far more hideous tentacles....What? You don't believe me! You...you...skeptic! As Michael Shermer, professor at Occidental College and publisher of SKEPTIC magazine, points out in Why People Believe Weird Things, calling someone a skeptic can almost take on a pejorative meaning, equating skepticism with the worst possible cynicism. This in spite of the fact that skepticism is a methodology used at least partially in one circumstance or another by virtually every human being. Though some feel that skepticism should only be directed against used-car salesman, or followers of "them there false I-D-eol-O-g-eez" (from Satan no doubt)- never towards oneself- Shermer makes the case that skepticism merits attention in a wide variety of spheres. Using examples drawn from such diverse elements as Creationism, Alien Abduction, Near Death Experiences, and Holocaust Revisionism- as well as lesser known cases of pseudo-thought, such as the personality "cult" surrounding Ayn Rand- Shermer deftly explores the wide applicability of skepticism in debunking frivolous and sometimes even harmful pseudoscience, pseudohistory, and pseudo-truth. And importantly, he does so without a "holier than thou" style- even divulging in a few passages his own bouts of credulity. Shermer makes a valiant effort to follow one of Spinoza's dictums: "I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them." Although he mentions a number of reasons human perception goes awry, one of the key ones he cites is the exaltation of wishful thinking- also known as faith. As Nietzsche would say of anyone who thought that the strength of one's conviction was proof of the truth of one's conviction, a short stroll through an insane asylum might be just the antidote. In a culture inundated with a gamut of extraordinary claims based on strongly held yet-not-so-strongly-examined beliefs- where belief in the paranormal, supernatural, and extraterrestrial is encouraged by much of popular cinema and media- Why People Believe Weird Things is an invaluable tool for becoming a better critical thinker. (Or is it? ) Yes, for X-files fans (myself included) it can often be thrilling to imagine government conspiracies, classified alien technologies, and occult phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is no program on the tube today (that I'm aware of) that makes it just as thrilling to understand the roots of pseudoscience, pseudohistory, and superstition. For now we have to content ourselves with a smattering of outstanding books (Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World is another fine example) that pull the curtains on much of what tries to pass muster as truth- which turns out can be just as fun as credulously lapping up what the latest series of gurus, psychobabblers, quacks, and charlatans have to disperse in their plague of unreason.