Why people believe weird things | Michael Shermer

www.ted.com Why do people see the Virgin Mary on cheese sandwiches or hear demonic lyrics in "Stairway to Heaven"? Using video, images and music, professional skeptic Michael Shermer explores these and other phenomena, including UFOs and alien sightings. He offers cognitive context: In the absence of sound science, incomplete information can combine with the power of suggestion (helping us hear those Satanic lyrics in Led Zeppelin). In fact, he says, humans tend to convince ourselves to believe: We overvalue the "hits" that support our beliefs, and discount the more numerous "misses."

[@ronnicholson153]

My great grandfather knew the exact date and place that he was going to die. The judge told him.

[@de_stroyed]

LOL BRO

[@700kotchi]

Not to be a skeptic but how long would it take to fill a shoebox with piss or is it a crowd effort?@Pierre LeDouche

[@susanivy3619]

@@arillion8 Amateur.

[@dijasom]

@@700kotchi Take the average pissing time of the human adult, of 21 seconds, find the average bladder volume, 600ml, then divide the volume of the average shoebox 18,000 which would equal 30 average times an average person would need to piss, and you would get 630 seconds total pissing time, to fill a shoebox. Now realize that most average shoeboxes are made of cardboard, and you are stuck realizing, you will never actually fill that shoebox. you just wasted 21 seconds of your time pissing in a showbox, returning later when you had to piss again for the second time... and finding a piss soaked box...

[@RolandWieffering1]

Who did he kill ?.......lol

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

[@JA-yx9mq]

wasn’t this the guy who got destroyed by graham hancock in a debate

[@YashPal-gv2ul]

Why Does hollywood Believe In Satan??

[@zajournals]

@@YashPal-gv2ul Hollywood is a place, a location, and doesn't have a mind to contemplate theology.

[@chuckharding6405]

@@YashPal-gv2ul Why do you believe in a slave master?

[@YashPal-gv2ul]

@@chuckharding6405 I don't Believe In Slave Master

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” ― Daniel J. Boorstin

[@rustycherkas8229]

From a YT video by AronRa debunking Creationists: "First rule of the Dunning-Kruger Club is: you don't know your in the club." Priceless!

[@samslick9000]

Libtards

[@justwest871]

@Rusty I believe evolution my whole life until last year I’m a Proud creationist Now. False logic

[@melvinshelton8448]

@@sneezewax3567 Absolutely gorramlutely. Especially one's own ignorance. Stupidity is incurable.

[@melvinshelton8448]

@@justwest871 Scary. I hope you made that up as an aphorism. Sadly, I doubt it. Do let me know.

[@censusgary]

“Keep track of the misses, not just the hits.” That’s the key to evaluating the “proof” of any theory. For example, given enough tries, I could guess your weight, your sexual orientation, and probably even your name. I’m not psychic, there are just a limited number of possibilities, and (in this illustration) I have a lot of time. It’s like saying if you hold a playing card from a standard deck, I can guess what card you have in 52 tries or fewer.

[@johnpetrakis379]

I guess you can piss in your shoes and float home

[@johnwilliams2479]

I've worked with Witches unbeknown to myself they use Occultism they laugh at people they manipulate and swindle

[@kumar2ji]

Love your name. Gary Cooper was one of my favorite actors growing up.

[@sonnylambert4893]

Yes do not let " confirmation biases" create your entire perception on an issue

[@bobs182]

Psychics doing cold readings start with some common knowledge to make their guesses. Young people tend to be about love, middle age tend to be about money, and elderly people tend to be about health. Then the person keeps confirming their right guesses.

[@auritone]

My respect for Katie Melua just went through the roof and further through the stratosphere. That is bloody awesome!

[@hedgehog1965uk]

+auritone Yeah, what a great sport she is to go to such trouble to rerecord that section.

[@eatthisvr6]

+auritone it was great wasnt it lol

[@petersage5157]

I'm so embarrassed for Simon Singh, confusing age with size. The universe continued to expand after the observable radiation was emitted; current estimate for the size of the observable universe is about 48 billion light years, which would mean that we're about 24 billion light years from the edge. At least Katie got the order of magnitude right; as Michael pointed out, you can't expect this from American pop stars.

[@theID2]

auritone ... so with you on this.

[@siddharthsankhat1317]

There is no edge of the universe, it is just that the light beyond 46.5 billion ly cannot reach us ever because theoretically, the universe beyond that is expanding at speed greater than the speed of light. And the observable universe is almost 93 billion ly in diameter, not 48 putting the edge of the observable universe at about 46.5 billion light-years away.

[@danstrayer111]

Anyone who can be convinced of absurdities can be convinced to commit atrocities.

[@louistournas120]

People who use their feelings and intuition tend to believe none sense while people who are more analytical tend to question everything and are less religious. That's pretty much why scientists tend to be less religious compared to the general population. Note: I am not talking about intelligence. I am talking about how one approaches questions.

[@chrissonofpear1384]

Although, to be fair, even logic often involves SOME emotional input.

[@JadedLibs]

Gerry C you know what's a better motivator to believe nonsense than grant money? Not having to fear death.

