| |
| |
| About the Author | |
| |
| |
| Preface | |
| |
| |
| Acknowledgments | |
| |
| |
| |
| Introduction | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Continuum Mysteriosum | |
| |
| |
| Making Sense out of Mysteries: The Continuum Mysteriosum | |
| |
| |
| Extraordinary, Nonparanormal Mysteries | |
| |
| |
| An Invitation | |
| |
| |
| |
| Why Study These Things? | |
| |
| |
| The Dangers of Unexamined Paranormal Claims | |
| |
| |
| The Risk of Paranormal Passion and the Critical Thinker's Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| Eight Reality Checks: The Critical Thinker's Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Critical Thinker's Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| Evaluate Support for a Claim | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Check: Are the Sources Credible? | |
| |
| |
| Astrology | |
| |
| |
| Questionable Sources | |
| |
| |
| The Question of Authority | |
| |
| |
| When Experts Get It Wrong | |
| |
| |
| An Invitation to Question | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Check: Is the Logic Valid and Sound? | |
| |
| |
| Basic Logic | |
| |
| |
| Informal Logical Fallacies | |
| |
| |
| Premises, Logic, and Hypothesis Testing | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Check: Are Claims Based on Observation (Scientific Tests and Theories)? | |
| |
| |
| Observations | |
| |
| |
| Tests | |
| |
| |
| Theories | |
| |
| |
| Sagan's Balance and the FEDS Standard | |
| |
| |
| Science and Alternative Hypotheses | |
| |
| |
| Consider Alternative Explanations | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Checking for Oddities of Nature and the World of Numbers | |
| |
| |
| Probability Estimates and Bias | |
| |
| |
| Math Ignorance | |
| |
| |
| Coincidences | |
| |
| |
| The Clumpiness of Randomness | |
| |
| |
| The Law of Very Large Numbers | |
| |
| |
| Science and Chance | |
| |
| |
| Summary: Psychic Bias | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Checking for Perceptual Error and Trickery | |
| |
| |
| Top-Down Processes and Perception | |
| |
| |
| Manipulations of Magicians and Psychics: The Cold Reading Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| Hypnotic Suggestion Enhancers | |
| |
| |
| Perceptual Bias in the Mental Health Professions | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Checking for Memory Errors | |
| |
| |
| Memory Myths | |
| |
| |
| What Is Memory? | |
| |
| |
| Memory Errors | |
| |
| |
| Deja vu | |
| |
| |
| The Deja vu Reality Check | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Checking for the Placebo Effect | |
| |
| |
| What are Placebos? | |
| |
| |
| Weak and Strong Placebos | |
| |
| |
| How Placebos Work | |
| |
| |
| Placebos and Superstitious Beliefs | |
| |
| |
| Placebo Controversies | |
| |
| |
| Placebos and Performance | |
| |
| |
| |
| Reality Checking for Sensory Anomalies and Hallucinations | |
| |
| |
| Sensory Phenomena | |
| |
| |
| Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Tunnel Experiences | |
| |
| |
| Hallucinations | |
| |
| |
| Hallucinations and the Critical Thinker's Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| Dissociation and the Paranormal | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Paranormal Files | |
| |
| |
| |
| Spiritualism and the Survival Hypothesis | |
| |
| |
| Spiritualism | |
| |
| |
| Research on Life after Death | |
| |
| |
| Research on Channeling and Mediums | |
| |
| |
| Conclusion | |
| |
| |
| |
| Parapsychology | |
| |
| |
| The Language of Parapsychology | |
| |
| |
| Research on Psi | |
| |
| |
| Conclusion: The State of Psi Research | |
| |
| |
| |
| Energy Treatments and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) | |
| |
| |
| Contemporary Views of Energy: The Scientific Perspective | |
| |
| |
| Concepts of Energy in Children and Western History: Vitalism | |
| |
| |
| Chinese History and Energy: The Yin-Yang School | |
| |
| |
| Chinese Energy Treatments | |
| |
| |
| Western Energy Treatments | |
| |
| |
| Conclusion | |
| |
| |
| |
| Supernatural Cures and Faith Healing | |
| |
| |
| The Varieties of Healing Experience | |
| |
| |
| The Evidence | |
| |
| |
| Conclusion | |
| |
| |
| |
| Creationism, Intelligent Design, and God | |
| |
| |
| The Great Debate | |
| |
| |
| Things Great and Small | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Reality Checkup: Using Your Toolkit | |
| |
| |
| The Reality Checkup | |
| |
| |
| How to Carry on a Civilized Discussion about the Paranormal | |
| |
| |
| Parting Words: Pandora's Challenge | |
| |
| |
| |
| Complementary and Alternative Medicine | |
| |
| |
| |
| Critical Thinking and Paranormal Resources | |
| |
| |
| |
| Susan Blackmore on Paranormal Research | |
| |
| |
| Notes | |
| |
| |
| References | |
| |
| |
| Name Index | |
| |
| |
| Subject Index | |