mental illness 137, 141, 146, 147, 165
as continuum 147
depression 33, 42–43, 45, 89, 100, 120, 148, 197
manic depression 141
multiple personality disorder 165, 171, 173–74
obsessive compulsive disorder 128
sectioning 137, 140, 161
see also psychosis; schizophrenia
mental models 76, 85, 87, 90, 102, 133, 142, 147, 183, 302, 303, 316
meta-analysis 112, 146, 157, 262, 267
Metzinger, Thomas 195
Mexican immigration 223
micro-stories 206
Milgram, Stanley 70–71
mind
and the brain 255, 257–58, 266–67
as ‘out there’ 267
theory of 303
miners’ strike (mid-1980s) 212, 214–15
Mitchell, Joni 118
mites, tropical rat 132, 135
‘Mitochondrial Eve’ 73
Moll, Albert 189
Monckton, Christopher Walter, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley 200, 203–205, 207–16, 218, 304, 305, 309, 310
Monckton, Major General Gilbert, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley 208
morality 193, 202
Christian 15
Morgellons 118–35, 162, 307
see also Fourth Annual
Morgellons Conference, Austin, Texas
morphine 41
Mosley, Sir Oswald 232
Mragowo 233
multiple personality disorder 165, 171, 173–74
murder, past-life 44, 48
murderers 89
Murray, Robin 183
Myers (formerly Felstead), Carole 159–61, 163–66, 168, 171–73, 176–80, 307
myoclonic jerk 195
myth 302, 304, 312–313
narratives
hero 302–303, 306–14
master 206
nation state, end of 216
National Front 234, 305
National Health Service (NHS) 94, 148, 171
National Secular Society 5
National Union of Teachers 5
Native Americal tradition 186
Natural History Museum 132
natural selection 10
Nature (journal) 110–11, 257, 271, 287, 304
Nazi Party (German) 220, 239
Nazis 48, 89, 231, 239
Neanderthals 26
necrophilia 12, 18
neurological studies 87
neurons 74–75, 220, 253, 267
neuroscience 142
New Guinea 83
New Science of Life, A (Sheldrake) 256–57
New Scientist (journal) 257–266
New York Times (newspaper) 72, 120, 271, 272
New Yorker (magazine) 268, 312
Nix, Walte, Jr. 68
Noah 3, 5, 13, 14
Novella, Steven 107, 112, 120, 135, 272, 287, 309
Oaklander, Anne Louise 129–130
Oatley, Keith 303
Obama, Barack 118, 286
obedience studies 84
Observer (newspaper) 222, 257
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) 128, 147
Oedipus 302
Offer, Daniel 194
Ogborn, Louise 67–68, 70, 84
Olsen, Clarence W. 82
openness 205
Origin of Species, The (Darwin) 2, 4
original sin 3
Orkney 166
‘other people’, judgement of 67
out-groups 69, 105
Oxford Union 203, 207, 218
paedophilia 15
pain
perception of 41
and the placebo effect 41, 42–43
palm reading 105
paranoia 30, 64, 150, 154, 178, 180
parapsychology 261–62, 265–67, 269, 279, 280, 287
past-life regression (PLR) 44–45, 47, 53, 168, 170
Patanjali Yog Peeth Trust 31
Paul McKenna Show, The (TV show) 263
Pearson, Michele 119
penis
‘koro’ effect 83
phantom 82
Penn and Teller 271, 290
perception
and the brain 72, 76
of pain 41
and the placebo effect 41, 42, 43
of reality 27, 72, 76–77, 80, 81
see also extra-sensory perception
peripeteia 303
Perkins, David 244
personality disorder 165
see also multiple personality disorder
pesticides 211
Peter March’s Traveling Circus 274
Peters, Maarten 50
‘phantom limbs’ 82
‘Pagasus’ awards 260, 276, 288
Pirahã tribe 312
placebo effect 41–43, 45–46, 50–51, 53, 72, 107, 113, 134
and homeopathy 107, 113, 134
Playfair, Guy Lyon 280–82, 287, 293
political affiliation 205
political beliefs, and self-interest 217
political left 204, 206, 210, 211
political right 204, 205
Polonia Palace Hotel, Warsaw 219
poltergeists 280
Popoff, Peter 288
power, leftwing 211–12
Power, Joe 105, 106
‘Pranayama’ (breath control) 32–36, 38, 40, 41, 45, 56, 134, 196
prefrontal cortex 73
prejudice 29, 53, 84, 86, 90, 100, 181, 248, 305
