Over the coming weeks, I will not be able to blog as much as I would wish because I am off to the US to begin my promotion for the book. This has been an awful period of waiting with much grinding of teeth (I need to see the dentist) and sleepless nights wondering what the critics will make of the book. Yes, Pinker, Bloom, Blackmore, Hauser, Wegner and other colleagues and friends have said wonderful things but they would, wouldn’t they? It’s what the rest of the world thinks that determines whether the book will be a success
Today, I read my first independent review from a major publication, the “New Scientist,’ from Michael Brooks author of “13 Things That Don’t Make Sense.”
I wont post the whole of the review (it’s just out) but here are some of the highlights,
“Hood’s presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging. There are good, scientific reasons why religion won’t disappear, he says, however much anyone might want it to. Spiritual thinking is not about being simple-minded or stupid it’s about being human. We are, he suggests, “a sacred species.”
Our supersense gives us sacred values, and our sacred values create taboos. Taboos, in turn, provide a means for group cohesion. “Irrationality makes our beliefs rational because these beliefs hold society together,” Hood says. If hardened sceptics were to accept that irrationality is, well, rational insofar as it serves to hold societies together, that would constitute an important step toward a more tolerant and unified society.”
It’s a fantastic start and no doubt you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but I may end up enjoying this whole experience rather than wondering what I got myself into.
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