Review of 'Extraordinary popular delusions' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
People get trapped and involved in so many ridiculous things! For instance: did you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? Did you know that Nicholas Flammel (sp) WAS a real live person, an alchemist who really WAS searching for the sorcerer's Stone? There were a lot of alchemists and people searching for the sorcerer's stone, and many who actually believed in the magic and unbelievable qualities thereof. And many people were able to scam huge numbers of the populace into believing the unbelievable!
And then there were witches. We're all familiar with the Salem witch trials, but well before that, in Europe huge numbers of people were hanged and or burned because SOMEONE claimed them to be witches!
And so on…
This book points out some of the more egregious beliefs and activities held in earlier times based on religion, greed, hatred, and lack of knowing almost any science …
People get trapped and involved in so many ridiculous things! For instance: did you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? Did you know that Nicholas Flammel (sp) WAS a real live person, an alchemist who really WAS searching for the sorcerer's Stone? There were a lot of alchemists and people searching for the sorcerer's stone, and many who actually believed in the magic and unbelievable qualities thereof. And many people were able to scam huge numbers of the populace into believing the unbelievable!
And then there were witches. We're all familiar with the Salem witch trials, but well before that, in Europe huge numbers of people were hanged and or burned because SOMEONE claimed them to be witches!
And so on…
This book points out some of the more egregious beliefs and activities held in earlier times based on religion, greed, hatred, and lack of knowing almost any science and true reasons for natural differences or phenomena. And we still have to fight against a lot of it even now; you can't be accepted or respected just because you're different or not part of the majority in one way or another! And it's still allowed :-(