Why do so many Americans profess beliefs that are contradicted by science and logic? Rather than pitting science against religion, Mazur (public affairs, Syracuse U.) analyzes commonalities
between implausible religious and secular beliefs. Using literal belief in biblical narratives for which there is no archeological evidence and conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/01
terrorist attacks as examples, this fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science concludes that such claims are not amenable to empirical evaluation, because they involve
value judgments influenced by personality and changing social factors. Annotation 穢2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
