CHAPTER 1: STANDING TALL ON A FANTASY-PRONE PLANET

1. Hank Davis, Caveman Logic: The Persistence of Primitive Thinking in a Modern World (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2009).

2. BBC News, “Nigeria ‘Child Witch Killer’ Held,” BBC News, December 4, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7764575.stm (accessed July 17, 2013).

3. Salman Ravi, “Village ‘Witches’ Beaten,” BBC News, October 20, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8315980.stm (accessed July 17, 2013); BBC News, “Indian ‘Witchcraft’ Family Killed,” BBC News, March 19, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4822750.stm (accessed July 17, 2013).

4. James Gallagher, “Paralysed Woman’s Thoughts Control Robotic Arm,” BBC News, December 16, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20731973 (accessed July 12, 2013).

CHAPTER 2: PAY A VISIT TO THE STRANGE THING THAT LIVES INSIDE YOUR HEAD

1. Joannie Schrof Fischer, “What Is Memory Made Of?” Mysteries of Science (US News and World Report), 2002, p. 27.

2. Ingfei Chen, Scientific American, September 6, 2011, www.scientific american.com/article.cfm?id=911-memory-accuracy (accessed February 11, 2013).

3. Michael Shermer, “Patternicity,” Skeptic, December 2008, www.michael shermer.com/2008/12/patternicity/ (accessed February 12, 2013).

4. Ibid.

CHAPTER 3: A THINKER’S GUIDE TO UNUSUAL CLAIMS AND WEIRD BELIEFS

1. David W. Moore, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal,” Gallup News Service, June 16, 2005, http://www.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx (accessed February 4, 2013).

2. Linda Lyons, “Paranormal Beliefs Come (Super) Naturally to Some,” November 1, 2005, http://www.gallup.com/poll/19558/Paranormal-Beliefs-Come-SuperNaturally-Some.aspx (accessed January 30, 2013).

3. Antonio Regalado, “Poll: Mexicans Express Belief in Spirits, Not Science,” January 5, 2011, http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/01/poll-mexicans-express-belief-in.html?ref=hp (accessed January 30, 2013).

4. Leagle, “State v. Perry,” July 15, 2003, http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=1&xmldoc=20031290582SE2d708_11159.xml&docbase=CSLWAR 2-1986-2006&SizeDisp=7 (accessed February 23, 2013).

5. Pride Chigwedere, George R. Seage III, Sofia Gruskin, Tun-Hou Lee, and M. Essex, “Estimating the Lost Benefits of Antiretroviral Drug Use in South Africa,” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 49, no. 4 (December 1, 2008): 410, http://www.aids.harvard.edu/Lost_Benefits.pdf (accessed January 4, 2013).

6. V. A. Luyckx, V. Steenkamp, and M. J. Stewart, “Acute Renal Failure Associated with the Use of Traditional Folk Remedies in South Africa,” Ren Fail, January 27, 2005, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15717633 (accessed January 30, 2013).

7. I. A. Malik, S. Gopalan, “Use of CAM Results in Delay in Seeking Medical Advice for Breast Cancer,” European Journal of Epidemiology, August 18, 2003, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12974558 (accessed March 10, 2013).

8. Michael Shermer, “The Reality Distortion Field,” Skeptic 17, no. 4, 2012.

9. Charlie Jones, “Design Thinking,” CBS, January 6, 2013 (accessed January 31, 2013).

10. Steve Kroft, “Steve Jobs,” CBS, October 20, 2011, www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385390n (accessed January 31, 2013).

11. Bruce Hood, The Science of Superstition: How the Developing Brain Creates Supernatural Beliefs (New York: HarperCollins Paperback, 2010), p. 157.

12. Katelyn Catanzariti, “Homeopath, Wife Jailed over Baby’s Death,” Age, September 28, 2009, http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/homeopath-wife-jailed-over-babys-death-20090928-g8w4.html (accessed January 2, 2013).

13. Yusuke Fukui and Akiko Okazaki, “Homeopathy under Scrutiny after Lawsuit over Death of Infant,” Asahi Shimbun, September 6, 2010, http://www .asahi.com/english/TKY201008050254.html (accessed November 5, 2012).

