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Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, to be presented by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry at the CFI Summit in October. </p> </dd> </dl> </div> <div id="content"> <h1>Why People Believe in Conspiracies and the Supernatural: New Insights in ‘Skeptical Inquirer’</h1> <h4 class="date">December 3, 2014</h4> <h3><center>Plus: “Psychic” Sylvia Browne: Investigated By, Not For, the FBI</h3></center><p> <img align="right" hspace="9" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916im_/http://www.csicop.org/uploads/files/Screen%20aaShot%202014-12-03%20at%202.57.07%20PM.png"></p><p>To the great frustration of rationalists, it seems that no amount of education or evidence can dissuade people from clinging to beliefs in gods, ghosts, and conspiracies. But why? The newest edition of <em>Skeptical Inquirer</em> magazine explores the latest science and research behind the intractability of irrational beliefs. </p> <p>Clinical psychologist <strong>Gary M. Bakker</strong> begins by examining belief in gods and the supernatural and finds no single cause that might lead so much of humanity to such misguided beliefs, instead exploring many of the most frequently cited justifications, such as the fear of death, evolutionary advantage, and a yearning for meaning. “People do not stumble into a misguided belief in a god through deductive error,” he writes. “It seems to be   <em>Homo sapiens</em>’ default position.” </p> <p><strong>Preston R. Bost</strong> takes on the human inclination to perceive conspiracies where they do not exist. Bost laments the skeptical movement’s failure to weed out this pernicious tendency, taking skeptics to task for “hostility” and reduction of conspiracy believers to cranks. Finding conspiracy belief so common as to be “cognitively normal,” Bost notes that it may be an adaptive trait. “A person without the capacity for suspicion is a target for exploitation,” writes Bost, “and the necessary kernel of suspicion that exists in all of us might well become turbocharged under the proper circumstances.” </p> <p>Also in this issue, historian <strong>Ryan Shaffer</strong> combs through the FBI files on the late “psychic” <strong>Sylvia Browne</strong>. Famous in part for her claims that the Bureau had relied upon her extra-sensory perception to assist in investigations, Shaffer learns that “the only interest the agency had in Browne was investigating her for fraud.” Shaffer finds zero evidence that the FBI ever sought her assistance, but plenty of evidence that she was under frequent investigation herself for potential violations of federal law. </p> <p><strong><u>Plus:</u></strong> <strong>Matthew P. Wiesner</strong> exposes the reemergence of geocentrism; <strong>Dale DeBakcsy</strong> critiques the Common Core approach to math; <strong>Laurence Miller</strong> looks at the forensic gray area of criminal profiling; and <strong>Eve Siebert</strong> casts a skeptical eye on the widely heralded documentary   <strong><em>Tim’s Vermeer</em></strong>, suggesting audiences “not accept its argument at face value.” </p> <p>The January/February 2015 issue of <em>Skeptical Inquirer</em> is made available on newsstands, in the Apple App Store, or on Pocketmags for Android, Kindle, and other platforms. For more information, visit <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/si">http://www.csicop.org/si</a>. </p><hl> <p><em>Skeptical Inquirer</em> is the official journal of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), a nonprofit scientific and educational organization. CSI encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view. Learn more about CSI and SI at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/">http://www.csicop.org</a>. </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> <div id="footer"> <a name="footer"></a> <img src="/web/20150905063916im_/http://www.csicop.org/img/csi-logo-new.png" alt="CSI logo" style="display:none"/> <div id="about"> <h2><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about">About</a></h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/about_csi/">About CSI</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/contact/">Contact</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/csicop/">Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/csi_fellows_and_staff/">CSI Fellows and Staff</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/donate_to_csi/">Donate to CSI</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/skeptical_programs_for_generation_y_and_beyond/">Educating Youth</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/policy_on_hostile_conduct_harassment_at_conferences/">Policy on Hostile Conduct/Harassment at Conferences</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/privacy_policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/about/the_pantheon_of_skeptics/">The Pantheon of Skeptics</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="resources"> <h2><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/resources">Resources</a></h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://csi-store.myshopify.com/">CSI Store</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/resources/us_organizations">Skeptical Organizations in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/resources/international_organizations">International Network of Skeptical Organizations</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/resources/cfi">Centers for Inquiry</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/resources/free_i_doubt_it_decal">Free ‘I Doubt It’ Decal</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums" rel="external">CFI Forums</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="publications"> <h2><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/publications">Publications</a></h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150905063916/http://csi-store.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/si">Subscribe</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/si">Skeptical Inquirer</a> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/si/archive">Archive</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/si/archive/category/volume_39.4">Latest Issue</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/sb">Skeptical Briefs</a> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/sb/archive/category/sb_25.1">Latest Issue</a></li> </ul></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles">Special Articles</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/publications/guide/">Guide for Authors</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="news" style="border:none;"> <h2><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/news">News</a></h2> <ul> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/news/events">Events</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/news/coverage">Press Coverage</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases">Press Releases</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20150905063916/http://www.csicop.org/news">Recent Announcements</a></li> </ul> </div> <p class="legal">Content copyright <acronym title="Committee for Skeptical Inquiry">CSI</acronym> or the respective copyright holders. 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