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The Millenium Project Bookshop – books about Critical Thinking

This is a collection of books related to the aims and interests of The Millenium Project and which are specifically related to the practice of critical thinking.

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Critical Thinking

100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Methods
100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Methods by Neil J. Salkind


200% Of Nothing : An Eye-Opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Math Abuse and Innumeracy
200% Of Nothing : An Eye-Opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Math Abuse and Innumeracy by A. K. Dewdney

One of the common threads through racism, medical quackery and pseudoscience is the abuse of statistics. Sometimes this is deliberate, sometimes it is just an indication of the ignorance of the speaker, but always it is a means of confusing or deceiving the listener. This guide to the absurdities of some mathematical claims helps to level the playing field.



The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine


The Art of Deception : An Introduction to Critical Thinking
The Art of Deception : An Introduction to Critical Thinking by Nicholas Capaldi


The Bear's Progress: SkeptoBear's World Tour 2004
The Bear's Progress: SkeptoBear's World Tour 2004 by Peter Bowditch

In January 2004, at the invitation of Mr James Randi, I was a speaker at The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas. At the time I was Vice President of Australian Skeptics and I went as a representative of that organisation, accompanied by the other Vice President. Also in the party was SkeptoBear, a bear of little repute, who insisted on coming as a neutral observer. This is the story of the trip around the bottom left-hand corner of the USA and the top left-hand corner of Mexico.



The Best Australian Science Writing 2011
The Best Australian Science Writing 2011 by Stephen Pincock (ed.)

From the elemental forces that drive our expanding universe to the delicate hairs on the back of your neck, science offers talented writers the kind of scope that other subjects simply can’t match. This dynamic genre of Australian writing has never, until now, been showcased in an anthology. With a foreword by Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty, The Best Australian Science Writing 2011 is a landmark book. Showcasing selections from the work of renowned communicators such as Tim Flannery, Germaine Greer, Anna Funder and Paul Davies, this book is an inspiring exploration of the most exciting, elegant, powerful, and important writing about science and nature published in Australia and by Australians.



Bizarre Beliefs
Bizarre Beliefs by Simon Hoggart and Mike Hutchinson


Bullshit and Philosophy
Bullshit and Philosophy by Gary L. Hardcastle and George A. Reisch (Editors)


Bullshit! Season 1 DVD
Bullshit! Season 1 DVD by Penn & Teller


Bullshit! Season 2 DVD
Bullshit! Season 2 DVD by Penn & Teller


Bullshit! Season 3 DVD
Bullshit! Season 3 DVD by Penn & Teller


Bullshit! Season 4 DVD
Bullshit! Season 4 DVD by Penn & Teller


Clear Thinking : A practical introduction
Clear Thinking : A practical introduction by Hy Ruchlis


Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams and Cons
Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams and Cons by Duane Swierczynski


Deception & Self-Deception : Investigating Psychics
Deception & Self-Deception : Investigating Psychics by Richard Wiseman


The Demon-Haunted World : Science As a Candle in the Dark
The Demon-Haunted World : Science As a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

Science is not test tubes, atom bombs and pollution, it is a way of thinking that separates superstition from knowledge. It is a way of deciding what is real and what is fantasy. Many of the sites listed in The Millenium Project are here because this distinction is not detected or recognised.



Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Thomas Kida


Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds
Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay

This book was first published in 1841 and told about panics and hysterias of the past. Updating the book to today would just require the addition of a chapter on the Internet stock craze, an update to the witchcraft chapter to include mention of recovered memory syndrome, satanic ritual abuse and alien abductions, and a new chapter about Y2K madness.



Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science by Martin Gardner

This is an extremely depressing and sad book, because it was written more than 60 years ago and it reads like it was written yesterday. Who would have thought that idiocies like scientology, chiropractic, homeopathy, perpetual motion machines, belief in flying saucers, and the nonsense about Atlantis and the pyramids would survive into the twenty-first century? The book is subtitled 'A study in human gullibility'. Tragic.



The Flight from Science and Reason
The Flight from Science and Reason by Paul R. Gross, Norman Levitt and Martin W. Lewis


Flim Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions
Flim Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions by James Randi

I am constantly amazed by the things that people will believe in. This book is a classic exposure of nonsense, much of which has somehow survived into the twenty-first century.



Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries : Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology
Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries : Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology by Kenneth L. Feder


Higher Superstition : The Academic Left and Its Quarrels With Science
Higher Superstition : The Academic Left and Its Quarrels With Science by Paul R. Gross and Norman Levitt

There is a famous painting by Goya called 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters'. It is what this site is about and what Gross and Levitt's book is about. It has taken centuries to refine science as a means of discovering and knowing the truth, yet science, reason and rationality are under attack by second-rate minds who want to put us and reason back to sleep.



Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias : Why We Need Critical Thinking
Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias : Why We Need Critical Thinking by Robert E. Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford


How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World
How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World by Francis Wheen


How to Think about Weird Things : Critical Thinking for a New Age
How to Think about Weird Things : Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn


How to Think Straight : An Introduction to Critical Reasoning
How to Think Straight : An Introduction to Critical Reasoning by Antony Flew


Humbug!
Humbug! by Jef and Theo Clark


The Little Black Book Of Scams
The Little Black Book Of Scams by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

The little black book of scams highlights a variety of popular scams that regularly target Australian consumers and small business in areas such as fake lotteries, internet shopping, mobile phones, online banking, employment and investment opportunities. It also offers consumers tips on how to protect themselves from scams, what they can do to minimise damage if they do get scammed and how they can report a scam.



Miracle Mongers and Their Methods
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini


Republic of Lies
Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan

An excellent introduction to the world of conspiracy thinking, with some history to show why people can believe almost anything if it fits their belief systems, prejudices, ideology or agenda.



Research Methods - The Key Concepts
Research Methods - The Key Concepts by Michael Hammond and Jerry Wellington


The Science of Good and Evil
The Science of Good and Evil by Micheal Shermer


The Skeptic
The Skeptic


Skeptical Inquirer
Skeptical Inquirer


Skepticism And The Possibility Of Knowledge
Skepticism And The Possibility Of Knowledge by A. C. Grayling


Skeptics and True Believers
Skeptics and True Believers by Chet Raymo


The Skeptic's Dictionary : A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions
The Skeptic's Dictionary : A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions by Robert T. Carroll

Featuring close to 400 definitions, arguments, and essays on topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies, The Skeptic's Dictionary is a lively, commonsense trove of detailed information on all things supernatural, occult, paranormal, and pseudoscientific. It covers such categories as alternative medicine; cryptozoology; extraterrestrials and UFOs; frauds and hoaxes; junk science; logic and perception; New Age energy; and the psychic. For the open-minded seeker, the soft or hardened skeptic, and the believing doubter, this book offers a remarkable range of information that puts to the test the best arguments of true believers.



The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal
The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal by Lynne Kelly


Teach Yourself Philosophy
Teach Yourself Philosophy by Mel Thompson


Things I Think About - Volume 1
Things I Think About - Volume 1 by Peter Bowditch


Things I Think About - Volume 2
Things I Think About - Volume 2 by Peter Bowditch


Think to Win : The Power of Logic in Everyday Life
Think to Win : The Power of Logic in Everyday Life by S. Cannavo


Thinking About Social Thinking
Thinking About Social Thinking by Antony Flew


The Trouble with Science
The Trouble with Science by Robin Dunbar

The title of this book might suggest that it is anti-science, but in fact the author posits that science is a natural part of human existence (and even that of some animals) because it is about how organisms explain and interact with the world around them. The author has produced a very good summary of the philosophical path through Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerabend, and there is commentary about the relationship between religion and science which mightn't please Richard Dawkins but which provides a credible explanation for the ubiquity of religion across societies (and which allows for religion to be abandoned when better knowledge comes along).



Truth, Knowledge, or Just Plain Bull : How to Tell the Difference
Truth, Knowledge, or Just Plain Bull : How to Tell the Difference by Bernard M. Patten


The Vanishing Hitchhiker
The Vanishing Hitchhiker by Jan Harold Brunvand


Voodoo Science : The Road from Foolishness to Fraud
Voodoo Science : The Road from Foolishness to Fraud by Robert Park

The scientific method is the best thing we have come up with to find out about how the universe works. This book is about the misuse of science and how it differs from science done badly. Both are bad, but at least bad science can be corrected. Mad science is more difficult to overcome.



Why People Believe Weird Things : Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time
Why People Believe Weird Things : Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer

I am continually amazed by the sorts of things that people can believe without any evidence to support the belief, and often in spite of comprehensive evidence against the belief. Faith is a wonderful thing, but it can't make facts disappear.



 

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