Benjamin Radford – författare
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9 produkter
9 produkter
354 kr
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History is replete with examples of media-created scares and panics. This book presents more than three dozen studies of media scares from the 17th century to the 21st century, including hoaxes perpetrated via newspapers, radio, television and cyberspace. From the 1835 batmen on the Moon hoax to more recent bird flu scares and Hurricane Katrina myths, this book explores hoaxes that highlight the impact of the media on our lives and its tendency to sensationalize. Most of the hoaxes covered occurred in the United States, though incidents from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia are featured as well. Several are global in scope, revealing the power global media wields.
365 kr
Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar
For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world -- from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland -- have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures in area lakes that surface briefly, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters, those living in Loch Ness and Lake Champlain, have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures. Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to collectively approach these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell are considered to be among the top lake monster authorities in the world. Here they share unique insights into many of the world's best-known lake monsters. They interview dozens of people and discuss the different types of lake monster sightings, delve into possible explanations for those sightings, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at lakes, examined photographic evidence, and analyzed the most current sonar readings. Incorporating newly-revealed information and up-to-date developments, the cases in Lake Monster Mysteries are in-depth, firsthand investigations that will inform and entertain both avid lake monster researchers and lovers of unexplained mysteries.
308 kr
Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar
New Mexico’s twin traditions of the scientific and the supernatural meet for the first time in this long-overdue book by a journalist known for investigating the unexplained. Strange tales of ghosts, monsters, miracles, lost treasure, UFOs, and much more can be found not far from the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Huge radio astronomy dishes search desert skies for alien life, and the world’s first spaceport can be found in this enchanted land; in many ways New Mexico truly is a portal to other worlds.Mysterious New Mexico is the first book to apply scientific investigation methods to explain some of New Mexico’s most bizarre lore and legends. Using folklore, sociology, history, psychology, and forensic science - as well as good old-fashioned detective work - Radford reveals the truths and myths behind New Mexico’s greatest mysteries.
266 kr
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Bad clowns—those malicious misfits of the midway who terrorize, haunt, and threaten us—have long been a cultural icon. This book describes the history of bad clowns, why clowns go bad, and why many people fear them. Going beyond familiar clowns such as the Joker, Krusty, John Wayne Gacy, and Stephen King’s Pennywise, it also features bizarre, lesser-known stories of weird clown antics including Bozo obscenity, Ronald McDonald haters, killer clowns, phantom-clown abductors, evil-clown panics, sex clowns, carnival clowns, troll clowns, and much more. Bad Clowns blends humor, investigation, and scholarship to reveal what is behind the clown’s dark smile.
245 kr
Kommande
The author of Mysterious New Mexico returns to explore and explain another dozen strange stories of the mysterious and weird in the “Land of Enchantment,” including the infernal Taos Hum, the Dulce Alien Base, and the Hobbs Weeping Statue. New Mexico has a well-earned reputation as home to the mysterious and bizarre. It is a land of contradictions and stark contrasts, a place where the exceptional and the commonplace, the rational and the mystical, mix freely. Sometimes the strangeness is well-known—even world-famous—such as the 1947 Roswell crash and the infernal Taos Hum. Other stories of ghosts, monsters, miracles, and magic are told only in hushed whispers or as ancient riddles that lurk under the sunbaked desert sands. In Weird New Mexico researcher Benjamin Radford examines monsters and miracles, ghost stories and UFOs, conspiracy theories and historical mysteries across the Land of Enchantment, asking: What caused the infamous and terrifying Taos Hum? What’s behind reports of a UFO base inside a mountain outside Dulce? What are the strange “skyfish” recorded above Roswell? Who—or what—made sinister symbols found on Albuquerque’s West Mesa? What ghosts are said to haunt Old Town, the St. James Hotel, and the Territorial House restaurant? Who carved the strange Los Lunas mystery stone? Where are Bigfoot and chupacabra said to lurk in New Mexico? Why did a statue miraculously weep in a Hobbs church? Radford tackles these mysteries with an open mind, seeking explanations where it seems none are possible. Using folklore, sociology, history, psychology, forensic science, and of course good old-fashioned detective work, he reveals the truths behind these weird cases.
