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The Millenium Project Bookshop - books about Pseudoscience

This is a collection of books related to the Pseudoscience category in The Millenium Project.

There are some books about Pseudoscience which are not recommended. You can see the list here.

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Pseudoscience

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 Wonder : How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
The Age of Wonder : How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes


Astrology : True or False? - A Scientific Evaluation
Astrology : True or False? - A Scientific Evaluation by Roger B. Culver and Philip A. Ianna

Astrology: True or False offers a complete and extensive summary of available evidence on astrology's basic definitions, concepts, and effectiveness. The authors' research revealed thousands of predictions gone "bust" - from the start of World War III to claims about the existence of an "anti-Earth" orbiting on the other side of the sun. They studied the famous twenty-year cycle" of presidential death and disaster, the "moon cycles" of crime and murder in major cities, and the incidences of major personality traits in certain sun signs. Their conclusions, while disappointing to the determined believer in astrology, are nevertheless refreshingly rational.



Astrology : What's Really in the Stars?
Astrology : What's Really in the Stars? by J.V. Stewart

Rather than offering a blistering critique of astrology, Stewart reveals discrepancies within horoscopic astrology's own framework to let the reader decide whether there is any merit to this ancient scheme of things.



Astrology Disproved
Astrology Disproved by Lawrence E. Jerome

Why do people believe in astrology? In these uncertain times many long for the comfort of having guidance in making decisions. They would like to believe in a destiny predetermined by astral forces beyond their control. However, we must all face the world, and we must realize that our futures lie in ourselves, and not in the stars.



Bad Astronomy : Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing 'Hoax'
Bad Astronomy : Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing 'Hoax' by Phil Plait


Bad Medicine : Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O
Bad Medicine : Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Distance Healing to Vitamin O by Christopher Wanjek


Bad Science
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre


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 Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize
The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize by Peter Doherty


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.



Big Bang
Big Bang by Simon Singh


Bizarre Beliefs
Bizarre Beliefs by Simon Hoggart and Mike Hutchinson


The Blind Watchmaker : Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
The Blind Watchmaker : Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design by Richard Dawkins


The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense
The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense by Michael Shermer


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


Bully for Brontosaurus : Reflections in Natural History
Bully for Brontosaurus : Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould


Chemical Sensitivity : The Truth About Environmental Illness
Chemical Sensitivity : The Truth About Environmental Illness by Stephen Barrett and Ronald E. Gots

One of the unifying principles of 'alternative medicine' is the horror of chemicals. Not things, of course, like ricin and botulism toxin which are natural and therefore not chemicals, or cyanide which is not a chemical when it come from apricot seeds. The only problem with the chemical-free vacuum of space is the radiation.



Climbing Mount Improbable
Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins


Cosmos Boxed Set (Collector's Edition) DVD
Cosmos Boxed Set (Collector's Edition) DVD by Carl Sagan

This is possibly the best science-related television series ever made, and demonstrated to a generation that the magnificence and beauty of reality exceeded anything that the supernatural and fantasy could offer. Anyone who saw it knows that there are billions and billions of reasons for wanting to see it again.



Cosmos Magazine
Cosmos Magazine


Cosmos
Cosmos by Carl Sagan

The book of the television series.



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.



Denying AIDS
Denying AIDS by Seth Kalichman


Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience by Martin Gardner


The Dose Makes the Poison : A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology
The Dose Makes the Poison : A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology by Alice Ottoboni

A common tenet of both 'alternative medicine' and loony environmentalism is that you can't have too much of a good thing or too little of a bad thing. Of course, if you believe in homeopathy you would believe in anything, but in real life it is possible to have harmless concentrations of dangerous things.



An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi


The Extended Phenotype : The Long Reach of the Gene
The Extended Phenotype : The Long Reach of the Gene by Richard Dawkins


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.



