Why do Australians believe silly things?

We're a rational bunch of people, right? New polling suggests yeah, not so much.

Do you believe in ghosts? You probably shouldn't, because there's no credible evidence that they exist.

Despite this, it would appear that 35 per cent of Australians believe that "ghosts exist and can influence their will on the living" — one more percentage point than those that believe that "extra-terrestrials have visited the earth" and "the story of creation in the book of Genesis is a true account of the first man and woman".

These are findings from the Essential Poll, a weekly survey carried out by polling company Essential Research. In this instance they asked 1,803 people of a statistically valid range of demographics about their beliefs, based on a similar poll carried out in the US.

And the results are somewhat unnerving, if you think that reality is a thing.

Read more...http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-29/why-do-australians-believe-silly-things/9000096