David G. McAfee - No Sacred Cows: Investigating Myths, Cults, and the Supernatural

An informed, impressive, and personal survey of the skeptical field for the layperson and amateur skeptic alike. David G. McAfee has done his research, and it shows.

Benjamin Radford, M.Ed., author of Scientific Paranormal Investigation and Research Fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

David G. McAfees newest book should be on every skeptics bookshelf, and on every believers, too. It is a thorough treatment of a number of topics that inspire undue credulitysome much more harmful than othersbut all requiring skepticism. Having interviewed hundreds of authors on these sorts of subjects over the years, and having read all of their books, I enthusiastically recommend No Sacred Cows. It is an important work of skepticism steeped in solid research, open-minded inquiry, and a humane interest in helping believers better understand and accept the world as it really is.

D. J. Grothe, editor, On The Beauty of Science, and director, Institute for Science and Human Values

McAfees new book is important and deserves to be read widely. It is based on years of research and tackles all sorts of false but common and often dangerous beliefs, superstitions, and fallacies. It teaches us to challenge assumptions, look for evidence and think critically. To be able to do that seems today more important than ever. I recommend this well-written, fascinating book to anyone who feels that sacred cows should have no place in our lives.

Prof. Edzard Ernst, Emeritus Professor of Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula School of Medicine, University of Exeter, and author of A Scientist in Wonderland: A Memoir of Searching for Truth and Finding Trouble

No Sacred Cows is a fascinating, insightful and most enjoyable read. McAfees evaluation of his thorough academic research is interwoven with anecdotes of personal experiences and an intriguing variety of interviews. This book should be read widely and discussed often.

Dr. Lynne Kelly, author of The Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal and The Memory Code

With No Sacred Cows, which provides a bold and fresh look bringing solid research and consistently entertaining prose to the problem of irrational belief, McAfee has entered the strange worlds of true believers and come out alive. This remarkable book is a grand tour of fraud and delusion that everyone should read. Both irrational believers and seasoned skeptics will find much of value here.

Guy P. Harrison, author of Good Thinking and 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian

If youve been waiting for a book that promotes atheism, skepticism and humanism without the chauvinistic snickering and intellectual snobbery that is all too common in this genre, then No Sacred Cows is your book. McAfee has successfully melded an array of academic research, anecdotes, and exhaustive interviews to present a thoroughly enjoyable, timely, and important read.

C. J. Werleman, author of The New Atheist Threat and Crucifying America: The Unholy Alliance Between the Christian Right and Wall Street

This is a must read book. It goes beyond religious delusion, exploring a wide range of aspects that so many of us unwittingly get drawn into, unaware that we are equally deluded about them. McAfee has put several years of painstaking research, investigation, enquiry and interviews into this comprehensive work. The upshot is that we must learn to question everything and not be satisfied with anything less than verifiable evidence regarding all things in life. McAfee points out the uncomfortable truth that whatever we think may be the case, we all believe in some things that are completely untrueand he proves his point. He makes you want to be more vigilant in every area of life.

Jim Whitefield, author of The Bible Delusion and The Mormon Delusion series

Pitchstone Publishing

Durham, North Carolina

www.pitchstonepublishing.com

Copyright 2017 David G. McAfee

All rights reserved.

Printed in the USA

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: McAfee, David G., author.

Title: No sacred cows : investigating myths, cults, and the supernatural / David G. McAfee ; foreword by Yvette dEntremont.

Description: Durham, North Carolina : Pitchstone Publishing, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016052922| ISBN 9781634311182 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781634311205 (epdf) | ISBN 9781634311212 (mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Supernatural. | Religion. | Parapsychology. | Occultism.

Classification: LCC BL100 .M27 2017 | DDC 130dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052922

This book is dedicated to my wife and my parents for supporting me throughout all my endeavors, and to Mister Spock, Carl Sagan, and the Amazing James Randi, for leading the way in logical, evidence-based thinking.

In this burgeoning community percolating with critical thought, there exists a rationale of Internet bravado that the best way to get ones point across is to be a caustic prick about every opinion that one can spew at top volume into the twitterverse.

And in that moment, instead of lurching forward, desperate to make his attack into the ether, David sits back. He thinks, and takes a moment to laugh and enjoy. He lets his cat curl up in his lap, invites people who agree with him and disagree with him to join him for a conversation, and he nudges.

Okay, maybe its more than a nudge. Sometimes its a jab. But the jabs are never angry, and theyre not at the people he disagrees with; theyre at the ideas. And at the core of what David does, theres always a love of discourse. Its apparent that hes aiming to make his readers better-informed critical thinkers.

And its really hard to do that by being a hardened dick.

Wait, thats not quite what I meant. But its what I meant.

(Im the scientist who writes dick jokes; I cant help myself).

Applying scientific thought to the world around you is not always easy to do without losing your sense of humor or balance. In No Sacred Cows, David manages to ask hard questions both of himself as a researcher and of an audience that, as rational as they may be, always comes in with personal biases, anecdotes, and experiences that have colored their worldview. He does this without being off-putting or backing down. David tackles some of my favorite subjects that are just outside the realm of religion but that are nonetheless superstitionsno matter how hard their proponents try to claim scientific credibility. Psychics, ghosts, and faith healing, oh my!

In this regard, some of our work overlaps. Every time, someone swears a loved one was really helped by the magical potion that a wizard sold them, theyre convinced that were delivering a cruelty for pointing out they might have been swindled.

Or, theyre convinced that every critique David makes in this book is right except the one thing that theyre sure worked for them and David and I and all other skeptics are wrong about that one thing. All the scientific data is right on everything except that one thing that theyor perhaps even youlove. Funny that.

Indeed, a lot of people reading this will have anecdotes of their own about one thing or another in here. Thats okay.

But Davids not doing this to pick on you. Hes doing this because, in the light of day, hes giving your ideas a nudge. Maybe a jab.