Pressman, Zev 280–82, 286, 288, 295
prophets 307
Prozac 42
psi phenomena 265–66
see also parapsychology
psychiatry 28–29, 42, 71, 120, 130, 136, 137, 140–41, 142–43, 145–46, 150, 152, 162, 183, 189
psychic powers 253
animals with 258, 260, 261, 265, 266
testing 253, 258, 260, 263, 274, 279–80
psychics 98, 104
psychology
of evil 69–70, 105, 243, 307
experimental 88, 101, 142, 316
parapsychology 261–62, 265, 266, 267, 269, 280, 287
situational 69
see also schizophrenia 157, 180, 310
Puthoff, Harold 279, 280
racism 104, 221, 223, 229, 305
radiotherapy 35, 401
Ramachandran, V.S. 75, 81, 82
Ramdev, Swami 31–41, 43, 134, 182, 306
Randi, Angela 291
Randi, James 98–99, 107, 108, 109–110, 112, 260–61, 269, 270, 271–98, 306, 309, 310, 312, 313
blindness to his own cognitive biases 272
childhood 273
death threats 275, 306
early adult life 274
emotional problems 292
homosexuality 292
interview with the author 291–98
psychic challenge prize 99, 260, 272, 276, 277, 278, 289
social Darwinism 296, 297
views on drug users 296–97
see also James Randi Educational Foundation
Rank, Otto 302
Rasputin study 88, 103
rationalists, radicalised 9
reality, perceptions of 27, 72, 76–77, 80, 81, 91
‘reality monitoring’, errors in 50
reason 26
inefficacy of 26–27
as not enough 309
recovered-memory therapy (RMT) 166, 170, 173, 176
Rees, Laurence 311
‘regression to the mean’ 45
religious belief, and happiness 197
religious conversion mechanisms of 8
repression 169
right, political 204–207
Robertson, Shorty Jangala 300
robots, alien 23, 33
Rogo, Scott 279
Romme, Marius 137, 140, 143–45, 148, 154, 155
Rosenbaum, Ron 245
Royal College of Psychiatry 154
Royal Free Hospital, Camden 136, 139
Royal Institute of Philosophy 203
Royal Society 5
saccades 79
sacredness, irrationality surrounding 217
Sagan, Carl 266
Santayana, George 209
Satan 18
see also Lucifer
santanic abuse 165–66, 168–70, 174–75, 177, 180
Saucer Smear magazine 281
Savely, Ginger 126, 127, 130
Schizophrenia 51, 136–37, 140, 141, 143, 145, 148, 150, 154, 162, 169, 178, 183, 309
as salience disorder 183
Schlitz, Marilyn 262
Schmidt, Stefan 262, 265
Schwartz, Gary 287, 188–89
science 8–9, 95–96, 255–59, 268, 273, 310
scientific method 305
Scientologists 155
sectioning 137, 140
Secular Student Alliance 290
Seeman, Mary 120
Segal, Stanley S. 172
self
ideal 148, 313
multiple selves model 147
senses 77–91, 190, 196, 258
sensory deprivation 78
sexism, unconscious 86
sexual abuse 145, 146, 156–57, 162, 180
sexual assault 145–46
sexual jeaoulsy 64, 66, 104, 212
Shang, Aijing 112, 113–14
Sheldrake, Rupert 255–61, 262–70, 272–73, 276–77, 287, 289, 293–94, 307
Shermer, Michael 102
Silent Spring, The (Carson) 211
sin 17–18, 61, 66, 189
original 2
Sinason, David 171, 175, 179
Sinason, Valerie 170, 171, 178, 180, 304
Singer, Peter 304
situational psychology 69
Skeptic, The (magazine) 104, 108, 169, 271, 288
Skeptics 9, 95–112, 115, 120–21, 134, 142, 162, 260, 265, 271–73, 276–79, 290–91, 298, 309–310, 313–14
and Morgellons 134
and psi phenomenon 265–66, 279
and Sheldrake 260
‘The Amazing Meeting’ of 290
see also Randi, James
sleep 195
smell, sense of 184
Smith, Greg 122, 124, 130, 131
social Darwinism 296, 297
social roles, and the production of evil 69–70, 105
socialism 212
Sorel, George 304
‘source-monitoring error’ 50
South Koreans 83
Soviet Union 212
sprinal tumours 129
spirituality 26
‘split-brain’ patients 190–92
spoon-benders 98
spotlight effect 89
Stalin, Joseph 234
Stanford Prison Experiment 69–70
Stern Review 310
Stipe, Catherine 6
storytelling 183, 188, 189, 192, 194, 302, 206, 207, 312
see also confabulation; narratives
‘strip-search scams’ 68–69, 84
