Voodoo science: the road from foolishness to fraud
(Book)
Author:
Published:
New York : Oxford University Press, 2000.
Format:
Book
Physical Desc:
x, 230 pages ; 25 cm
Lexile measure:
1190L
Rating:
1190L
Status:
Description
In a time of dazzling scientific progress, how are we to separate genuine breakthroughs from the noisy gaggle of false claims? Touching on everything from Deepak Chopra's "quantum alternative to growing old," and "free energy" machines, to unwarranted hype surrounding the International Space Station, Robert L. Park leads us through the dim back alleys of fringe science, down the gleaming corridors of Washington power and even into our evolutionary past to search out the origins of voodoo science. Along the way, Park offers some simple and engaging science lessons, showing us that you don't have to be a scientist to spot the foolish and fraudulent science that swirls around us.
While incorporating elements of high humor, from Joe Newman and his Energy Machine to the French "sniffer plane," this hard-hitting account also tallies the cost: the billions spent by the public on worthless therapies, the tax dollars squandered on huge government projects that are doomed to fail, the investors bilked by schemes that violate the most fundamental laws of nature. But the greater cost is human: fear of imaginary dangers, reliance on magical cures, and above all, a sort of upside-down view of how the world works.
To expose the forces that sustain voodoo science, Park closely examines the role of the media, the courts, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as the scientific community. Scientists, he observes, insist that the cure for voodoo science is to raise the general scientific literacy. But what is it that a scientifically literate society should know? It is not specific knowledge of science the public needs, Park argues, so much as a scientific world view--an understanding that we live in an orderly universe governed by natural laws that cannot be circumvented by magic or miracles.
While incorporating elements of high humor, from Joe Newman and his Energy Machine to the French "sniffer plane," this hard-hitting account also tallies the cost: the billions spent by the public on worthless therapies, the tax dollars squandered on huge government projects that are doomed to fail, the investors bilked by schemes that violate the most fundamental laws of nature. But the greater cost is human: fear of imaginary dangers, reliance on magical cures, and above all, a sort of upside-down view of how the world works.
To expose the forces that sustain voodoo science, Park closely examines the role of the media, the courts, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as the scientific community. Scientists, he observes, insist that the cure for voodoo science is to raise the general scientific literacy. But what is it that a scientifically literate society should know? It is not specific knowledge of science the public needs, Park argues, so much as a scientific world view--an understanding that we live in an orderly universe governed by natural laws that cannot be circumvented by magic or miracles.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Last Check-In
Superior Adult Nonfiction
509 P219v
Available
Apr 2, 2018
More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
0195135156
Lexile measure:
1190
Notes
General Note
Includes index.
General Note
Nonfiction.
Target Audience
1190L,Lexile
Differentiable Local note
Cop. 1 8/00 B&T $25.00 2008021
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Park, R. L. (2000). Voodoo science: the road from foolishness to fraud. New York, Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Park, Robert L. 2000. Voodoo Science: The Road From Foolishness to Fraud. New York, Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Park, Robert L, Voodoo Science: The Road From Foolishness to Fraud. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.
MLA Citation (style guide)Park, Robert L. Voodoo Science: The Road From Foolishness to Fraud. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
736c8f92-2f54-3e38-9291-b7e4c019965b
Record Information
Last File Modification Time | Mar 11, 2021 04:19:54 PM |
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Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Mar 11, 2021 04:10:02 PM |
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