Fear of Food : Environmentalist Scams, Media Mendacity, and the Law of Disparagement
Fear of Food : Environmentalist Scams, Media Mendacity, and the Law of Disparagement by Andrea Arnold

Half the people in the world go to sleep hungry and what food they can get is inadequate and poor, yet people keep telling us that our food is dangerous and we should not do things that could produce safe, nutritious food for people who need it.



The Flamingo's Smile : Reflections in Natural History
The Flamingo's Smile : Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould


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


Goddess Unmasked : The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality
Goddess Unmasked : The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality by Philip G. Davis


Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift


Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe
Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe by Victor Stenger



Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes
Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes by Stephen Jay Gould


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.



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


How Not to Test a Psychic: Ten Years of Remarkable Experiments With Renowned Clairvoyant Pavel Stepanek
How Not to Test a Psychic: Ten Years of Remarkable Experiments With Renowned Clairvoyant Pavel Stepanek by Martin Gardner


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 We Believe : The Search for God in an Age of Science
How We Believe : The Search for God in an Age of Science by Michael Shermer

Shermer makes the distinction between belief, non-belief and unbelief, and describes his own transition from one state to another. Religion and science have different roles in society, and this book looks at the boundaries and overlaps which are legitimate for each.



Humbug!
Humbug! by Jef and Theo Clark


In Pursuit of Satan : The Police and the Occult
In Pursuit of Satan : The Police and the Occult by Robert D. Hicks


Influence
Influence by Robert B. Cialdini


Investigating the Unexplained
Investigating the Unexplained by Melvin Harris


Leviathan
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes


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.



Making Monsters : False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria
Making Monsters : False Memories, Psychotherapy, and Sexual Hysteria by Richard Ofshe and Ethan Watters


The Mask of Nostradamus : The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer
The Mask of Nostradamus : The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer by James Randi


The Matryoshka Doll
The Matryoshka Doll by Eugenia Miroshnikoff

Why do people believe in astrology? In these uncertain times many long for the comfort of having guidance in making decisions. They would like to believe in a destiny predetermined by astral forces beyond their control. However, we must all face the world, and we must realize that our futures lie in ourselves, and not in the stars.



Memory Distortion : How Minds, Brains, and Societies Reconstruct the Past
Memory Distortion : How Minds, Brains, and Societies Reconstruct the Past by Daniel L. Schacter (Editor)

Much nonsense is talked about what goes on inside the mind and what it means to remember things and events. This book collects some essays from experts who can brush aside that nonsense and explain what it is about memories that we can trust and what we can't.



The Mismeasure of Man
The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould

Gould has been criticised for being a bit cruel and nasty (and even a bit inaccurate) in his criticisms of people who didn't know the things we know today, but it is a useful book to show how science can change as more is learned about something. There is no doubt that science is influenced by the culture of the time, but the difference between science and non-science or pseudoscience is that the real thing can break away from culture when the facts demand it.



A Modest Proposal and Other Satires
A Modest Proposal and Other Satires by Jonathan Swift


The Myth of Repressed Memory : False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse
The Myth of Repressed Memory : False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Elizabeth Loftus and Katherine Ketcham

An entire industry has grown up around the absurd idea that children can be subjected to atrocities like sexual abuse and cannibalism and not remember any of this until some 'therapist' reconstructs the memories for them. This book exposes this nonsense for what it is - a vicious attack on children and families by people prepared to knowingly lie to support a crazy ideology.



National Science Education Standards
National Science Education Standards

A landmark effort that involved thousands of teachers, scientists, science educators, and other experts across the country, these standards echo the principle that learning science is an inquiry-based process, that science in schools should reflect the intellectual traditions of contemporary science, and that all Americans have a role in improving science education. This document is invaluable to education policy-makers, school system administrators, teacher educators, individual teachers, and concerned parents.



The New Age : Notes of a Fringe-Watcher
The New Age : Notes of a Fringe-Watcher by Martin Gardner


Objections to Astrology
Objections to Astrology by Bart J. Bok and Lawrence E. Jerome

A statement by 192 scientists, including 19 Nobel Prize winners, who call the "science" of astrology a deception based on "magic and superstition."



