Little Green Men Meowing Nuns And Head Hunting Panics

Download Little Green Men Meowing Nuns And Head Hunting Panics full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Little Green Men Meowing Nuns And Head Hunting Panics ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics

Author : Robert E. Bartholomew
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 9780786409976
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (99 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics by : Robert E. Bartholomew

Download or read book Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics written by Robert E. Bartholomew and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2001-06-06 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For a two week period in 1956, residents in the vicinity of Taipei, Taiwan, lived in fear that they would be the next victims of a crazed villain who was prowling the streets and slashing people at random with a razor or similar weapon. At least 21 victims were reported during this period, mostly women and children of low income and education." A thorough investigation revealed however, that: "five slashings were innocent false reports, seven were self-inflicted cuts, eight were due to cuts rather than razors, and one was complete fantasy." This is one example of many cases of what has traditionally been called "mass hysteria" that are examined in this comprehensive study of human beings' fear of the unknown. Beginning with a concise history of mass hysteria and social delusions, the author differentiates between the two and investigates mass hysteria in closed settings such as work and school, and mass hysteria in communities with incidents such as gassings, Pokemon illnesses in Japan, and medieval dance crazes. Also examined are collective delusions, with information on five major types: immediate threat, symbolic scare, mass wish fulfillment, urban legends and mass panics. The book ends with a discussion of major issues in the area of mass hysteria and a look toward the future of this intriguing subject.

The Mystery of Market Movements

Author : Niklas Hageback
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118845005
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (188 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Mystery of Market Movements by : Niklas Hageback

Download or read book The Mystery of Market Movements written by Niklas Hageback and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A quantifiable framework for unlocking the unconscious forcesthat shape markets There has long been a notion that subliminal forces play a greatpart in causing the seemingly irrational financial bubbles, whichconventional economic theory, again and again, fails to explain.However, these forces, sometimes labeled ‘animalspirits’ or ‘irrational exuberance, have remainedelusive - until now. The Mystery of Market Movementsprovides you with a methodology to timely predict and profit fromchanges in human investment behaviour based on the workings of thecollective unconscious. Niklas Hageback draws in on one of psychology's most influentialideas - archetypes - to explain how they form investor’sperceptions and can be predicted and turned into profit. TheMystery of Market Movements provides; A review of the collective unconscious and its archetypes basedon Carl Jung’s theories and empirical case studies thathighlights and assesses the influences of the collectiveunconscious on financial bubbles and zeitgeists For the first time being able to objectively measure the impactof archetypal forces on human thoughts and behaviour with a view toprovide early warning signals on major turns in the markets. Thisis done through a step-by-step guide on how to develop ameasurement methodology based on an analysis of the language of theunconscious; figurative speech such as metaphors and symbolism,drawn out and deciphered from Big Data sources, allowingfor quantification into time series The book is supplemented with an online resource that presentscontinuously updated bespoken archetypal indexes with predictivecapabilities to major financial indexes Investors are often unaware of the real reasons behindtheir own financial decisions. This book explains why psychologicaldrivers in the collective unconscious dictates not only investmentbehaviour but also political, cultural and social trends.Understanding these forces allows you to stay ahead of the curveand profit from market tendencies that more traditional methodscompletely overlook.

The Dancing Plague

Author : John Waller
Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1402247370
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (22 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Dancing Plague by : John Waller

Download or read book The Dancing Plague written by John Waller and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping tale of one of history's most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human nature In the searing July heat of 1518, Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. Bathed in sweat, she continued to dance. Overcome with exhaustion, she stopped, and then resumed her solitary jig a few hours later. Over the next two months, roughly four hundred people succumbed to the same agonizing compulsion. At its peak, the epidemic claimed the lives of fifteen men, women, and children a day. Possibly 100 people danced to their deaths in one of the most bizarre and terrifying plagues in history. John Waller compellingly evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas; the diseases and hardships; the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late medieval world. Based on new evidence, he explains why the plague occurred and how it came to an end. In doing so, he sheds light on the strangest capabilities of the human mind and on our own susceptibility to mass hysteria.

Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety

Author : SEAN HIER
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 113519811X
Total Pages : 261 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (351 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety by : SEAN HIER

Download or read book Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety written by SEAN HIER and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-05-23 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Moral Panic and the Politics of Anxiety is a collection of original essays written by some of the world’s leading social scientists. It seeks to provide unique insight into the importance of moral panic as a routine feature of everyday life, whilst also developing an integrated framework for moral panic research by widening the scope of scholarship in the area. Many of the key twenty-first century contributions to moral panic theory have moved beyond the parameters of the sociology of deviance to consider the importance of moral panic for identity formation, national security, industrial risk, and character formation. Reflecting this growth, the book brings together recognized moral panic researchers with prominent scholars in moral regulation, social problems, cultural fear, and health risks, allowing for a more careful and critical discussion around the cultural and political significance of moral panic to emerge. This book will prove valuable reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students on courses such as politics and the media, regulatory policy, the body and identity, theory and political sociology, and sociology of culture.

