Smart People Believe Weird Things

In Scientific American, Michael Shermer said: "Rarely do any of us sit down before a table of facts, weigh them pro and con, and choose the most logical and rational explanation, regardless of what we previously believed."

The above observation applies to all of us, INCLUDING, the most intelligent amongst us. What is at work is a psychological phenomena called Confirmation Bias. Given all sorts of facts we all tend to select only those facts that "confirm" our set of believes. I laughed when Shermer says: "Education by itself is no paranormal prophylactic." All this explains why people buy "snake oil" products, and why such thing as astrology .

Read on ... point your browser to the Scientific American article and enjoy.