[@louistournas120]

@Gerry C : Can you provide the source for your information?

[@crazyguy313youtubify]

Anyone who can be convinced of absurdities can be convinced to commit atrocities." Do we have to talk about Bernie Sanders here? This is about flat earth, not flat out communists who think we deserve 15% of our paychecks.

[@CLIFFLIX]

"What" crazy things people believe is amusing....but "why" they actually believe them is absolutely fascinating. I wish he had touched more on that.

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences, stupid people already have all the answers.” - Socrates

[@Drya4u]

Cool quote! Most likely Sokrates never said that though

[@understructurerepair7132]

I live in Tennessee. I left here the day of high school graduation. Stupid was everywhere but it was harmless. They knew they were stupid and they just wanted a McDonald’s cheeseburger and some fries. After decades of Fox? Stupid is vocal and has a rock -solid opinion on everything and facts have alterations. Oh, and they’re angry and armed. Fortunately 1/2 of them aren’t vaccinated

[@lensercombe]

really a pile of philosophical crap mouldy cheese

[@JOSEJOLK]

qual seria o meio apreender "tudo e todos"??

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

*"Drugs are bad, m'kay?!"* - Pope Francis

[@Kalupz]

Basic knowledge of our world and critical thinking should be taught to every kid no matter what family.

[@thesprawl2361]

+Kalupz They might start doing that in the more secular countries but the second any such idea's announced in an even vaguely religious nation the churches, mosques, synagogues - aided and abetted by free-market think-tanks, climate-change denialists, left-wing Truth-ers and cultural relativists, and post-modernist academics - will all start squealing like stuck pigs.

[@3gunslingers]

This why modern and developed countries all have compulsory education(schooling).

[@willywhitten4918]

Kalupz, I think your kids should be taken away from you and taught by the state to be obedient and subservient. \\][//

[@willywhitten4918]

Keyboard runner, yes and compulsory education is not education at all it is indoctrination. See: hybridrogue1.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/compulsory-schooling-indoctrination/ \\][//

[@willywhitten4918]

Compulsive schooling is not meant to "educate", it is for indoctrination to Obedience to Authority. It was a Prussian model of indoctrination that was transplanted into the US in the late 1800's by a cabal of corporatists. See: John Taylor Gatto \\][//

[@sign543]

It took me over 5 years to fully emerge, the emotional/psychological pull was so strong. When you’ve been raised in it, steeped in it your whole life...it’s difficult to just walk away without serious inner struggles.

[@tharealist824]

I felt that 100%

[@tharealist824]

I was indoctrinated as a southern Baptist my whole life until I moved out at 20... I'm 35 now and I still struggle with it.

[@arnav36698]

How old were you?

[@arnav36698]

Can you tell us few ideas on what and kind of how you reached where you are

[@MattsInTheBelfry]

@@tharealist824 The algorithm has found us.

[@danielbenson6407]

"Get high and go to a ted talk they said, no one will have a Quodro 2000 douser rod they said" ☹

[@ryans756]

Hahaha. Perfect :)

[@matthewwriter9539]

The odds were in your favor, but they are never perfect.

[@drwright7877]

Wit: a very reliable sign of intelligence! Thanks for the comment. 😊

[@geoffreyhall2034]

you are so funny ...

[@rustycherkas8229]

This presentation is exactly what I needed to see today! Especially for the final segment demonstrating why Science and the Humanities will always be strange bedfellows. Thank you! 🙂

[@bobs182]

Humans operate more on instinct than intellect.

[@xebatansis]

People who want to see something WILL see something.

[@TasteMyStinkholeAndLikeIt]

The same with people who don't.

[@vickirosstudor490]

TasteMyStinkhole Exactly. Cognitive Dissonance.

[@BigSausageTits]

yes they will,and those who don't,won't. this is actually the way it works.reality is intelligent.

[@XHALE303]

Which ironically includes this skeptic Shermer, if u watched him on Joe Rogan.

[@asahmosskmf4639]

I hear alot from atheist commenting why do people still have faith in something that cant possibly be real... and that anyone that does is an idiot. These same people call religious folks bad people... and yet they are online calling everyone morons... 😐 My take is that there just are alot of bad people, doesn't matter what you believe. And there are some good people, not a " rare fluke " or a diamond among a mountain of coal, but a decent amount of good people out there, despite beliefs.

[@Capta1nFaz]

When is Ted actually going to talk though?

[@erniebuchinski3614]

Do you mean Bundy or Kaczynski here? ;-)

[@tracer740]

''Ted" who?

[@cdurkinz]

@@tracer740 Cuz they're called "TED talks" badump tiss.

[@tracer740]

@@cdurkinz - You big silly!

[@tracer740]

@Pichkalu Pappita - "he"? "TED" is 'Technology, Entertainment and Design', which is composite of the mission for these conferences.

[@cthoadmin7458]

You can’t miss it when I tell you what’s there. Priceless.