The Next War in the Air

Author : Brett Holman
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317022637
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Next War in the Air by : Brett Holman

Download or read book The Next War in the Air written by Brett Holman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-17 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early twentieth century, the new technology of flight changed warfare irrevocably, not only on the battlefield, but also on the home front. As prophesied before 1914, Britain in the First World War was effectively no longer an island, with its cities attacked by Zeppelin airships and Gotha bombers in one of the first strategic bombing campaigns. Drawing on prewar ideas about the fragility of modern industrial civilization, some writers now began to argue that the main strategic risk to Britain was not invasion or blockade, but the possibility of a sudden and intense aerial bombardment of London and other cities, which would cause tremendous destruction and massive casualties. The nation would be shattered in a matter of days or weeks, before it could fully mobilize for war. Defeat, decline, and perhaps even extinction, would follow. This theory of the knock-out blow from the air solidified into a consensus during the 1920s and by the 1930s had largely become an orthodoxy, accepted by pacifists and militarists alike. But the devastation feared in 1938 during the Munich Crisis, when gas masks were distributed and hundreds of thousands fled London, was far in excess of the damage wrought by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz in 1940 and 1941, as terrible as that was. The knock-out blow, then, was a myth. But it was a myth with consequences. For the first time, The Next War in the Air reconstructs the concept of the knock-out blow as it was articulated in the public sphere, the reasons why it came to be so widely accepted by both experts and non-experts, and the way it shaped the responses of the British public to some of the great issues facing them in the 1930s, from pacifism to fascism. Drawing on both archival documents and fictional and non-fictional publications from the period between 1908, when aviation was first perceived as a threat to British security, and 1941, when the Blitz ended, and it became clear that no knock-out blow was coming, The Next War in the Air provides a fascinating insight into the origins and evolution of this important cultural and intellectual phenomenon, Britain's fear of the bomber.

Men in African Film & Fiction

Author : Lahoucine Ouzgane
Publisher : Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1847015212
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Men in African Film & Fiction by : Lahoucine Ouzgane

Download or read book Men in African Film & Fiction written by Lahoucine Ouzgane and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2011 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fills a gap in the international literature by offering new insights into the heterogeneous ways in which African men are performing, negotiating and experiencing masculinity. Through their analysis of the depictions in film and literature of masculinities in colonial, independent and post-independent Africa, the contributors open some key African texts to a more obviously politicized set of meanings. Collectively, the essays provide space for rethinking current theory on gender and masculinity: - how only some of the most popular theories in masculinity studies in the West hold true in African contexts; - howWestern masculinities react with indigenous masculinities on the continent; - how masculinity and femininity in Africa seem to reside more on a continuum of cultural practices than on absolutely opposite planes; - andhow generation often functions as a more potent metaphor than gender. Lahoucine Ouzgane is Associate Professor of English & Film Studies, University of Alberta, Canada.

Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal and Pseudoscience

Author : Homayun Sidky
Publisher : Anthem Press
ISBN 13 : 1785271636
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (852 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal and Pseudoscience by : Homayun Sidky

Download or read book Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal and Pseudoscience written by Homayun Sidky and published by Anthem Press. This book was released on 2019-11-30 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal, and Pseudoscience" provides a comprehensive rejoinder to the challenges posed to science, scientific anthropology, evolutionary theory and rationality by the advocates of supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific perspectives and modes of thought associated with the current rise of irrationalism, antiintellectualism, and emboldened religious fundamentalism and violence. Drawing upon H. Sidky’s scientific anthropological background and ethnographic field research of supernatural and paranormal beliefs and practices in several cultures over three decades, the book answers several important questions: Why do humans have a proclivity for the supernatural and paranormal thinking? Why has humanity remained shackled to sets of ideas inherited from a violent past that have no basis in reality and which bestow an illusionary solace, promote bloodshed, endless cruelties and fervent hatreds, and have come at a high cost? Why have ancient superstitions been held as sacred, inviolate truths while other aspects of the archaic belief systems of which they were a part have long been discarded? Why have not humans outgrown religion and paranormal beliefs?

