Download or read book The Undergrowth of Science written by Walter Bruno Gratzer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-09-13 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The themes are scientific mistakes and foibles. Gratzer describes for a general readership a number of episodes in science and medicine where an erroneous research finding was adhered to and given credence by its originators and others, far beyond the point where it had been effectively discredited. Each of these episodes is dealt with in detail, with special attention given to the individuals involved, their careers and personalities, their relations with others, and so on.

Download or read book The Undergrowth of Science Delusion Self Deception and Human Frailty written by Walter Gratzer and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2001-09-13 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Walter Gratzer's themes in the stories he relates in this book are collective delusion and human folly. Science is generally seen as a process bound by rigorous rules, which its practitioners must not transgress. Deliberate fraud occasionally intrudes, but it is soon detected, the perpetrators cast out and the course of discovery barely disturbed. Far more interesting are the outbreaks of self-delusion that from time to time afflict upright and competent researchers, and then spread like an epidemic or mass-hysteria through a sober and respectable scientific community. When this happens the rules by which scientists normally govern their working lives are suddenly suspended. Sometimes these episodes are provoked by personal vanity, an unwillingness to acknowledge error or even contemplate the possibility that a hard-won success is a will o' the wisp; at other times they stem from loyalty to a respected and trusted guru, or even from patriotic pride; and, worst of all, they may be a consequence of a political ideology which imposes its own interpretation on scientists' observations of the natural world. Unreason and credulity supervene, illusory phenomena are described and measured, and theories are developed to explain them - until suddenly, often for no single reason, the bubble bursts, leaving behind it a residue of acrimony, recrimination, embarrassment, and ruined reputations. Here, then, are radiations, measured with high precision yet existing only in the minds of those who observed them; the Russian water, which some thought might congeal the oceans; phantom diseases that called for heroic surgery; monkey testis implants that restored the sexual powers of ageing roues and of tired sheep; truths about genetics and about the nature of matter, perceptible only to Aryan scientists in the Third Reich or Marxist ideologues in the Soviet Union; and much more. The Undergrowth of Science explores, in terms accessible to the lay reader, the history of such episodes, up to our own time, in all their absurdity, tragedy, and pathos.

Download or read book The Undergrowth of Science Delusion Self Deception and Human Frailty written by Walter Gratzer and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2001-09-13 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Walter Gratzer's themes in the stories he relates in this book are collective delusion and human folly. Science is generally seen as a process bound by rigorous rules, which its practitioners must not transgress. Deliberate fraud occasionally intrudes, but it is soon detected, the perpetrators cast out and the course of discovery barely disturbed. Far more interesting are the outbreaks of self-delusion that from time to time afflict upright and competent researchers, and then spread like an epidemic or mass-hysteria through a sober and respectable scientific community. When this happens the rules by which scientists normally govern their working lives are suddenly suspended. Sometimes these episodes are provoked by personal vanity, an unwillingness to acknowledge error or even contemplate the possibility that a hard-won success is a will o' the wisp; at other times they stem from loyalty to a respected and trusted guru, or even from patriotic pride; and, worst of all, they may be a consequence of a political ideology which imposes its own interpretation on scientists' observations of the natural world. Unreason and credulity supervene, illusory phenomena are described and measured, and theories are developed to explain them - until suddenly, often for no single reason, the bubble bursts, leaving behind it a residue of acrimony, recrimination, embarrassment, and ruined reputations. Here, then, are radiations, measured with high precision yet existing only in the minds of those who observed them; the Russian water, which some thought might congeal the oceans; phantom diseases that called for heroic surgery; monkey testis implants that restored the sexual powers of ageing roues and of tired sheep; truths about genetics and about the nature of matter, perceptible only to Aryan scientists in the Third Reich or Marxist ideologues in the Soviet Union; and much more. The Undergrowth of Science explores, in terms accessible to the lay reader, the history of such episodes, up to our own time, in all their absurdity, tragedy, and pathos.

