People have believed in things unseen since the beginning of time, and in many cases, they have endured ridicule and much worse. In the middle ages, thousands of women were burned at the stake for allegedly engaging in witchcraft, which was considered a superstition in Christian Europe. Being superstitious is still something of a taboo, yet millions of people believe in astrology, fear the evil eye, and avoid the number 13. Even Barack Obama admits to having an election day superstition. Now that we live in a scientific age that does not include magical forces, why do so many people believe? Stuart Vyse will address these and other questions about the persistent attraction of superstitious thinking.
Stuart Vyse is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer. He is a contributing editor for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, for which he writes the “Behavior & Belief” column. The first edition of his book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition (Oxford) won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association and was translated into Japanese, German, and Romanian. An updated edition was published in 2014. His book Superstition: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford) was published in 2020. As an expert on superstition and irrational behavior, Vyse has been quoted in many news outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR’s Science Friday. He holds a PhD in psychology and BA and MA degrees in English Literature and is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
This talk took place on July 22, 2021, at 7:00 pm EDT.