The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is also a podcast that has been on the interwebs for over a decade, since 2005. They are now on episode 730 and have never missed a week. I found them somewhat randomly not long after they posted episode 140 which was in March 2008. The episode blew my mind. I realized I was extremely gullible and was making decisions based on what advertising or other sources were telling me without ever wondering if any of it were actually true. I was completely unskeptical, and therefore vulnerable to any kind of huckster or scam. And yes, I learned from the SGU that I had fallen for many of those and it had cost me a great deal of money and had been downright dangerous in some ways.I binged every episode, and then restarted again and re-listened to them. I've never missed an episode since. I learned how to question what was told to me. This is different than being a denier or a cynic. It's about being level-headed and curious about the actual reality and truth of a claim. I learned to consider the source, and if they were saying something that was "based on research", I learned how to actually look at that research and see how much it was legit or not. There are a lot of "studies" that are either bogus or entirely misinterpreted by the media and people will either knowingly or unknowingly use that information to sell or promote things that will waste your money and maybe even your health.I also learned that it's okay to trust an expert if they are actually an expert (still, trust but verify!). But if that person goes outside their field and makes crazy claims about something else, then that needs to be investigated and tested. Sometimes super smart people can also believe crazy things and not be critical. We all have our sacred cows, areas where we are not logical and have a blind spot to what we believe, and refuse to accept any evidence to the contrary.I learned about logical fallacies, so that I can understand when people are using faulty language and arguments to manipulate others, whether intentionally or not. This has been invaluable. Absolutely.I learned about worldviews and how to talk to someone who disagrees with what I think is reality, how conspiracy people etc think and how attacking someone with a skewed sense of reality (false beliefs - but for people who are not delusional and mentally ill) really drives them to double down on their false beliefs. I learned about cognitive dissonance and how that works as well.I learned how to think for myself, to question everything, seek out new information, find other sources that have blown my mind with knowledge, and so much more.One thing that was truly invaluable was that Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence. If it sounds fantastical it needs to be rigorously evaluated and tested, just like any other claim. And while you can never prove a negative, you can still learn a lot about the Universe through careful, methodical, rigorous science.I learned about how fallible our sense of reality is, how memory actually works (as we understand it so far), how we actually observe the world, and why we should never be stubbornly sure of anything unless there is evidence. It's ok to be wrong, it's ok to change your mind, if you learn new and better evidence that shows that your old way of thinking was faulty.We learn more about the Universe every single day, so we need to be open to expanding our horizons and adjusting our view of things as new information comes in. But we also need to be skeptical and know that if something is brand new (like some new drug is found to "cure" something, for instance) it needs to be tested rigorously, and it might turn out that it isn't the miracle cure we thought it was when there is more data. This is true for any aspect of research and science. So take wild new claims with a grain of salt and be prepared to wait for more evidence.I learned to be very humble about what I "know" and what I "believe". I have learned to be able to change my mind with new evidence and not feel stupid or try to cling to the old way of thinking just because that is how my worldview saw things. I try to follow the adage to be okay with being wrong, and that my only real desire is to know the truth, and that that often changes over time, and that's okay.I have humbly labeled myself a skeptic. I've lost a lot of the crazy unhealthy thinking and beliefs I had about the Universe. You might be thinking that now I'm some bitter cynic. No. Just the opposite. Now I understand that the Universe is infinitely fascinating and amazing and I am awed every day by all the amazing things I can learn.When I was a girl in school, I was never really taught that girls could go into science. It never occurred to me, and I was never taught to think critically. But that's ok, because I did eventually learn that skill that has changed my life for the better. Skeptical, critical thinking. And I am SO much happier, healthier and have saved so much money by avoiding bogus stuff that it all makes it wonderful.This book is a crash course in reality and how to think critically. It's fantastic. I highly recommend getting it, devouring it, and then getting copies for every person you know. The audio book is also fantastic on Audible (I got that copy too, of course) Stephen reads it himself. It is the most thoughtful and helpful book that you can give.I also recommend supplementing this book with the podcast. Look for "The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe" on the podcast app of your choice. You will be so glad you did.The SGU is not mean or vicious in attacking those who think poorly, or even those who maliciously take advantage of the unsuspecting public. They are not sarcastic. They don't attack anyone, really. They just explain why they are wrong. So you don't need to feel like they will try to make anyone feel stupid. They show you the wonder of critical thinking and how fantastic actual reality is. And they are witty and wonderful people. All of them.So while this book will change your life for the better, and help you to think more clearly, it won't do it by tearing you down. I think that's important. There are others (especially on the internets) who are vicious to anyone who disagrees with them. They attack them, so even if they are right, it only makes the situation worse. This is not that at all. Just the opposite. Now, the SGU doesn't pull any punches. If something is bogus, they will call it out and explain why and what is actually true.Even if you have listened to the SGU, this book will still tell you things that are new, so get it anyway. They are great complements to each other.I give this book 100+ stars. I am so glad it exists. Thank you SGU. You helped me become a much happier and smarter person. I hope everyone reads this book and gets as much out of it as I did.