[@TheRealTomWendel]

“I don't want to believe. I want to know.” Carl Sagan

[@Riker626]

This should be called "Weird things that people believe" not "Why"

[@Ms.gnomer]

Riker626 well it covered the natural bias we have towards faces and patterns due to evolution and social cues and stuff, I agree that it could’ve gone more into the psychology of it all though

[@manchitas3531]

Agree

[@PlubusDomis]

He just wanted to talk dirt on God in front of thousands of people. He's an aggressive athiest which makes me wonder... *why is he trying so hard to convince people God does not exist?* It's like he is obsessed with God, which is not a horrible thing. But makes me wonder what he actually believes. He sounds mad at God.

[@ddelimar]

@@PlubusDomis which god? You'll have to be more specific about your fantasy.

[@PlubusDomis]

@@ddelimar Actually it doesn't matter in this argument. He said "a miracle is the end of the intelligent design debate." Wow. He sure got theists in a checkmate! *Like I said, he just wanted to talk smack. He doesn't actually have a good argument against it.*

[@kula7465]

The reverse message thing in music cracks me up. If any of them could actually put hidden messages in their music to compel people to do stuff the message would be "buy our albums, buy our merchandise and see us live in concert we want money"

[@kn00tcn]

er, that's how greedy labels think, most artists dont

[@kula7465]

@@kn00tcn Yes, yes they do. While it is true that for most artists music is their passion and they love making music, they also equally love making money. That's why pretty much all of them became musicians, yes they like music but also they saw it as their chance to make it big and get rich.

[@checkeredcheese]

Jimmy Page did have a thing with the occult and satanism though. He was a big fan of Aleister Crowley that’s where the rumours about satanism came. The lyrics are inspired by the occult for sure. The Beatles were into Crowley as well, he was pretty popular amongst edgy musicians back in the day, he’s on the album cover of Sgt Pepper’s.

[@Antares8491]

@@kula7465 *Search KZbin for ..... " **_Yes we can reverse speech_** " :-))) My first much more comprehensive post, was shadow banned ! :-))*

[@veritasdeutsch6608]

In numb to know you there's knock knee phial so ease nah see at not your ruler …It would probably be a sentence like this

[@michelgardes]

Beautiful. Made my day. We need skepticism as much as we need love.

[@dellalyn9918]

I've got to disagree with that statement.

[@timmarrier]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="225">3:45</a> - Goodbye religion, you had a good run. "Before we say something is out of this world, we should first make sure that it's not in this world." - Michael Shermer

[@nghtwtchmn129]

Speaking of reverse speech, what happens when you play country music records backwards? First you get out of jail, then you find a job, and then you get your true love back. Finally, you stop drinking.

[@Gh0st_0723]

@Kevin Prima dude please stop dragging politics into everything.

[@nghtwtchmn129]

Thanks, but I borrowed this from a newspaper column from the 90s.@Pierre LeDouche

[@PlubusDomis]

My grandma LOVES THIS 😂👍👍

[@doggonemess1]

Don't forget about getting your dog back and your daddy coming back to life.

[@nickjonesCSM]

That’s so funny🤣

[@brianbrewster6532]

I think this is the oldest KZbin video I ever commented on. Still holds up with considerable value over a decade later.

[@pillsareyummy]

Unfortunately, there will always be an abundance of bullshit ...

[@vernpascal1531]

@@pillsareyummy -Yes like Roswell was due to a weather balloon and Oswald Acted Alone. Pathetic Bullshit like that which can be debunked in so many obvious ways, is why we have what we have in the White House Now. Unfortunately.

[@velivelmu8530]

Only error I could spot was in the end, about the 13.7 bn ly radius of the observable universe. It's about 46.5 bn ly. The light we're seeing is 13.7 bn ly old, but the photons started coming at us from only 42 million ly away (42 million = 0.042 billion). Space expansion forced those photons to travel for 13.7 bn years before they finally reached us. The objects that originally emitted the photons have receded from us for the same reason, and are now 46.5 bn ly away.

[@sebastiancarvajal3855]

@@velivelmu8530 😂 Time to rewrite the song

[@Lynn_2006]

I agree with Michael Shermer that we can listen to stairway to heaven all day and not get bored of it. It's a good song not even kidding

[@shawnhampshirehick101]

Exactly.

[@mavis3916]

Tried it,, twice was enough

[@andrewfehn3346]

I live such a simple life. I'm in no search for anything and recognize that helping others, when able, eliminates wasting time on other's fantasies. I laugh my way through just about everything and that's what keeps my mind and body healthy.

[@joeking433]

But you will soon wither and die like everyone else. Move outside your box for a bit and seek eternal life. You've got nothing to lose.

[@mymusicmen13]

Ditto

[@cambriawiz]

You know, I spent some time with Shermer in my shoppe a few years ago and began carrying "Why People Believe Weird Things" as a product. He was very pleasant and articulate. What I liked most is that he didn't seem to be one of these cranky skeptics who want to belittle other people for their beliefs. He just believes that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. My impression is that he sees a hard line between belief and truth and is interested in putting things in different circles on a venn diagram that focuses on where belief and truth overlap.

[@kingkobra1978]

Belief only overlaps to truth after if said belief shows repeatable experimental evidence in a scientific setting to be true.By that point its not a belief anymore.

