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  • Essay / Mr. Sherman's Explanation of Superstitions

    Why do people all over the world believe in strange things and fall for hoaxes? In his book, “Why People Believe Strange Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time,” Mr. Sherman explains why people believe strange things, as the book's title suggests. According to him, most people who believe strange things and fall for hoaxes are normal human beings. The reason for gullibility is "thinking that has gone wrong somehow." In his book, there are four main and general errors or problems that make people believe strange things or fall for hoaxes. These are problems of pseudoscientific, psychological, scientific and logical thinking. In light of Sherman's book, I would explain that people believe strange things and fall for hoaxes because of thinking problems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayOne of the problems in thinking concerns the psychological problems of thinking, as mentioned in Sherman's book. In this category he describes a very important example of psychological problems: “the need for certainty”. In short, he explains that in most events, most people need certain answers. At this point, I would say most people need answers and want to be sure of their surroundings. Therefore, they may believe strange things and fall for hoaxes because they need an explanation, even if it is very simple or strange. Consider Kevin Connolly’s article, entitled “A Moving Tale from County Cork”. It tells the story of the Virgin Mary statue in Ballinspittle and the people who believe the monument moves. At first, a person or group of people claimed that the statue was moving. At that time, people were looking for an answer to the question “did it really move?” They believed that moving the statue responded to a "need for certainty" because people did not want to find themselves in a position where they knew nothing about an event important to them. So they couldn't wait for another answer as to why people saw the statue moving. As I mentioned, the “need for certainty” is an instantaneous action that leads people to believe strange or simple explanations. “Problems with pseudo-scientific thinking” are another important reason why people believe strange things and fall for hoaxes. In this category, Sherman says "rumors don't match reality." According to him, rumors do not always reveal the truth. Considering "pseudo-scientific thinking", I would say that in certain events, rumors can make people believe strange things and fall into the trap of hoaxes. Consider Eric Tucker's article, "Gorgeous Guy" A Big Fat Lie. messages informed people that Dan Baca had been seen at the bus stop. Therefore, using the internet, he tricked people into visiting the bus stop. In this example, the rumors make people believe it is a hoax. Other people posted a lot of rumors, which are messages, on the bulletin boards. Therefore, people believed that the "Gorgeous Guy" was out and they went to see him at the bus stop. Another important reason for gullibility is “logical thinking problems”. In this category, Sherman explains "ad ignorantiam" which means "If you can't disprove a statement, it must be true." Furthermore, Sherman states that “dependence."