Get the straight, scientific story on things like astrology, ghosts, spontaneous human combustion, psychic surgery, and ESP. You hear about these fantastic happenings every day on television and in the supermarket tabloids. Is any of this true or are they making it all up? While many people tune in just for laughs, plenty of readers believe their outrageous claims - often because they simply don't have a clear notion of what science really is. So how do you figure out what constitutes real science and what is nonsense? __Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction__ carefully deconstructs five examples of pseudoscience - UFOs, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP - and gives easy recipes to test other dubious notions so that you can tell what lies in the realm of real science and what more properly deserves the tag of pseudoscience. This second edition of __Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction__ will include a brand new chapter on alternative medicine, up-to-date links for reliable skeptical websites, organizations and meetings, and a fully updated additional reading section. "Get the straight, scientific story on things like astrology, ghosts, spontaneous human combustion, psychic surgery, and ESP. You hear about these fantastic happenings every day on television and in the supermarket tabloids. Is any of this true or are they making it all up? While many people tune in just for laughs, plenty of readers believe their outrageous claims - often because they simply don't have a clear notion of what science really is. So how do you figure out what constitutes real science and what is nonsense? Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction carefully deconstructs five examples of pseudoscience - UFOs, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP - and gives easy recipes to test other dubious notions so that you can tell what lies in the realm of real science and what more properly deserves the tag of pseudoscience. This second edition of Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction will include a brand new chapter on alternative medicine, up-to-date links for reliable skeptical websites, organizations and meetings, and a fully updated additional reading section" -- From the publisher Cover 1 Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface to the Second Edition 8 About the Authors 10 Prologue 12 1. The Road to Reality: Scientific Method 18 2. Scientific Reasoning in Action 28 3. The Road to Reality versus the Road to Illusion 42 4. UFOs and the Extraterrestrial Life Hypothesis 56 5. Out-of-Body Experiences and Entities 72 6. The Astrology Hypothesis 88 7. The Creationism Hypothesis 108 8. Normal Sensory Perception, Extrasensory Perception, and Psychokinesis 126 9. Alternatives to Medicine 144 10. Reflections on the Scientific Approach to Reality 158 Epilogue 170 Glossary 174 Additional Reading 182 Websites 188 Educational Modules 190 Index 194 "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" carefully deconstructs five examples of pseudoscience—UFOs, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP— and gives easy recipes to test other dubious notions so that the reader can ascertain what lies in the realm of real science and what more properly deserves the tag of pseudoscience.