354 kr
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National panics about crime, immigrants, police, and societal degradation have been pervasive in the United States of the 21st century. Many of these fears begin as mere phantom fears, but are systematically amplified by social media, news media, bad actors and even well-intentioned activists. There are numerous challenges facing the U.S., but Americans must sort through which fears are legitimate threats and which are amplified exaggerations.This book examines the role of fear in national panics and addresses why many Americans believe the country is in horrible shape and will continue to deteriorate (despite contradictory evidence). Political polarization, racism, sexism, economic inequality, and other social issues are examined. Combining media literacy, folklore, investigative journalism, psychology, neuroscience, and critical thinking approaches, this book reveals the powerful role that fear plays in clouding perceptions about the U.S. It not only records the repercussions of this toxic phenomenon, but also offers evidence-based solutions.
277 kr
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Thinking is an innate ability that most people take for granted. But like writing well or speaking effectively before the public, thinking well is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. In this unique introduction to critical thinking, Robert Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford first lay out the principles of critical thinking and then invite readers to put these principles to the test by examining a series of unusual and challenging case studies. Assembling a wide range of bizarre but actual incidents from many cultures and various time periods, they demonstrate how the tools of critical thinking can help to unravel alleged paranormal events and seemingly mysterious behavior.What factors led to the "Martian panic" of 1938? Why did many people conclude that an alien spaceship crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947? How do we explain the panic expressed by otherwise normal Southeast Asian men who came to believe that a contagious disease was causing their genitals to shrink, or the frenzied dance manias that captivated thousands of Europeans during the Middle Ages? Bartholomew and Radford show that reality is very much a social construction, that cultural assumptions play a large part in our judgments about what is normal and what is deviant, and that the use of critical reasoning is our best means of ensuring an objective perspective.
323 kr
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Fake news?Biased media sources?This hard-hitting critique of our media culture examines not only the ways in which the public is often deceived, but the media's role in propagating those deceptions. But Media Mythmakers goes beyond criticism to give concrete examples of the damage that manipulation of the news causes. From missing children to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, from the efforts to end slavery to AIDS education, myths and deception in the media threaten us all. While the public is being misled, real problems go unaddressed and resources are wasted on misguided ideas.In an increasingly complex world, where accurate and unbiased information is more important than ever, this book provides a timely and much-needed analysis.
354 kr
Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar
UNREASON: Exploring Pseudoscience, Conspiracies, and Extraordinary Claims is a collection of forty-five of the best articles the legendary Skeptical Inquirer magazine has published in the past decade. Featuring articles from writers including Neil deGrasse Tyson on the process of science, Richard Dawkins on the standards of truth, Elizabeth Loftus on memory, Steven Pinker on the notion of progress, and many others covering topics from the politicization of science to the frightening rise of misinformation, each entry in this collection se scientific examination to bear in order to ferret out the facts and misconceptions behind popular claims.All of the articles within are interesting and readable. Yet they are also quite diverse. Some articles reinforce and complement each other; others (as happens in science) may voice disagreements or differing perspectives. But they all have one thing in common: a respect for evidence—a demand for the best, most well-tested, most scientifically reliable information. Readers will learn: Why and how conspiracy rumors start, spread, and readily gain believers How to stay afloat in a sea of disinformation and survive the age of misinformation Why and how we form beliefs and adhere to them so powerfullyHow and why memory is fallible—and what we can do about itHow pseudoexperiments mislead the public about scienceUnreason will arm readers with scientific knowledge to curb the misinformation and misconceptions that increasingly threaten our civil discourse. Even further, these essays present a way for us to be better citizens, equipped to deal with the winds of misinformation and disinformation swirling about us and better able to look ahead to a world where science and reason—indeed just good old common sense—can prevail.