On the Wild Side
On the Wild Side by Martin Gardner


The Panda's Thumb : More Reflections in Natural History
The Panda's Thumb : More Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould


A Physicist's Guide to Skepticism
A Physicist's Guide to Skepticism by Milton A. Rothman


Pseudodoxia Epidemica : Or, Enquiries into Very Many Received Tenentes, and Commonly Presumed Truths
Pseudodoxia Epidemica : Or, Enquiries into Very Many Received Tenentes, and Commonly Presumed Truths by Thomas Browne


Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction
Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction by Charles Wynn and Arthur Wiggins

There is a difference between science and pseudoscience, between reality and fantasy. This book shows you how to tell the difference.



Remembering Satan
Remembering Satan by Lawrence Wright


River Out of Eden : A Darwinian View of Life
River Out of Eden : A Darwinian View of Life by Richard Dawkins


Science : Good, Bad and Bogus
Science : Good, Bad and Bogus by Martin Gardner


Science and Religion : Are They Compatible?
Science and Religion : Are They Compatible? by Paul Kurtz, Barry Karr and Ranjit Sandhu (Editors)



Science Made Stupid
Science Made Stupid by Tom Weller


Science Versus Religion
Science Versus Religion by Tad S. Clements


The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins


Seven Brief Lessons On Physics
Seven Brief Lessons On Physics by Carlo Rovelli



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


Smoke and Mirrors : The Devastating Effect of False Sexual Abuse Claims
Smoke and Mirrors : The Devastating Effect of False Sexual Abuse Claims by Terence W. Campbell


The Sorcerer of Kings : The Case of Daniel Dunglas Home and William Crookes
The Sorcerer of Kings : The Case of Daniel Dunglas Home and William Crookes by Gordon Stein and James Randi


The Story of Evolution
The Story of Evolution by Joseph McCabe

Published in 1911, free from Project Gutenberg



The Structure of Evolutionary Theory
The Structure of Evolutionary Theory by Stephen Jay Gould


Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia
Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia by Jöelle Gergis

Climate change deniers keep telling us that the weather has always been variable (they know the difference between climate and weather but it suits them to ignore it). This book is the work of a scientist who has investigated changes in weather patterns and climate in Australia over the last few hundred years and guess what - things are getting worse. Weather events are now closer together and more damaging and the cause is clear - it's because humans have been doing things to change the climate.



Superstition : Belief in the Age of Science
Superstition : Belief in the Age of Science by Robert Park


The Theory of Evolution
The Theory of Evolution by John Maynard Smith

Evolution is one of those fundamental theories in science, like relativity, heliocentricity, gravity, blood circulation, atomic structure and quantum mechanics of which it can realistically be said that the idea introduced a paradigm shift in scientific thinking. Modern science would be primitive and crippled without it. This book provides excellent ammunition for the fight against those who would replace evolution with superstition.



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


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 About Uri Geller
Truth About Uri Geller by James Randi


A Universe From Nothing
A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence Krauss


Unweaving the Rainbow : Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder
Unweaving the Rainbow : Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard Dawkins

Believers in superstition and magic often accuse scientists, atheists and other rational thinkers of denying or even destroying mystery and beauty. Dawkins points out in this book that there is so much wonder and excitement in truth and reality that it is unnecessary to make up explanations.



The Varieties of Scientific Experience : A Personal View of the Search for God
The Varieties of Scientific Experience : A Personal View of the Search for God by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan


Victims of Memory : Sex Abuse Accusations and Shattered Lives
Victims of Memory : Sex Abuse Accusations and Shattered Lives by Mark Pendergrast and Melody Gavigan


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.



Weird Water & Fuzzy Logic
Weird Water & Fuzzy Logic by Martin Gardner


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.



Why We Do It : Rethinking Sex and the Selfish Gene
Why We Do It : Rethinking Sex and the Selfish Gene by Niles Eldredge


Wonderful Life : The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Wonderful Life : The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould


 

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