[@CaseyFinSF]

Rick Bruce Extraordinary claims should also require extraordinary INVESTIGATION, and not just holding up pictures that have no relevance to the subject and were taken just to push the fake news agenda. When faced with actual science explanations that prove a phenomena is legitimate and should be further investigated Shermer turns a deaf ear and ignores these findings because they challenge his own blinders on view of his personal paradigm.

[@NextGenesis88]

TheConspiracy Realist like what for example?

[@christianancrath5902]

Most skeptics are like Shermer. Sure, there’s some cranky ones but there’s some of those in any group.

[@christianancrath5902]

TheConspiracy Realist huh???

[@esuus]

This is so cool, this was THE first TED talk I watched. Now I discover it again, 10 years and hundreds of watched talks later

[@PacoOtis]

Excellent! Absolutely so! Thanks for sharing and the very best of luck to all of us!

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

I came across an audible illusion recently in the Mary Hopkin song, "Sparrow". Ever since it came out, I have loved it, perhaps because as a young man, I was very much attracted by her looks. There were bits of the song I didn't understand. It's amazing to me, how the song, in a few words, can take you from her upbringing in a traditional church-going family, through her introspection and self-analysis, to where her life has moved on, and a moment where she is leaving a city nightclub. I never understood the verse about the sparrow - "With mighty wings" - on a sparrow? .."he reaches as high as any other bird" - patently untrue .. "He shall inherit all the earth" - well, I guess that meant something in the mind of the song writer. But I digress. When listening to it, I always heard "When Eleanor sings in the park, it's like a lark in Summer" - but I recently came across a KZbin version that had the words with it: "When Eleanor sings in the *_choir_* it's like a lark in Summer" It struck me that "choir" is quite different from "park", but now, when I listen to it, expecting to hear "Choir", that's what I hear, well pronounced and very clear - but when I'm expecting to hear "Park", that's what I hear, just as clearly. It's odd, how the brain can be tricked - even by itself.

[@jeffryphillipsburns]

This is because we don’t really listen. We catch just a few sounds and fill in the rest with what seems most likely. It used to frustrate me when people with limited vocabularies would mangle and dilute my utterances by substituting their own simplistic words for mine. “You’re just trying to appease Roger,” I once complained to someone. “No, I’m not trying to please Roger,” he answered. I was so taken aback at his twisting “appease” into “please” that I couldn’t’t proffer a rebuttal. He was incapable of hearing “appease” because he wasn’t expecting it.

[@DownhillAllTheWay]

@@jeffryphillipsburns When reading KZbin comments, it's obvious that a lot of people simply don't speak a very educated English, and "appease" is not a very common word. It's a word that your other party probably knows, but doesn't use much, so it doesn't pop into his head - even when it's on the page in front of him. You're right about how people read, filling in the spaces with what seems most likely to them - and what is most likely will be the words that they are familiar with. What I said above may seem a little "superior", but filling in the blanks - or even changing words to what I expect a word to be, is something of which I'm equally culpable. I have ADHD - a condition that rules your life - and one aspect of it is that I don't see things that I'm looking for - even though they may be on the desk in front of me. I may be looking for a pen, but if it isn't the colour I imagine it to be, or if I expect it to be horizontal, and it's vertical, it's very likely that I'll miss it, and have to don an inch-by-inch search. I also lose words. I'll be wanting to say something, but the word I need disappears out of my head. There have been occasions when I have tried to get a word back for an entire week, then I'll think of a synonym for it and look it up on the web - and the instant I see the word I wanted, I recognise, and know it - so it was still in my brain, but I couldn't access it - like a broken link in computer parlance. Very frustrating. I feel your irritation - but people aren't perfect. You have to give them some slack.

[@pacoval4577]

Awesome talk. Humor does get the message across.

[@FreakishPower]

One of his books that I bought in the early 90's was so inspirational in my junk science knowledge - actually the 1st chapter where he dispelled out of body experiences. Good talk Mr. Schermer

[@tartaglia.]

Hi, if you’re still here, which one did you buy? I’m quite interested in science and would like to know. Thanks

[@ixhilkalaskiiver792]

Read Hitchens if you haven't, yet.

[@FreakishPower]

@@ixhilkalaskiiver792 Haven't read any, but have seen a hundred of his videos. He is the man.

[@bigchieftomato]

This guy killed it. Could give a talk on how to give a good talk

[@weldabar]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="647">10:47</a> when he provides the words and we then see them clearly -- this reminds me of the Bible verse, "Ask and it shall be given." If we already know the answer we are looking for we will always find it. We will see it clearly, even though it is not there.

[@leyendasyfantasmasdeelsalv1105]

I love this guy's explanations. This speech is even better because he was comedic about the cases.

[@thesprawl2361]

I'm not much interested in Katie Melua's music, and I didn't know much about her personally, but that was a brilliant, witty, humble reaction. She's demonstrated more personality in that one act than a whole catalogue of similar MOR singers have done in their entire careers. I'd no idea she'd done that - props to her, and she's definitely gone up in my estimation.

