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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

By: Steven Novella
Narrated by: Steven Novella
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About this listen

The must-read book from the creators of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast - perfect for fans of The Art of Thinking Clearly and Factfulness (and all aspiring skeptics)

This book will change the way you think about thinking. It will change how you think about the world.
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Join Steven Novella and 'Skeptical Rogues' Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella and Evan Bernstein as they explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and use them to debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies and conspiracy theories (anti-vaccines, homeopathy, UFO sightings, and many more) in this explosive book.

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is the must-have guide to understanding how you think, and how you can think more critically about yourself and the world around you. It explains the difference between science and pseudoscience, how to recognise common science news tropes, how to discuss conspiracy theories with that blinkered colleague of yours, and how to apply this to make your life better.

As fascinating as it is entertaining, this page-turner is your essential guide to seeing through the fake news and media manipulation in our increasingly confusing world.

©2018 SGU Productions LLC (P)2018 Hachette Audio Biological Sciences Science Social Sciences Human Brain

Critic Reviews

"A fantastic compendium of skeptical thinking and the perfect primer for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction." (Richard Wiseman, author 59 Seconds)

"Thorough, informative, and enlightening...If this book does not become required reading for us all, we may well see modern civilisation unravel before our eyes." (Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry)
All stars
Most relevant  
I very much liked this book... except. I found the narrator's otherwise excellent presentation drove me crazy when he missed a 't' in certain words, such as 'impor-ant'. Drove me crazy. Apart from this, this was an excellent book.

Excellent, but...

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Mister Novela gave a great performance. The book is an extremely valuable resource, I learned a lot and found the experience enjoyable.

Excellent factual and enjoy experience

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Great book. Equips you with tools to deal with pseudo science and logical fallacies, among other things.

Long read, but very worth it

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Narration was great, after years of listening to the SGU podcast, hearing more of Dr Steve was very familiar.
Unlike most books I've completed recently; this book may have been better read than listened to. So many occasions I caught my mind wandering after an interesting sentence, only to have to repeat the last minute or two, get caught wandering at the same spot, and around we go again...
I tend to disagree with the autbors and publishers choice of single narrator, single style. I really would have preferred to listen to each of them narrate their own part, as they had written it. This may however just be a text vs voice thing though.

Classic SGU

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I bought this imagining an extended version of the podcast, which I enjoy. Nothing wrong with that. What I got for my money was a different vision of the SGU team; the book was genuinely surprising in its depth and novelty. Listening to the weekly show, the format is light and entertaining. The book reveals their understanding and deep research into skepticism, and the result was absorbing in a way that the podcast just cant be.
Great work.

The podcast, cubed.

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As an avid listener of the weekly podcast for many years now, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on both the audio version and the hard cover. I was initially concerned that content from Steve’s great courses lecture series would be recycled which was quickly swept away once I saw they’d covered differnt aspects of woo.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn how to think critically in everyday life. Everyone, everywhere needs a little skepticism in their lives, why not learn how to do it properly.

SGU ROCKS

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This book is everything it says on the tin, it is a highly interesting, engaging and thorough guide to critical thinking and skepticism and Dr Novella does a wonderful job as narrator. The Skeptic's Guide is a delightful and much needed update to Carl Sagan's 'A Demon Haunted World' and I daresay is just as good or even better as either a starting point or a refresher for those trying to get a handle on the topic. I highly recommend 'The Guide' to absolutely everyone, especially those interested in thinking well. Newcomers to the topic and seasoned skeptics alike all have something to gain from this book and should find it both highly insightful and easy to listen to. Five stars all round.

A Must Read

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This book is essential to have an understanding of critical thinking. There's a clear description of common thinking flaws as well as how to deal with them.
The logical fallacies often encountered when dealing with proponents of pseudoscience are carefully disected in order for the reader to understand.
It would be nice if audible would let us have chapter names to make it easier to go through again for those of us who have yet to maser using the bookmarks.

Must have to learn to think.

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wonderful. insightful and beautifully written. it's not that the book will make you cynically sceptical... just thoughtfully and critically sceptical.... loved the numerous examples given to provide evidence for claims.

Thoughtful

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Dr Novella expresses what I have believed, largely, since I was a child. There is no point in reading it if you are genetically programmed to be arrogant and always believe you are right but for the non-primitive, open minded, it is absolutely wonderful.

Mandatory Reading for Life

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