Download or read book Phrenology and the Origins of Victorian Scientific Naturalism written by John van Wyhe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through a reassessment of phrenology, Phrenology and the Origins of Victorian Scientific Naturalism sheds light on all kinds of works in Victorian Britain and America which have previously been unnoticed or were simply referred to with a vague 'naturalism of the times' explanation. It is often assumed that the scientific naturalism familiar in late nineteenth century writers such as T.H. Huxley and John Tyndall are the effects of a 'Darwinian revolution' unleashed in 1859 on an unsuspecting world following the publication of The Origin of Species. Yet it can be misleading to view Darwin's work in isolation, without locating it in the context of a well established and vigorous debate concerning scientific naturalism. Throughout the nineteenth century intellectuals and societies had been discussing the relationship between nature and man, and the scientific and religious implications thereof. At the forefront of these debates were the advocates of phrenology, who sought to apply their theories to a wide range of subjects, from medicine and the treatment of the insane, to education, theology and even economic theories. Showing how ideas about naturalism and the doctrine of natural laws were born in the early phrenology controversies in the 1820s, this book charts the spread of such views. It argues that one book in particular, The Constitution of Man in Relation to External Objects (1828) by George Combe, had an enormous influence on scientific thinking and the popularity of the 'naturalistic movement'. The Constitution was one of the best-selling books of the nineteenth century, being published continuously from 1828 to 1899, and selling more than 350,000 copies throughout the world, many times more than Dawin's The Origin of Species. By restoring Combe and his work to centre stage it provides modern scholars with a more accurate picture of the Victorians' view of their place in Nature.

Download or read book Stalin and the Scientists written by Simon Ings and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2017-02-21 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the finest, most gripping surveys of the history of Russian science in the twentieth century.” —Douglas Smith, author of Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy Stalin and the Scientists tells the story of the many gifted scientists who worked in Russia from the years leading up to the revolution through the death of the “Great Scientist” himself, Joseph Stalin. It weaves together the stories of scientists, politicians, and ideologues into an intimate and sometimes horrifying portrait of a state determined to remake the world. They often wreaked great harm. Stalin was himself an amateur botanist, and by falling under the sway of dangerous charlatans like Trofim Lysenko (who denied the existence of genes), and by relying on antiquated ideas of biology, he not only destroyed the lives of hundreds of brilliant scientists, he caused the death of millions through famine. But from atomic physics to management theory, and from radiation biology to neuroscience and psychology, these Soviet experts also made breakthroughs that forever changed agriculture, education, and medicine. A masterful book that deepens our understanding of Russian history, Stalin and the Scientists is a great achievement of research and storytelling, and a gripping look at what happens when science falls prey to politics. Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2016 A New York Times Book Review “Paperback Row” selection “Ings’s research is impressive and his exposition of the science is lucid . . . Filled with priceless nuggets and a cast of frauds, crackpots and tyrants, this is a lively and interesting book, and utterly relevant today.” —The New York Times Book Review “A must read for understanding how the ideas of scientific knowledge and technology were distorted and subverted for decades across the Soviet Union.” —The Washington Post

Download or read book Science and Sensibility written by Keith J. Laidler and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2011-12-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume reviews the major contributions of the different branches of science and shows how they all lead to a unified conception of humans' place in the universe.

Download or read book Science Fiction in Argentina written by Joanna Page and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines an unprecedented range of science fiction texts-including literature, cinema, theater, and comics-produced in Argentina from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. These works address themes common to the genre across the industrialized world, including techno-authoritarianism, new modes of posthuman subjectivity, and apocalyptic visions of environmental catastrophe. At the same time, Argentine science fiction is fully grounded in the social and political life of the nation. The texts discussed here explore the impact of an uneven modernization, mass migration, dictatorships, crises in national identity, the rise and fall of the Left, the question of Argentina's indigenous heritage, the impact of neoliberalism, and the most recent economic crisis of 2001. Argentine science fiction is also highly reflexive, debating within its pages the role of science fiction and fantasy in the society of its day, and the nature of the text in a world of advancing technology. This book makes important contributions to our understanding of science fiction as a genre, as well as to materialist theories of cultural texts. It will also interest students and scholars researching the culture, history, and politics of Argentina and Latin America. Book jacket.

Download or read book Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not written by Robert N. McCauley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comparison of the cognitive foundations of religion and science and an argument that religion is cognitively natural and that science is cognitively unnatural.

Download or read book Debunk It Fake News Edition written by John Grant and published by Zest Books ™. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in an era of misinformation, much of it spread by authority figures, including politicians, religious leaders, broadcasters, and, of course, apps and websites. In this second edition, author John Grant uses ripped-from-the-headlines examples to clearly explain how to identify bad evidence and poor arguments. He also points out the rhetorical tricks people use when attempting to pull the wool over our eyes, and offers advice about how to take these unscrupulous pundits down. Updated to include a chapter on fake news, Debunk It serves as a guide to critical thinking for young readers looking to find some clarity in a confusing world.