14. International Alliance for Animal Therapy and Healing, www.iaath .com/treatments/flower.shtml (accessed March 14, 2013).

15. Coco Ballantyne, “Strange but True: Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill,” Scientific American, June 21, 2007, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill (accessed January30, 2013).

16. Harris Poll, “What People Do and Do Not Believe In,” Harris Interactive, December 15, 2009, http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris_Poll_2009_12_15.pdf (accessed January 10, 2013).

17. Lyons, “Paranormal Beliefs Come (Super) Naturally to Some.”

18. Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, “Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths,” Pew Forum, December 9, 2009, http://pewforum.org/Other-Beliefs-and-Practices/Many-Americans-Mix-Multiple-Faiths.aspx (accessed February 27, 2013 ).

19. Kaja Perina, “Alien Abductions: The Real Deal?” Psychology Today, March 1, 2003, www.psychologytoday.com/articles/%5Byyyy%5D%5Bmm%5D/%5Btitle-raw%5D (accessed January 29, 2013).

20. Susan A. Clancy, Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005), p. 35.

21. Tom Head, ed., Conversations with Carl Sagan (Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2006), p. 101.

22. Christopher D. Bader, Carson F. Mencken, and Joseph O. Baker, Paranormal America (New York: New York University Press, 2010), p. 106.

23. Greg Long, The Making of Bigfoot: The Inside Story (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2004), p. 336.

24. Ibid. pp. 443—51.

25. Timothy Egan, “Search for Bigfoot Outlives the Man Who Created Him,” New York Times, January 3, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/03/us/search-for-bigfoot-outlives-the-man-who-created-him.html (accessed January 7, 2013).

26. Wil S. Hylton, “Craig Venter’s Bugs Might Save the World,” New York Times, May 30, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/magazine/craig-venters-bugs-might-save-the-world.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& (accessed January 29, 2013).

27. Edward O. Wilson, Naturalist (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994), p. 364.

28. Moore, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal.”

29. “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer in Roswell Region,” Roswell Daily Record, July 8, 1947, p. 1.

30. Roswell Daily Record, July 9, 1947, p. 1.

31. B. D. Gildenberg, “A Roswell Requiem,” Skeptic 10, no. 1 (2003): 60–63.

32. Ibid.

33. Joe Kittinger, interview with the author; quoted in Guy P. Harrison, “I Was the First Man in Space,” Caymanian Compass, October 26, 2001.

34. Annie Jacobson, Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Military Base (New York: Little, Brown), 2011, pp. 367–74.

35. “Good Heavens! An Astrologer Dictating the President’s Schedule?” Time, May 16, 1988, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,967389-1,00.html (accessed January 31, 2013).

36. Harris Poll, “What People Do and Do Not Believe In.”

37. Pat Robertson, “Reinhard Bonnke Tells of Nigerian Man Raised from the Dead,” 700 Club, www.cbn.com/700club/features/bonnke_raisedpastor.aspx (accessed January 31, 2013).

38. Erich von Däniken, Chariots of the Gods? (Berkeley, CA: Berkley Books, 1999), p. 108.

39. Ibid, p. 96.

40. Ibid, p. 65.

41. Ibid, p. 73.

42. David Robson, “A Brief History of the Brain,” New Scientist, September 24, 2011, p. 45.

43. Penn State University, “How Were the Egyptian Pyramids Built?” ScienceDaily, March 29, 2008, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080328104302.htm (accessed February 5, 2013).

44. Big Picture Science, Zombies Aren’t Real: Guy Harrison, November 12, 2012, http://radio.seti.org/blog/2012/11/big-picture-science-zombies-arent-real-guy-harrison/ (accessed February 27, 2013).

45. Big Picture Science, Doomsday Live! part 1, http://radio.seti.org/blog/2012/11/big-picture-science-doomsday-live-part-1/ (accessed February 27, 2013).