[@elemu3653]

🖖😎🎸👋👍

[@thatman8987]

The Sprawl melua , I drank so much I think I'm gonna meluaaaa, or melua stepped in that pile of manuahahahaaa. ok thats enough youtube for me, goodnight.

[@darttoyou1398]

"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." Mark Twain

[@luisurbina5115]

"We ought to be methodologically suspicious of believing something we very much want to believe" -- John Searle, Berkeley Professor of Philosophy

[@jimbones155]

My dad and I saw a UFO, but seeing something and not knowing what it is or believing something it might be are two different things.

[@bananaeclipse3324]

Yep, take it for what it is. An unidentified flying object. Due to its name, you can’t say it’s alien. It’s unidentified! Saying a UFO is an alien means that it isn’t a UFO. Nice!

[@TheNightshotBR]

video was too short. That´s my only complaint.

[@tracer740]

... and Michael Shermer speaks just a bit too fast.

[@tiitto167]

@@tracer740 Melua "im a joke to you"really it was a nice video, but ufo are threre. don't know about this guy is non beliver, but it's fresh and someone to listen.

[@shakypirate]

One of the best Ted ever!

[@user-qn5yr3wv6f]

Till date.

[@khueluu984]

this randomly pop-up on my feed and I have to say: This is highly likely the most hilarious speech I 've ever heard!

[@CraftyOldGit]

I'm surrounded by people who believe nonsense. Even close friends are into homeopathy. Thanks for the reminder that I'm not the only sceptic.

[@jameskahl2213]

;-) Where re you from? You're sceptic? Perhaps those homeopaths have been treating you sub scepter! I'm a skeptic myself.

[@grindupBaker]

Hey you're not allowed to say homeopathy is bad now. Some people have as many as 19 genders, they mix'n'match.

[@thezyreick4289]

@@grindupBaker he is right, you have to be careful. or you may fall victim to the people who share a gender with an apache attack helicopter... fear stupidity, and human emotion, not false genders.

[@StanSwan]

Tell me about it. I am an atheist never Trump Republican. I just say "everything is crazy". To avoid idiotic conspiracy theories. My facebook is banned 6 months a year because people get butthurt . People need to grow up.

[@martinda7446]

​@@jameskahl2213 I guess you are from the land of 'hoods and trunks'? Bonnets and boots and sceptics here.

[@TheSentientCloud]

My dad showed this to me when I was a kid, and I'm very glad he did.

[@peterf90]

Great video. Goes to show us skeptics are not a humourless lot.

[@ChristopherNyerges]

A fantastic presentation by Michael!

[@akronymus]

The song played at the end is really great.

[@mostafawaleedhashem3322]

One of the best ted talks I seen!

[@villagelightsmith4375]

I once bowled a 900 series by counting only my strikes.

[@iron60bitch62]

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” ― ??

[@johnshoemaker5532]

You are awesome Michael Shermer! Keep up the fight! I know i will!!

[@alleycat2759]

Of all the teachers I ever had, from Kindergarten all the way through to my doctorate, a couple of them stand out as truly wonderful teachers. But only one stands out as exceptional, when it comes to teaching his students how to truly think. He was not a mathematics or science teacher either. He was a Jr. College History professor. Up to that point, History classes always seemed to be the class where I'd be sure to catch up on a much needed nap. But this man was engaging and he made history come alive in such a way that you wanted to know more. His approach was so different and so unexpected. "Here's the facts. Here's what happened. Here is why it happened. How brilliant or how stupid do you think they were? What would you have done?" The first test he gave blew my mind ... There were 5 questions. Each question gave reference onto a historical event or individual or circumstance. The question was basically something along the lines of, "Why was it a good idea or - if not - what would you have done differently?" I remember one question was, "Do you think FDR was a great president? Explain why or why not." Of these 5 questions, you were only required to answer just one of them. Sure, you could say, "I think FDR was a great president, because he gave us the New Deal and helped put people back to work." But you'd fail the test, as you did not fully develop your rationale and reasoning. Why was he a great president - or not? What the heck did he due to earn your praise or contempt? I am not as concerned with exact dates as i am the facts... What lead up to the New deal? Why did he choose that route? What other routes would he have taken or what routes would you have taken? Why? How? What happened as a result of it all? Basically, that one little question was housing 50 questions, all rolled into one. You were required to think and reason. No matter what side of the debate you answered, could you back up your argument with facts and evidence? Think of it this way: I say FDR was a tyrant. You say he was the greatest president the USA ever had. Let's debate. For the record, my response to that question was split, as FDR started out in a horrid situation, turned into an American savior and then the power started going to his head (Hence presidential term limits). When it comes to instilling and encouraging critical thinking, this History prof far surpassed any philosophy teacher I had ever known.

[@davidcraig9779]

That's the key. we are taught to learn, not to think.

[@TheKorbi]

That's so cool! Do you still know the name of the Professor?

[@bananaeclipse3324]

That is the kind of teacher that should exist and should be in every classroom. While not always, a teacher generally makes or breaks how well you do or how much you learn in a year.