stroke patients 82
suicidal ideation 147
suicide 144
and voice-hearing 151, 154
Summers, Donna 67
survival of the fittest 3, 296–97
taboo violation scenarios, harmless 194
Tavris, Carol 84, 88, 194, 243
Tea Party movement 204204
telepathy 257–59, 266, 269, 280
terrorism 9
Thatcher, Margaret 174, 204, 208, 212, 215
theft 66, 104
theory of mind 303
therapy 45, 169
group 133
placebo effect 45
This American Life (US radio show) 78
Thyssen 233
Time magazine 102
Times, The (newspaper) 263
‘tjukurpas’ (Aboriginal stories) 275
Toronto Evening Telegram (newspaper) 274
Toronto Star (newspaper) 293
totalitarianism 216
Tournier, Alexander 109, 112, 113
traumatic experience
repression 166
and voice-hearing 137, 139–41, 143–45, 148–49, 150–58
tribalism 84–85, 133, 171, 196, 217
truth 218
coherence theory of 218
and group pressure 44–45
and storytelling 312–13
Turing, Alan 266
Turner, Trevor 154–57, 162, 169, 178
twin studies 205
UFOs 22–27, 29–30, 272, 308
UK Independence Party (UKIP) 204
Ullman, Dana 107, 112, 309
Ultimate Psychic Challenges, The (TV Show) 284
unconscious 33, 44, 58–59, 60, 41–42, 183–88, 194, 269–70, 304
United Nations (UN) 216, 304
US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology 119
Vipassana Meditation Centre 52–53, 55, 57, 70
vision 79–80, 92–93, 96
Vithoulkas, George 99, 277–79, 295–96
voice-hearing 136–45, 148–59, 162, 169, 180
Wade, Kimberly 168–69
Warren, Jeff 76
Washington Post (newspaper) 120, 328, 344
water dreaming 300
Watson, Rebecca 107
‘we mode’ 70
Wegner, Daniel 193, 331
welfare state 209–10
Western, Drew 87, 204, 206–7
Western medicine, disillusionment with 36, 39–40, 182, 306
Wexler, Bruce E. 75, 183, 185, 303
‘wild pig, being a’ 83
Wilson, David Sloan 304
Wilson, Timothy D. 81
Wired (magazine) 271
Wiseman, Richard 259–66, 271–72, 287, 290, 335–37
Wolpert, Lewis 183–84, 189, 259, 313
Wootton, David 42
wormholes 27
Wymore, Randy 121–22, 124, 126, 128
yoga 31–39
Yuendumu 299–300
Zimbardo, Philip 68–70, 72, 104
WILL STORR is a novelist and longform journalist. He has reported from refugee camps in Africa, war-torn rural Colombia, and remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. He is a contributing editor at Esquire, and his stories have appeared in The Observer, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian. In 2012, he was presented with the Amnesty International award for his work on sexual violence against men. In 2013, his BBC radio series won the AIB award for best investigative documentary. He is author of Will Storr vs. The Supernatural and The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone.
Jacket design and illustration by Adly Elewa
Printed in the United States Copyright © 2014 The Overlook Press
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PRAISE FOR
The UNPERSUADABLES
“Incontrovertibly brilliant.”
—ESQUIRE
“Throws new and salutary light on all our conceits and beliefs. Very valuable, and a great read to boot, this is investigative journalism of the highest order.”
—INDEPENDENT, BOOK OF THE WEEK
“Funny, serious, and richly vivid … Read this book.”
—DAILY TELEGRAPH
“Storr can open chapters like a stage conjurer, and his prose has an easy, laconic style, embracing Jon Ronson’s taste for the fabulously weird and Louis Theroux’s ability to put his subjects at ease. He is a funny and companionable guide … [who] confounds expectations.”
—GUARDIAN
“[Storr] seeks not to mock strange convictions but to get inside the minds of those who hold them. The result is an entertaining journey dotted with some fascinating reportage.”
—THE OBSERVER
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