The Science of Weird Shit by Chris French

The weird shit, such as ghosts’ encounters, paranormal activities, UFO sightings, and so on, has been a major discussion in human history. Although there is no evidence for their existence, why are humans so obsessed with them? Why do some people go to any lengths to prove their existence?

But the more important question is, what if it is not reality but the humans have a defect? What if the human brain is sensitive to some situations in which it perceives something nonexistent? What if humans are not so educated and so vulnerable in their lives that they start to take their beliefs a little too seriously?

This is exactly what Chris French is after. The human brain is so complex. It ignores what is in the front and imagines what is not. Since it is a meaning- or reason-making machine, it tries to connect two random events and make something out of it. This phenomenon can be seen with UFO sightings and paranormal activities.

Speaking of ghost encounters, humans developed a natural aversion to the dark. Imagine you are a hunter-gatherer living in a cave, and it is your duty to be the watchman for the night. You are not sure what predators are in the dark. You will treat every sighting, every moment, and every sound as a threat.

That’s how you are supposed to be. You cannot brush it off. You are putting your tribe in grave danger if you do. Though we are comfortably living in modern times, our wirings have not changed. Unless you think critically and dig down a little deeper, you cannot surpass the natural reactions.

It is the same with cold reading and psychic reading; our brain tends to pick that relevant information and ignore the rest. It’s called confirmation bias. It wants to hear what it wants to hear. No human has absolute power or knows about you unless you reveal it yourself. And what psychic readers do is more or less an educated guess.

The Science of Weird Shit is an interesting read. It made me understand what goes on behind the workings of the brain. The stories and explanations are compelling and engaging. The major complaints are that it can be shorter and crisper and chapters can be arranged in a more cohesive way. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in understanding the paranormal.