[@donaldjohnson2038]

The greatest teacher of all was Jesus Christ.

[@florkgagga]

@@bananaeclipse3324 I think there is good in every teacher, just give her/him some more chances. And if truly not (the teacher remains unapproachable) hopefully the students gets a chance to learn how to protect his or her own feelings from such a person. I firmly believe of the 10-15 teachers you deal with from age 12ish to 18 there must be 3-4 super nice ones which one can sort of "lean on" and keep the motivation. This is only hindsight though :/

[@LH-et7of]

The best TED talk that I have seen.

[@RandalColling]

It is far better to question answers than to have answers that can't be questioned.

[@citizendavid]

perfect presentation ... Thank you

[@kevinchamberlain7928]

"People believe whatever the media tell them they believe." George Orwell.

[@pyubtinsl]

Hmmmm. Is THAT why Orwell has been smeared as an antisemite.

[@Mr_Uni]

@@pyubtinsl that depends. Do you believe the media in this instance? Maybe they just lied about him being smeared and we are just believing “whatever the media tell”s us. Or maybe...

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

[@ryans756]

*Robert A. Heinlein predicts Trumpism*

[@JamesRichardWiley]

It's hilarious to observe the trouble people will go through to try to prove that Bible characters are real.

[@Steve-fe4lq]

There is no way to prove or disprove the existence of some of them, unless you consider extrabiblical texts that agree on their existence in biblical history. However, since I would imagine that you are the type of person who would try to discredit even historical records that dispute your assertion, it would be pointless to engage in such a discussion with you.

[@drabberfrog]

@@Steve-fe4lq Do you have any evidence that anything in the Bible actually happened?

[@kai_plays_khomus]

@@Steve-fe4lq Even extrabiblical texts wouldn't be a prove for anything but the conviction of their particular authors - or the convictions of people the authors wrote about. By the way: Even the leading scholars of Israel, out in the desert to find evidence for the story of exodus are now sure it never happened and the whole pentateuch being nothing but folk lore. In addition: "biblical"/"extrabiblical" are rather arbitrary terms. What is biblical for one believer is extrabiblical for another. For god's chosen people Jesus is absolutly abiblical.

[@calebcrawford2520]

Jesus existed. That’s factual, and even skeptical historians and scholars agree on that. Whether or not He rose from the dead is another matter.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

@@calebcrawford2520 Not all agree on that, but it is a minority position for sure. The consensus goes rather like: Probably there was a apocalyptical preacher (or maybe several fused together), but the difference between the actual person and the biblical account is so immense he wouldn't be able to identify with the person described in scripture - so it would be reasonable to claim the BIBLICAL Jesus didn't exist, even if there was a historical person. A good comparison would be the historical William Wallace and his depiction in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" - the personal difference is so extreme and the depiction of circumstances so inaccurate that it is hardly the same person - even when some places and names are real.

[@anthonypc1]

wow can hardly believe it's over a decade later and people's beliefs have only gotten less reliable and more dangerous ! Humanity sure doesn't progress evenly

[@garyuniquemeerbe7865]

All beliefs are lies. BE-LIE--F. The f stands for f- - king. All beliefs are f- - king lies. Amazing. Billy Grahamer....lol

[@njones420]

now almost everyone has a platform to spread their thoughts on the internet, and the stupid half of the world believe what the rest of the stupid people claim. Flat-earth, giants, demons, homeopathy, UFOs etc etc... Quite literally the blind leading the blind. remember, half of the world is of below average intelligence, and half is above average. :)

[@JadedLibs]

N Jones I don't even know how much intelligence has to do with it. Maybe we should redefine intelligence to include gullibility and vulnerability to confirmation biases.

[@jeanetteyork2582]

This video should be shown to every student entering high school in our country. The one thing the educators consistently fail at is teaching critical thinking.

[@johngalush8790]

I suppose it is assumed that critical thinking should come naturally. Do you have critical thinking skills? If so, where did you aquire them?

[@jimswenson6131]

I agree wholeheartedly but first we have to show it to the "educators" of those students!

[@BenjaminGessel]

It has to do with the nature (sequences) of thoughts, from rapid-fire to very, very slow paced...

[@beautybaker8542]

That’s by design.

[@thomasflagg7209]

I’ve just watched two wonderful TED talks. I watch a lot of documentaries and informative talks, etc., and I read people’s tweets and hear the kinds of things they say at, for instance, local school board meetings, or from behind a pulpit in a tent. And I have to ask, how can people be so damn stupid. Barring some sort of mental disability, there is no excuse for it. When I was a kid, I thought my grandmother’s set of the Encyclopedia Britannica was the mountain top of knowledge. Now I regularly carry a device in my pocket that is 100 times, maybe 1,000 times, more powerful than those big books. If you want to learn about something, it is there. If you want to to dig deeper, many of the online articles offer references in books, recorded or in-person lectures by people who have spent their lives studying the very thing you want to learn about. So why don’t more people avail themselves of these opportunities, rather than opening their mouths in public and revealing just how much they don’t know?

[@loydcollins2899]

Dunning Kruger

[@thomasflagg7209]

@@loydcollins2899 I just looked up DK. I think you are right.