46. Jennifer Viegas, “Human Extinction: How Could It Happen?” Discovery News, http://news.discovery.com/human/human-extinction-doomsday.html (accessed September 5, 2011).

47. Jon Hamilton, “Psst! The Human Brain Is Wired for Gossip,” NPR, Morning Edition, May 20, 2011, http://www.npr.org/2011/05/20/136465083/psst-the-human-brain-is-wired-for-gossip (accessed January 26, 2013).

48. Frank Newport, “Landing a Man on the Moon: The Public’s View,” July 20, 1999, Gallup News Service, http://www.gallup.com/poll/3712/landing-man-moon-publics-view.aspx (accessed January 31, 2013).

49. “Apollo 11 Hoax: One in Four People Do Not Believe in Moon Landing,” Telegraph, July 17, 2009, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/5851435/Apollo-11-hoax-one-in-four-people-do-not-believe-in-moon-landing.html (accessed January 3, 2011).

50. Christopher Hitchens, “Hugo Boss: What I Learned about Hugo Chávez’s Mental Health When I Visited Venezuela with Sean Penn,” Slate, March 25, 2013, www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/08/hugo_boss.html (accessed March 12, 2013).

51. Mary Lynne Dittmar, “Engaging the 18–25 Generation: Educational Outreach, Interactive Technologies, and Space,” Dittmar Associates, 2006, http://www.dittmar-associates.com/Publications/Engaging%20the%2018-25%20Generation%20Update~web.pdf (accessed March 22, 2013).

52. C-SPAN, “Apollo 16 and Space Exploration,” January 11, 2013, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310334-1 (accessed February 27, 2013).

53. As quoted by Andrew Chaikin in Guy P. Harrison, 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2011), p. 89.

54. Newport, “Landing a Man on the Moon.”

55. Wikipedia, s.v. “Hister,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hister#cite_note-1 (accessed August 5, 2013).

56. Guy P. Harrison, “God Is in This Place,” Caymanian Compass, November 19, 1993, pp. 10–11.

57. Charles Berlitz, The Bermuda Triangle (New York: Avon, 1975).

58. Charles Berlitz, Atlantis: The Lost Continent Revealed (London: Fontana/Collins, 1985); and Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, The Roswell Incident (New York: Berkley Books, 1980).

59. Larry Kusche, The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995).

60. Kusche, Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved, pp. 275–77.

61. Naval Heritage and History Command, “The Bermuda Triangle,” http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq8-1.htm (accessed January 26, 2013).

62. “Does the Bermuda Triangle Really Exist?” United State Coast Guard, http://www.uscg.mil/history/faqs/triangle.asp (accessed January 25, 2013).

63. Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, “American Piety in the 21st Century,” Baylor University, September 2006, p. 45, http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf (accessed January 2, 2013).

64. Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn, How to Think about Weird Things (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011), p. 7.

65. “Tsunami Clue to ‘Atlantis’ Found,” BBC News, August 15, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4153008.stm (accessed February 20, 2013).

66. Paul Rincon, “Satellite Images ‘Show Atlantis,’” BBC News, June 6, 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm (accessed February 20, 2013).

67. “Atlantis ‘Obviously Near Gibraltar,’” BBC News, September 20, 2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1554594.stm (accessed February 11, 2013).

68. Kenneth L. Feder, Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010), p. 33.

69. William B. Scott, “The Truth Is Out There: A Veteran Reporter Describes His Search for the Aircraft of Area 51,” Air & Space Magazine, September 1, 2010, http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/The-Truth-is-Out-There.html?c=y&page=1 (accessed January 23, 2013).

CHAPTER 4: THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF A THINKING MACHINE

1. M. C. Morris, D. A. Evans, C. C. Tangney, J. L. Bienias, and R. S. Wilson, “Associations of Vegetable and Fruit Consumption with Age-Related Cognitive Change,” Neurology 67, no. 8 (October 24, 2006): 1370–76, www.neurology.org/content/67/8/1370.abstract?sid=431a2aff-e7cd-441e-9ba3-94ba4575c92e (accessed February 1, 2013).

