Building Your Skeptical Toolkit: A beginner's guide to science, skepticism and critical thinking skills

by Andrew Dart

Around the world belief in the paranormal and pseudoscience is running rampant. 40% of people in the UK believe in haunted houses, governments employ dowsing devices to detect bombs and people give away all they have in the belief that the world is about to end…again. In this modern age it seems we need reason and critical thinking skills more than ever.
Building your Skeptical Toolkit will help equip you with the tools you will need to start exploring this amazing world of ours as it really is and accurately enable you to evaluate the claims of psychics, conspiracy theorists and everyone in between. It will help you to see behind the myths and trickery, the fake science and unfounded claims, that fill our modern lives and discover the amazing and beautiful reality that lies beyond.

“Dart has hit the bullseye. Everyone who reads this book will find new dimensions in the world around them, that previously seemed impenetrable and insoluble. It’s an amazing place, once Dart shows you how to see past the roadblocks put up by your own brain.”

Brian Dunning, Skeptoid.com

Genres: Nonfiction

474 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2012

About the author

Andrew Dart has a Master's Degree in Psychology from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, which sadly does not give him the ability to read minds. His titles include Little Words of Wisdom , a cosy mystery novel set in London, and Building your Skeptical Toolkit , a beginner's guide to science, skepticism, and critical thinking skills, which was described by one five star reviewer on Amazon as being "as described by merchant". He is part of the team that runs Cambridge Skeptics, a not-for-profit community organisation promoting science, positive skepticism, and critical thinking skills via public engagement. When not writing, which is most of the time, Andrew likes to play both board and video games (he is bad at both), write pointless computer programs, and engage in ridiculously in-depth and pedantic world building projects. He is fond of quoting The Princess Bride, and various other popular movies from the 80s, though he usually gets the quotes wrong in some way (inconceivable!). Andrew lives in a small village outside of Ely with, in no particular order, his partner Ellen and their cats, Millie and Lulu.

Reviews

[david bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great starting point.

I gave this a five-star rating because the book covers many different subjects in a good amount of detail without being long winded and using jargon which thus engaging the average reader. Ghosts, homeopathy, dowsing, and numerous other subjects are dismantled in this book and their is a very personal feel too as if you could almost be sitting having a conversation with the author, Dart. I really enjoyed the sceptical sidebars that were throughout the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in science, scepticism and even anyone who believes in the likes of the paranormal and homeopathy as it may give them a different perspective.