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WOULD sport a killer鈥檚 cardigan? Strange as the question might seem, the answer could tell us a lot about how our brains harbour superstitions, unbeknown even to ourselves.

When people are invited to hold a pen that was 鈥渙nce owned by Albert Einstein鈥�, they jump at the chance. Given an opportunity to wear a cardigan that 鈥渂elonged to the serial killer Fred West鈥�, there are no takers. So, WWRD: what would Richard do?

This dilemma lies at the heart of Bruce Hood鈥檚 fascinating, timely and important book. , a psychologist at the University of Bristol, UK, reckons that we are equipped with a 鈥渟upersense鈥� that tunes into a hidden (and, let鈥檚 face it, almost certainly imaginary) world of spirits, fates and spooky connections. Thanks to the supersense, objects such as pens and cardigans can be imbued with the power of good or evil.

On paper that sounds absurd. But the supersense is very real, Hood says. In fact, that irrational beliefs persist in a scientific age provide a salutary reminder of the short arm of science.

When it comes to the supernatural and the spiritual, everyone鈥檚 an expert, he points out. We all have something to say, and something we believe. And because we tend to ignore science when its conclusions conflict with what we already avow to be true, science is dismissed as irrelevant to this sphere of enquiry.

Why do we cling to irrational modes of thought even when science tells us otherwise? It could be down to evolution. In the most fascinating pieces of Supersense, Hood argues that we have evolved to be irrational as a by-product of various brain mechanisms, which contributed to our survival at some point along the way.

Though the idea has merit, it is not yet convincing. One problem is that the insights come from psychology experiments using infants and children, and the inferences can feel stretched. Can we really apply the same conclusions to adult reasoning?

Perhaps. Experiments suggest that, under stress, adults revertto irrational thought patterns. Before the advanced stages of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, sufferers revert to child-like reasoning too: when asked why trees or rain exist, they give answers such as 鈥渢rees are for shade鈥�, and 鈥渞ain is for drinking and growing鈥�. Healthy adults, it seems, make a concerted effort to paper over the cracks in their irrational minds. Despite our best intentions, though, 鈥渢he supersense lingers in the back of our minds鈥�.

Hood鈥檚 presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging. There are good, scientific reasons why religion won鈥檛 disappear, he says, however much anyone might want it to. Spiritual thinking is not about being simple-minded or stupid it鈥檚 about being human. We are, he suggests, 鈥渁 sacred species鈥�.

鈥淭here are good, scientific reasons why religion won鈥檛 disappear, however much anyone might want it to鈥�

Our supersense gives us sacred values, and our sacred values create taboos. Taboos, in turn, provide a means for group cohesion. 鈥淚rrationality makes our beliefs rational because these beliefs hold society together,鈥� 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.

Now that the revivalist fervour over Dawkins鈥檚 has begun to abate, perhaps the millions who read and loved that book can also read 鈥� and learn to love 鈥� Supersense. There is just one catch. As Hood admits, 鈥渟ceptics generally don鈥檛 bother reading books like this one鈥�.

Perhaps Dawkins could force the issue, and volunteer for the cardigan test. Hood suggests that even someone with Dawkins鈥檚 value system would struggle with it, not because they think the cardigan might contaminate them with evil, but because the act might disgust others so much that they ostracise the taboo-breaker. Would Dawkins risk social exclusion to prove a point about superstition? It wouldn鈥檛 be unprecedented. But I, for one, would be fascinated to find out.