[@joeking433]

Because they know they will soon die so they wonder what is the point. Do you know where you will be after death? Hmmm.

[@simonfea2]

I love your wording, Im far too lazy to convey "I think people are dumb," as eloquently as you have here. It seems to me people are getting dumber, especially in the US.

[@alienonion4636]

I love the light hearted approach this skeptic has. As much as I do believe there is far more that I do not believe...other people call me skeptic. Is seeing really believing when our eyes see everything upside down leaving it to our brains to make right our vision?

[@raywellswork]

We do not see upside down. Every animal with a "Camera" eyes gets an inverted image imprinted in its retina. Then our brains have evolved to turn it right side up.

[@alienonion4636]

@@raywellswork👍 thanks for the clarity,,, I was struggling with how to say what I have an image of in my head.

[@marcsikabaloo]

Speaking of weird...... love this. Thanks a lot for this shared!!!!

[@EVZYL]

So why DO people believe weird things? Or did I miss the answer?

[@xXxXLoneWolf103XxXx]

It wasn't well explained but cognitive biases are at least one reason

[@RTSOB1]

People believe weird things because they want to believe them. Did you miss the part about confirmation bias?

[@BrianBrayMedia]

You missed it. After each example he explained the psychology or evolutionary reason behind it.

[@JTuaim]

@@BrianBrayMedia In my case I believe in weird things because I've seen weird things. Science has a history of being wrong.

[@JTuaim]

@@morgandax5590 Over time of course they do. When facts prove them wrong. Arrogance is the downfall of science. You see, the Bible has a lot to say about these things, but of course that's not scientific. But science is supposed to study all things, not just cherry pick what they want to study. For instance, how did the ancients know we woud wind up with chips in our hands to make purchases? But, here we are doing just that. Why does the Bible warn against this? Well, what's the science there? I don't need science to tell me why, I know why. Also, science is not a noun, it's a verb.

[@jeffreytaylor9682]

love this guys narration

[@corneldiaconu66]

How nice to re-watch this video, and listen to that short Katie Melua excerpt, after I've listened to some album of her about a couple of hours ago :-)

[@ryans756]

Yes! She's an absolute bombshell. And a gem for re-recording that song like that. What a woman! :)

[@erictaylor5462]

She never said from the edge of what. It could be the edge of the Klingon Empire!

[@Mephistolomaniac]

Eric Taylor Well that would still be way off the mark anyway :p

[@rouninpanda6318]

Why would the edge be any different from another vantage point?

[@eomtic]

The edge of GLORY, would be the edge Lady Gaga would have chosen. But the edge he meant....is only allowed to talk about in hidden bunkers. Just kidding. Peace

[@docemeveritatum8550]

+Eric Taylor Yes, you are right! She was speaking about the edge where the velvet ropes are that keep you from going too far.

[@atheismisawesomesmith4541]

INTRUDER! You have violated Romulan neutral space, leave at once or you will be destroyed!

[@thinkthinker44]

Awesome talk. Left me laughing out loud with the song at the end. Woot!

[@meridethtohayes]

Thanks very much for posting this!!!

[@ther6989]

Quaddro is like "Cinco" in Tim n Eric Awesome Show. Great Job!

[@mgmartin51]

Katie Melua's second version is more accurate, but the first is more poetic. What's a few billion light years anyway?

[@cadmuscurtis4794]

I like this guy. Usually not 100% with people that think there is no mystery out there but I like this guy. And me and my brothers played many songs backwards and the stairway to heaven verse always creeped me out quite a bit, it's obvious they added that on purpose, especially considering the obscure and random way he sings and the words he's using when playing the verse normal, i.e forward

[@cadmuscurtis4794]

Just say it to yourself.. If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, it's just a spring clean for da may queen. Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the roahd yuron

[@IuliusCurt]

Would they take the secret to their grave, thou? You'd think they'd be proud if they did that on purpose and I don't imagine them shying away in fear of the church, being rock stars, eccentrics etc. Would not be a small feat to get sensible lyrics in both directions on purpose, that's for sure.

[@AlexandruPirtac]

That ending was fantastic.

[@peteg804]

Even 14 years later, this is entertaining!!!

[@selsuru]

Gotta give that girl credit, she did what a good scientist would do.

[@StanleyKowalski.]

katie's voice is like a velvet dream, need to listen in vinyl

[@hughjarrse]

I now have a vision of you listening to Katie Melua whilst wearing PVC trousers 🥴

[@callen9623]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="360">6:00</a>- Saturn is stewie from family guy ;) seriously great presentation though

[@bhavikkumarvasava640]

All things aside how badass that belt buckle is looking..

[@wassilykandinsky4616]

I think one motivation for believing "weird" things is an attempt gaining comfort in the face of outer and inner (I can't even give a good distinction between the two) reasons for discomfort. Often this reflexive technique is used temporarily. For example in "bad times", religions flourish more than in good times. Marx expressed like this: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people" Opium actually means painkiller.