2. “Eating More Berries May Reduce Cognitive Decline in the Elderly,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120426110250.htm (accessed February 18, 2013).

3. For an excellent roundup of the science of exercise and how it can help your brain, read Gretchen Reynolds’ The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer (New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012).

4. John Ratey, A User’s Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain (New York: Vintage, 2002), p. 359.

5. David Hinkley, “Americans Spend 34 Hours a Week Watching TV, According to Nielsen Numbers,” New York Daily News, September 19, 2012, www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/americans-spend-34-hours-week-watching-tv-nielsen-numbers-article-1.1162285 (accessed February 14, 2013).

6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The Association between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, and Academic Performance,” July 2010, www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf (accessed February 4, 2013), p. 6.

7. Alexandra Sifferlin, “Why Prolonged Sitting Is Bad for Your Health,” Time, March 28, 2012, http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/28/standing-up-on-the-job-one-way-to-improve-your-health/ (accessed January 26, 2013).

8. John Medina, Brain Rules (Seattle, WA: Pear Press, 2008), p. 26.

9. Ibid, p. 5.

10. Reynolds, First 20 Minutes, p. 205.

11. “Facts and Figures,” Drowsy Driving, http://drowsydriving.org/about/facts-and-stats/ (accessed February 11, 2013).

12. Katie Moisse, “5 Health Hazards Linked to Lack of Sleep,” June 11, 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sleep/health-hazards-linked-lack-sleep/story?id=16524313 (accessed February 2, 2013).

13. Medina, Brain Rules, pp. 152–53.

14. “Juggling Languages Can Build Better Brains,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110218092529.htm (accessed February 17, 2013).

15. “First Physical Evidence Bilingualism Delays Onset of Alzheimer’s Symptoms,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111013121701.htm (accessed February 17, 2013).

16. “Juggling Enhances Connections in the Brain,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016114055.htm (accessed February 17, 2013).

17. “Well-Connected Brains Make You Smarter in Older Age,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120523102958.htm (accessed January 3, 2013).

18. “Reading, Writing and Playing Games May Help Aging Brains Stay Healthy,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121125103947.htm (accessed February 17, 2013).

19. Corrie Goldman, “This Is Your Brain on Jane Austen, and Stanford Researchers Are Taking Notes,” Stanford Reader, http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/september/austen-reading-fmri-090712.html (accessed January 29, 2013).

CHAPTER 5: SO LITTLE TO LOSE AND A UNIVERSE TO GAIN

1. Linda Lyons, “Paranormal Beliefs Come (Super) Naturally to Some,” Gallup News Service, November 1, 2005, http://www.gallup.com/poll/19558/Paranormal-Beliefs-Come-SuperNaturally-Some.aspx (accessed February 21, 2013).

2. David W. Moore, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal,” Gallup News Service, June 16, 2005, http://www.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx (accessed December 27, 2012).

3. “The Global Religious Landscape,” Pew Forum, December 18, 2012, http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/ (accessed July 31, 2013).

4. Phil Zuckerman, “Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns,” pp. 47–65 in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael Martin (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007).

5. “An Intellectual Entente,” Harvard Magazine, September 10, 2009, http://harvardmagazine.com/breaking-news/james-watson-edward-o-wilson-intellectual-entente (accessed February 21, 2013).

6. Edward O. Wilson, Naturalist (Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994), p. 364.

7. “Loneliest Bug on Earth . . . Has a Friend,” New Scientist, December 15, 2012, p. 20.

8. Rose Eveleth, “Up with Microbes,” Scientific American, March 2013, p. 14.

9. Carl Zimmer, A Planet of Viruses (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), p. 42.

10. Debora MacKenzie, “Rosacea May Be Caused by Mite Faeces in Your Pores,” New Scientist, August 30, 2012, www.newscientist.com/article/dn22227-rosacea-may-be-caused-by-mite-faeces-in-your-pores.html (accessed March 24, 2013).

11. Peter Nova, “The Star in You,” NOVA ScienceNOW, December 2, 2010, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/star-in-you.html (accessed July 31, 2013).