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Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer Quotes

Writer

Michael Shermer is an American writer, historian, and science writer. Born on September 8, 1954, he is known for his research on science, pseudoscience, and rational behavior. Shermer is a contributing writer for 'Scientific American' magazine and the founder and publisher of 'Skeptic' magazine. His writings cover a wide range of topics from history to scientific philosophy.

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Famous Michael Shermer Quotes

“The evening was very professionally organized, and most of the people were exceptionally polite, although it did make me a little nervous when one church official told me after the debate when a big crowd of people surrounded me that he had assigned me a body guard "just in case." Just in case what? I thought Christians were suppose to be exceptionally tolerant. Well, in any case, I guess I was grateful for the gesture, "just in case."”

People Wells Littles Body Bigs Christian Church Cases Atheism Grateful Crowds Debate Nervous Evening Officials Organized Gestures Polite

Author:Michael Shermer

“People who espouse Intelligent Design believe nature is so complex as to require an intelligent designer-God. Similarly, liberals believe the economy is so complex as to require an intelligent designer-government.”

People Believe Government Economy Design Intelligent Complexes Designer Intelligent Design

Author:Michael Shermer

“People have a hard time accepting free-market economics for the same reason they have a hard time accepting evolution: it is counterintuitive. Life looks intelligently designed, so our natural inclination is to infer that there must be an intelligent designer--a God. Similarly, the economy looks designed, so our natural inclination is to infer that we need a designer--a government. In fact, emergence and complexity theory explains how the principles of self-organization and emergence cause complex systems to arise from simple systems without a top-down designer.”

“Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.”

People Believe Reason Religion Belief Smart Openness Smart People Weird Things

Book:Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

Source: Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

“People believe in God because we are pattern-seeking, storytelling, mythmaking, religious, moral animals.”

People Believe Religious Animal Moral Atheist Patterns Seeking Storytelling Believe In God

Book:The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule

Source: The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule

“We're all talking about the same thing, whether it's religious people or New Age spiritual people or Buddhists or scientists. We're all talking about having a sense of awe and wonder at something grander than ourselves.”

People Age Spiritual Religious Talking Wonder Scientist Buddhist Awe New Age Awe And Wonder

Author:Michael Shermer