WHY do we touch wood? Or believe in the supernatural? Humans have a basic need for beliefs. This topic is fertile ground for biologist and writer Lewis Wolpert, whose illuminating new book explores the nature of belief - religious, false, scientific, paranormal - and its causes. Wolpert argues that inventiveness is the root of belief: regions of the human brain responsible for believing arose as a result of complex toolmaking. Not everyone will agree, but if you want to know why many people ignore rational scientific explanations in favour of mysticism, this book is for you.
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