No, I don’t really do scientific studies into the supernatural, but I am really interested in why so many adults in today’s modern world believe in the supernatural. According to the last large Gallup poll back in 2005, three out of every four Americans believe in some aspect of the paranormal - everything from haunted houses, ghosts, telepathy, pre-cognition or communication with the dead. Actually that figure must be higher if one considers religions which all have supernatural beings, because nine out of every ten Americans say that they are religious. I know what you are thinking - “Crazy Americans - they’ll believe anything. We in Europe are much more enlightened!” Well, we may have more atheists here in the UK (around four out of ten) but as a nation, we are just as likely to have supernatural beliefs. For example, we are just as likely to believe in haunted houses (40%), astrology (24%) and communication with the dead (27%)! Only belief in witches (13%) seems much lower than that found in the US (21%) and those figures have hardly changed over the past 20 years. I guess we are not that more rational than our colonial cousins.
So why do so many of us believe in the unbelievable? Well the answers are in my book, “SuperSense: From Superstition to Religion - the Brain Science of Belief,” but I am not about to give you them all away for free in this blog. Rather I will tantalize you with new findings from science, the latest theories, but to keep things fun - a lighter look on stories from around the world that show that supernatural beliefs are still very common.
What I want you to come away from this blog is an understanding that we all have a bit of supernatural thinking in ourselves, not matter how rational we think we are. This is where my scientific research comes in. I will tell you of my voodoo studies, transplanting organs from a murderer and why one in five traveling salesmen carry a teddy bear with them. You will learn some interesting facts and super-dooper stories to share at the dinner table. Reading my blog will increase your IQ - I guarentee.
teobesta
5 months, 2 weeks ago
I pre-ordered the book a month or so ago after I heard about it on Twitter. Since then, it seems to pop up everywhere and is making me want to get my hands on it quite badly! In the meantime, will keep checking your blog, especially if my IQ will actually increase (-;