Why people believe weird things: pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time

Foreword. The positive power of skepticism / Stephen Jay Gould

Introduction. Magical mystery tour: The whys and wherefores of weird things

Prologue. Next on Oprah

Part 1. Science and skepticism ; I am therefore I think: a skeptic's manifesto ; The most precious thing we have: the difference between science and pseudoscience ; How thinking goes wrong: twenty-five fallacies that lead us to believe weird things

Part 2. Pseudoscience and superstition ; Deviations: the normal, the paranormal, and Edgar Cayce ; Through the invisible: near-death experiences and the quest for immortality ; Abducted: encounters with aliens ; Epidemics of accusations: medieval and modern witch crazes ; The unlikeliest cult: Ayn Rand, objectivism, and the cult of personality

Part 3. Evolution and creationism ; In the beginning: an evening with Duane T. Gish ; Confronting creationists: twenty-five creationist arguments, twenty-five evolutionist answers ; Science defended, science defined: evolution and creationism at the Supreme Court

Part 4. History and Pseudohistory ; Doing Donahue: history, censorships, and free speech ; Who says the Holocaust never happened, and why do they say it?: an overview of a movement ; How we know the Holocaust happened: debunking the deniers ; Pigeonholes and continuums: an African-Greek-German-American looks at race

Part 5. Hope springs eternal ; Dr. Tipler meets Dr. Pangloss: can science find the best of all possible worlds? ; Why do people believe weird things? ; Why smart people believe weird things.