[@marijohanna3637]

The whole speech is brilliant and Katie Melua is just awesome 😀

[@LewdCustomer]

Michael Shermer overstates his ability and the effect of his skepticism.

[@BrianGivensYtube]

I predict I will always be with you

[@niory]

oh that song at the last made my day !

[@rcknross]

remember the song from woodstock, "we are billion year old carbon …. time to get back to the garden

[@jameskahl2213]

@@rcknross Um... "we are stardust / we re golden / we got caught in the devil's bargain / and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden". It was a naive revolution, but a nice try. We relly are stardustthough, if science is to be believed a little.

[@potawatomi100]

Excellent video and all TRUE. Well done.

[@GilbertoPOA]

This man is wonderful!

[@sahtification]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="473">7:53</a> this was a big hit here in Brazil Everyone talking about that, TV's show and stuff

[@WojtekCzaderna]

Great final! Katie rock it :D

[@alexgoslar4057]

Thanks, Michael for an illuminating presentation about our inbuilt insanity.

[@VG-rj8pn]

This is the most ignorant man on the planet he is trapped in a catch 22 of bullshit and I have a Denteley so are you

[@niceone2903]

Yeah insanity. There's all manner of madness in the heart of Man then he goes to the dead. Eccl.9:3 Written thousands of years ago.

[@thiennganguyen]

Good sense of humor and you get a good point! I love learning about physics and the cosmos! But when people declare their understanding are absolute facts and attack other people for their faith then they loss me. I.e. the age of the universe is a result of some assumptions. They are good assumptions but they are not absolute truths

[@abc456f]

There are no absolute truths in science. But I'll take it over faith.

[@gyozakeynsianism]

What a great talk.

[@JasonLovesLife]

Speaking of weird, the comments on here are weird. He doesn't answer the question "Why do people believe weird things?", but he is still right that not a single "miracle" or "supernatural event" has been validated.

[@aWalkThroughLife]

What about the "Our Lady of Guadalupe" mural? Try looking into it, it's pretty interesting.

[@JasonLovesLife]

It might be interesting, but the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe mural doesn't make sense. Why would an all-powerful God make a painting to convince a bishop to build a church?

[@wooe]

Jason Love Yes he does, he give a lot of examples where our brain show us things that isn't there.

[@JasonLovesLife]

wooe Yes, but giving examples doesn't answer the question of "why". The title is "why people believe weird things".

[@wooe]

Jason Love Because our brain trick us.

[@lordofthegadflies2589]

Great job, Dr. Shermer. A step in the right direction. Instead of just poking fun at the things people believe, examine the psychology of belief and try to get understanding. Then maybe we can everybody climb out of ignorance and dogma and get together in the all-important task of expanding human knowledge.

[@kenc2257]

The Skeptic Society is not a comedy club. It's publication, "Skeptic" magazine, is a serious scientific endeavor. The Society also sponsors a lecture series at Caltech.

[@luisamendes8181]

One of the best things I’ve watched on TED. I used to read Skeptical Inquirer for working. Houdini and Carl Sagan were contributors. by the way I am unable of seeing any of those faces. I wonder if It’s because I am very shortsighted

[@MrSpankee02]

There’s a museum near me in Amherst,NY. Called the skeptiseum . It’s exhibits are all things that debunk supernatural phenomenon. It’s cool .

[@pickypoint640]

Because weird things (things out of the norms of everyday life) happen without explanation. Sometimes they are explainable by science, sometimes they are beyond the current scientific process. Even if they are not explainable, they have nonetheless happened. So, scientific methodology can exist separate from unexplainable phenomena. leaving the phenomena on it’s own to be experienced by the individual. The consensus of the group is not needed to justify relevant individual experiences in life. Otherwise, when a person dreams a particular scenario and shares it with another individual, it is NOT up to the person who had the dream to prove the content and context of the dream to the listening individual. And if dreams are up for argument about whether or not dreams happen, then I don’t want to live in that particular society. 20 years ago the idea of bendable glass was “weird”, now it is reality. If you don’t want to deal with weird things in life. The only thing left to do is check out permanently. That is, if there is such a thing. Aloha

[@TilekMamutov]

Katie Melua is awesome! :)

[@robertmcclintock8701]

Everytime an artist make something social and intelligent it has artistic integrity. That only possible in a created universe.

[@zeljjko70766]

Michael We truly believe in You as much as can sound weird we do believe in you to help educate masses

[@joeking433]

Nah, you're just an atheist wanting everyone to be like you even if it means spreading propaganda.

[@sarge5000]

the nerdy science version of a total badass. love this guy.

[@Ganderco]

He does too.

[@jadeset]

Maybe the heavy cocaine use bridges the gap?

[@fsof4006]

"Why people believe weird things?" Yes, why do we for example buy extremely expensive cars with features we'll never ever need? Why do we believe we need them? Incredibly irrational and what is worse - not only we are paying, but our planet pays a lot for these irrational beliefs.

[@danielhresko4900]

F Sof I suspect you are a Toyota salesman! 😉

[@laurajarrell6187]

This is even more relevant today! 👍🥰🤎✌

[@bigaschwing2296]

Omg I love her so much.