This was one of the books I waited with utmost anticipation and so glad to get a chance to read it finally. I have been a long time SGU listener (almost 10 years), and they have been a major inspiration for me to teach myself critical thinking I still do) and initiate a grassroots skeptical movement in Turkey along with a website as well as a top podcast of our own. So naturally, when I heard the team was coming up with an actual book, I was very excited and pre-ordered it immediately.Steve and SGU team did a great job of compiling the basic building blocks of scientific skepticism and critical thinking. The book starts with the introduction to scientific skepticism and why it is important, continues to explore the major factors that contribute and distort our understanding of the world, major reasoning and cognitive faults we all make/have, the science/pseudoscience demarcation problem. Then it goes on to give some real-world examples to allow the reader to practice what they learned about critical thinking skills in the earlier chapters. It talks about historical events that claimed to be "extraordinary" and turned out to be not so, some existing pseudoscience out there and why those claims do not hold water and personal experiences of the contributors in the domain of scientific skepticism and critical thinking.In the last section, there is a very comprehensive reference list. The book has ALL the major references it mentions along the chapters in one place and in great detail, and even that is alone is such a great resource.The language of the book is very clear, easy to read & understand with lots of examples. It is very well organized the earlier chapters prepare the reader for the later ones that provide more examples.Overall this is a great book to introduce a person to critical thinking & scientific skepticism. it explains why this is an important topic, why people should be mindful of how they reach to conclusions, make decisions, even how they argue with each other and how to try to convince others.For me, this will be a great comprehensive resource to use when I need to explain someone a basic concept with great examples. I did not learn anything new by reading it since I knew pretty much every concept described in the book due to immersing myself into the literature of scientific skepticism and critical thinking in the past years, but despite that, I loved to book for its comprehensiveness, clarity and being an overall resource for every fundamental concept in scientific skepticism.Actually, let me re-phrase myself: "I did not learn any new information from the book, but as usual I learned a lot on how to communicate and articulate these things from Steve and his narration style, as usual. He is such a great communicator, an aspiration for all of us."I will keep this book as a fundamental resource in my library and definitely can see myself gifting to many people in the future. What a great tool to help us to spread the news!Thank you SGU team, it has been a pleasure to read this!

Critical thinking is so important and these guys are the bets. Highly recommended their podcast as well

On the strong side, this is an excellent book! On the down side, it is limited to a materialist and quantitative worldview.

It arrived on time in good condition. It's a great book to have in your library and keep referring back to it. Very good explanations of logical falacies. I love the short description in the beginning of each chapter, so you can always go back for a quick refresh. Very good examples and great introduction to critical thinking.

Bought a copy of this book for my boyfriend (who’s a skeptic to the topics mentioned in this book) and he says it was an enjoyable read with thought provoking pointers in some parts. Was an easy read and he recommended it to anyone who’d be interested.

Amazing book that gives a lot of useful tips to start thinking properly in a world full of biases. Uneasy topics are explained in a very fungible way. Excellent!

Our mind is fascinating but has multiple flaws. this is a good guide to learn how to properly get through our own thinking and arrive to better conclusions. learn to not get attach to your opinion, evidence is the queen, opinons should be result if it, not the other way around. Nothing is perfect and it is endless work in progress, but this book is interesting and provide real reality based guidance. The stop relying of spiritual Woo, to defend bad ideologies or belief not based in evidence. its a is liberation and humbling experience. despite the hardship the univers throw at us, you learn to appreciate the reality for what it is. The book is fully of nice example, witty and funny comment and great personal story of from the rogues. This is not a novel, so you can read it as a side book, from time to time. Great gift to anyone starting their journey into embracing reality. Off course every seasoned critical thinkers and scientifically minded people might not learn that much in it, but it is always good to revisited known concepts.

This should be taught at universities.