Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science (Taschenbuch)

Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science (Taschenbuch)
von Alexander K. Dewdney

Rezensionen:

"Cold fusion" has become an oft-used synonym for science gone wrong, but as A.K. Dewdney colorfully explains inYes, We Have No Neutrons, bad science has a long and (un)distinguished history. Predicating his discussion on Langmuir's "Laws of Bad Science," which describes common characteristics of dubious scientific claims, Dewdney recounts such classic scientific blunders as the "discovery" of N rays by René Blondlot, psychoanalysis as practiced by Sigmund Freud, and even the ill-fated Biosphere 2 experiment. (Yes, cold fusion is there, too.) Dewdney's book will sharpen the mental razor of anyone who hopes to separate legitimate claims from bunk.

A.K. Dewdney is well-known to readers of theScientific Americanas their former "Mathematical Recreations" columnist. Here he acts as a well-placed professional terrier who has assigned himself the task of sniffing out the rats in the scientific closet and giving them a good shaking. By Dewdney's definition "science" is a big cupboard which includes the social sciences. And he clearly relishes the all-encompassing breadth of his task, which is not to rubbish science--far from it--but to serve warning on slipshod science and its practitioners. Even Nobel Prizes do not give immunity, as Fleishmann and Pons will learn if they care to read this fascinating book. Indeed, every scientist (of both the hard and soft variety) should be given a copy as a reminder of some basic home truths, such as the necessity for reproducibility of results, and as a warning against the lure of instant fame.

As Dewdney writes, "when science goes wrong all hell breaks loose ... the public grows confused [and] sceptical about the scientific process.?" His sample of scientific transgressions runs from the hard science of Blondot's turn-of-the-century "discovery" of N- rays, through the soft science of IQ tests and Freudian psychoanalytical theory, to SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), neural nets, cold fusion (the Fleishmann and Pons story), Biosphere 2 and J. Phillipe Rushton's racial theory as proposed in his book ,The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Most of his victims are in the soft sciences, perhaps because Dewdney feels that most damage is caused in this area, since they generally make for more media-friendly stories, or maybe just because theyareeasier targets. Freud may have grossly over-interpreted at times, but recent research on mother/offspring influence supports his Oedipal complex theory and it would be interesting to know what Dewdney thinks of these results.

Dewdney's experience as a professional science writer shines through, making this book a joy to read, and there is a helpful index and bibliography. Finally, as he warns any would-be star of science, "if there are dreams of glory, real scientists keep them, trembling, in the background."-- Douglas Palmer-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe:Gebundene Ausgabe

Alle Rezensionen ansehen...

Angebote zu Neutrons , Eye , Tour ab 1 Euro!

Sonstige Artikel:

Yoga für ihren Typ (Taschenbuch) von David Frawley, Sandra Summerfield Kozak
Lieder von Tamara/Jando,Jenö Takacs
Belize 2007 (Fodor's Belize) (Taschenbuch) von Sarah Sper, Christina Knight

Mehr zu Science, History & Philosophy, Reference

Home ..., Angebote ansehen ..., Begleitseite ...

Herausgeber dieser Seite ist DomainLoc.com GmbH - Partner von Amazon.de