Bad Clowns

Author : Benjamin Radford
Publisher : University of New Mexico Press
ISBN 13 : 0826356664
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (263 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Bad Clowns by : Benjamin Radford

Download or read book Bad Clowns written by Benjamin Radford and published by University of New Mexico Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A short history of the earliest clowns -- The despicable rogue Mr. Punch -- The unnatural nature of the evil clown -- Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns -- Bad clowns of the Ink -- Bad clowns of the Screen -- Bad clowns of the Song -- The carnal carnival: Buffoon boffing and clown sex -- Creepy, criminal, and killer clowns -- Activist clowns -- Crazed caged carny clowns -- The phantom clowns -- Troll clowns and the future of bad clowns

The War of the Worlds

Author : Peter J. Beck
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1474229891
Total Pages : 404 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (742 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The War of the Worlds by : Peter J. Beck

Download or read book The War of the Worlds written by Peter J. Beck and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-25 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1897, H.G. Wells's alien invasion narrative The War of the Worlds was a landmark work of science fiction and one that continues to be adapted and referenced in the 21st century. Chronicling the novel's contexts, its origins and its many multi-media adaptations, this book is a complete biography of the life – and the afterlives – of The War of the Worlds. Exploring the original text's compelling sense of place and vivid recreation of Wells's Woking home and the concerns of fin-de-siécle Britain, the book goes on to chart the novel's immediate international impact. Starting with the initial serialisations in US newspapers, Peter Beck goes on to examine Orson Welles's legendary 1938 radio adaptation, TV and film adaptations from George Pal to Steven Spielberg, Jeff Wayne's rock opera and the numerous other works that have taken their inspiration from Wells's original. Drawing on new archival research, this is a comprehensive account of the continuing impact of The War of the Worlds.

Getting It Wrong

Author : W. Joseph Campbell
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520291298
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (22 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Getting It Wrong by : W. Joseph Campbell

Download or read book Getting It Wrong written by W. Joseph Campbell and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of American journalism’s best-known and most cherished stories are exaggerated, dubious, or apocryphal. They are media-driven myths, and they attribute to the news media and their practitioners far more power and influence than they truly exert. In Getting It Wrong, writer and scholar W. Joseph Campbell confronts and dismantles prominent media-driven myths, describing how they can feed stereotypes, distort understanding about the news media, and deflect blame from policymakers. Campbell debunks the notions that the Washington Post’s Watergate reporting brought down Richard M. Nixon’s corrupt presidency, that Walter Cronkite’s characterization of the Vietnam War in 1968 shifted public opinion against the conflict, and that William Randolph Hearst vowed to “furnish the war” against Spain in 1898. This expanded second edition includes a new preface and new chapters about the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, the haunting Napalm Girl photograph of the Vietnam War, and bogus quotations driven by the Internet and social media.

The Martians Have Landed!

Author : Robert E. Bartholomew
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 0786486716
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (864 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Martians Have Landed! by : Robert E. Bartholomew

Download or read book The Martians Have Landed! written by Robert E. Bartholomew and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Mass Hysteria in Schools

Author : Robert E. Bartholomew
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476614261
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Mass Hysteria in Schools by : Robert E. Bartholomew

Download or read book Mass Hysteria in Schools written by Robert E. Bartholomew and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-23 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book comprehensively surveys the colorful history of mass hysteria and kindred phenomena in schools, documenting outbreaks of demonic possession during witchcraft scares, to modern incidents of collapsing bands, itching frenzies, ghost panics and mystery illnesses. Strange behaviors and illnesses in students are examined through the centuries. Possessed children went into trance states and began to bark like dogs in 16th and 17th century Holland; an epidemic of twitching, trembling and blackout spells swept through European schools during the latter 1800s; an outbreak of Tourette's-like symptoms struck schoolgirls in western New York in 2011-12. In addition to the US and Europe, separate chapters detail accounts from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. A variety of theories to explain outbreaks are examined.

The Non-Existence of the Real World

Author : Jan Westerhoff
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192587188
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (925 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Non-Existence of the Real World by : Jan Westerhoff

Download or read book The Non-Existence of the Real World written by Jan Westerhoff and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the real world, defined as a world of objects that exist independent of human interests, concerns, and cognitive activities, really exist? Jan Westerhoff argues that we have good reason to believe it does not. His discussion considers four main facets of the idea of the real world, ranging from the existence of a separate external and internal world (comprising various mental states congregated around a self), to the existence of an ontological foundation that grounds the existence of all the entities in the world, and the existence of an ultimately true theory that provides a final account of all there is. As Westerhoff discusses the reasons for rejecting the postulation of an external world behind our representations, he asserts that the internal world is not as epistemically transparent as is usually assumed, and that there are good reasons for adopting an anti-foundational account of ontological dependence. Drawing on conclusions from the ancient Indian philosophical system of Madhyamaka Buddhism, Westerhoff defends his stance in a purely Western philosophical framework, and affirms that ontology, and philosophy more generally, need not be conceived as providing an ultimately true theory of the world.

No Sacred Cows

Author : David G. McAfee
Publisher : Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)
ISBN 13 : 1634311191
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (343 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis No Sacred Cows by : David G. McAfee

Download or read book No Sacred Cows written by David G. McAfee and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While belief in religious supernatural claims is waning throughout the West, evidence suggests belief in nonreligious supernatural claims is on the rise. What explains this contradiction? How can a society with a falling belief in God have a rising belief in ghosts, psychic powers, ancient astronauts, and other supernatural or pseudo-scientific phenomena? Taking the same anthropological approach he employed in his notable studies of religion, atheist author and activist David G. McAfee turns his attention to nonreligious faith-based claims. Whether going undercover as a medium, getting tested at Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles, or interviewing celebrity paranormalists and famous skeptics, he leaves no stone unturned in his investigation. As in the case of religion, he finds an unwillingness among "believers" to critically examine their most closely held convictions. Only once individuals honestly assess their own sacred cows will they be able to ensure that their beliefs conform to the known facts—and that our decisions as a society are based on the best available evidence.

Havana Syndrome

Author : Robert W. Baloh
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030407462
Total Pages : 203 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (34 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Havana Syndrome by : Robert W. Baloh

Download or read book Havana Syndrome written by Robert W. Baloh and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-03-19 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.” This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored across 11-chapters which offer insights by a prominent neurologist and an expert on psychogenic illness. A lively and enthralling read, the authors explore the history of similar scares from the 18th century belief that sounds from certain musical instruments were harmful to human health, to 19th century cases of “telephone shock,” and more contemporary panics involving people living near wind turbines that have been tied to a variety of health complaints. The authors provide dozens of examples of kindred episodes of mass hysteria throughout history, in addition to psychosomatic conditions and even the role of insects in triggering outbreaks. Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria is a scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.

Falling Into the Fire

Author : Christine Montross
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143125710
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Falling Into the Fire by : Christine Montross

Download or read book Falling Into the Fire written by Christine Montross and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-07-29 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Falling Into the Fire is psychiatrist Christine Montross’s thoughtful investigation of the gripping patient encounters that have challenged and deepened her practice. The majority of the patients Montross treats in Falling Into the Fire are seen in the locked inpatient wards of a psychiatric hospital; all are in moments of profound crisis. We meet a young woman who habitually commits self-injury, having ingested light bulbs, a box of nails, and a steak knife, among other objects. Her repeated visits to the hospital incite the frustration of the staff, leading Montross to examine how emotion can interfere with proper care. A recent college graduate, dressed in a tunic and declaring that love emanates from everything around him, is brought to the ER by his concerned girlfriend. Is it ecstasy or psychosis? What legal ability do doctors have to hospitalize—and sometimes medicate—a patient against his will? A new mother is admitted with incessant visions of harming her child. Is she psychotic and a danger or does she suffer from obsessive thoughts? Her course of treatment—and her child’s future—depends upon whether she receives the correct diagnosis. Each case study presents its own line of inquiry, leading Montross to seek relevant psychiatric knowledge from diverse sources. A doctor of uncommon curiosity and compassion, Montross discovers lessons in medieval dancing plagues, in leading forensic and neurological research, and in moments from her own life. Beautifully written, deeply felt, Falling Into the Fire brings us inside the doctor’s mind, illuminating the grave human costs of mental illness as well as the challenges of diagnosis and treatment. Throughout, Montross confronts the larger question of psychiatry: What is to be done when a patient’s experiences cannot be accounted for, or helped, by what contemporary medicine knows about the brain? When all else fails, Montross finds, what remains is the capacity to abide, to sit with the desperate in their darkest moments. At once rigorous and meditative, Falling Into the Fire is an intimate portrait of psychiatry, allowing the reader to witness the humanity of the practice and the enduring mysteries of the mind

The Psychology of Paranormal Belief

Author : Harvey J. Irwin
Publisher : Univ of Hertfordshire Press
ISBN 13 : 1907396381
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (73 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Psychology of Paranormal Belief by : Harvey J. Irwin

Download or read book The Psychology of Paranormal Belief written by Harvey J. Irwin and published by Univ of Hertfordshire Press. This book was released on 2009-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a thorough and systematic review of investigations into the bases of belief in paranormal phenomena, this discussion explores the four main theoretical approaches relating to the nature of such beliefs. Objective and well-researched, this account addresses different points of view on the topic--while some commentators depict paranormal believers as foolish, others propose that paranormal beliefs must be understood as necessities that serve certain psychodynamic needs. The foundations and shortcomings of each approach are also documented, and a new comprehensive theory attempts to explain the development of scientifically unsubstantiated beliefs.