Download or read book Science under siege written by Peter Banks and published by Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Saturday 29 November 2008, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW held a forum with the theme of Science under siege. As the RZS is a zoological society, zoology under threat became the secondary theme and the basis for selecting speakers. This book records that forum with the papers developed for this book as the written word from the spoken presentations. Papers that were presented as posters are included, as are the edited plenary sessions which featured questions from the floor, with answers and comments encouraged from anyone in the forum. We were delighted that Mark Horstman, from ABC Catalyst, was willing to replace his peripatetic colleague Paul Willis, who was nonetheless very happy to write the foreword. There is a place for such skilled science communicators, we need more of them, and scientists at the lab bench, or in the field, or exploring computer models, or those that have now taken a job in the policy world, need to stay in touch with them. Some might say that the title “Science under siege” seems a bit extreme, but we invite you to examine the evidence as presented in this book. What follows is an edited version of the introductory material that advertised the forum: The title looks dramatic, but if you ask yourself, “is anything killing the science in your area of interest?” you might be surprised that you come up with a point or two. Then ask a wider set of questions, such as: are there any pressures that preclude people from doing good zoology; do either political/budgetary constraints impact on your field; is science in the media a subject that influences the outcome of your work; are there economic impediments to careers in zoology; is the education mix in Australia right for this new century; are the best researchers becoming full-time administrators, or the converse, the poor researchers becoming the administrators; can you place the Australian situation in an international context; are there reduced opportunities for human interactions with the natural world; is the virtual world killing reality; and what are your predictions of the future? To deal with such issues, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW has structured the day to emphasize a range of themes, beginning with identifying the issues, including those that are persistent and those that are emerging, and encompassing palpable hits to science. Direct and indirect hits to science include such matters as the withdrawal of funding, subversion of science, death by 1000 cuts, redirection of funding to fashion issues and using the name of science to justify things that are really not justifiable. The name of science is being dragged down. We need to confront the ever-present problem of ignoring the scientifically accurate for the politically correct. This raises such questions as to whether basic skills in biology are not being acquired because of public concern based on extreme animal rights propaganda. Good science is not optional, but what can be done if you are under siege? The answers include understanding the philosophy of science, the legal perspective and asking what scientists are (or should be) doing. Audience participation will be a central part of this forum. The plenary sessions will address questions raised by the speakers, and the posters, and debate issues and consider options for future directions. It is widely known that it is hard to pull a major paper together on this theme, but so many scientists know of at least one matter that they would like to draw to public attention. So, short contributions are included. Listen to the speakers present some overarching themes or compelling case studies, contribute to the debate on the day, then examine your stance on a variety of these subjects to see whether the day changes your view of this often cryptic aspect of zoology. As editors, we wish to acknowledge the skills of the referees (all papers were refereed by two peers), and the patience of the authors for what has been a long gap between the date of the forum and this publication. By the end of 2008, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW, along with everyone else, was caught by the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) and we simply had to extend the length of the queue for publication. We also reassessed our mode of publication. The Council of the Society voted to publish this production as an ebook, as well as a short print run for formal library deposit, and other essential matters. The ebook is open access to enhance the reach of the papers and the ideas. At the same time, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW signed a contract for a more international mode of access of the publications of the Society, and papers are now available via Metapress. http:// rzsnsw.metapress.com Science remains under siege, in our view, and now we have been alerted to the range of issues it becomes easier to spot the small, irritating closing of options that collectively amount to a denial of science and its relegation to an optional way of looking at the world. During production of this book, this matter became obvious on a number of fronts, which led us to invite the paper by Rosie Cooney and colleagues to defend their science of kangaroo conservation and commercial harvesting from an attack on the science. We also saw that this issue of science under siege needs more airing, and the Royal Zoological Society of NSW is planning its forum for the end of 2012 to take up another strand of this theme by capitalizing on the lifelong insights of scientists under the rubric of “grumpy scientists: an ecological conscience of a nation”. This idea in fact derives directly from the suggestions in the plenary sessions by Nick Holmes and Charley Krebs. We are also concerned for young scientists, with science under siege manifesting often in a failure to create permanent careers for science graduates that advance science itself, and zoology in particular, from flourishing and identifying problems and finding solutions. If we want to conserve the native fauna of Australia, then Australian zoologists will have to be key team members. We contend that to put science under siege, and zoology under threat, we not only further imperil our native wildlife, but also the careers of the small band of specialists that can see the issues, find the problems, implement solutions and evaluate the outcomes. In short, science under siege is not a light matter and no one in this forum thought so. Read on, form an opinion, and speak up and publish your thoughts, your examples and your solutions.

Download or read book Feng Shui Teaching About Science and Pseudoscience written by Michael R. Matthews and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-07-18 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a richly documented account of the historical, cultural, philosophical and practical dimensions of feng shui. It argues that where feng shui is entrenched educational systems have a responsibility to examine its claims, and that this examination provides opportunities for students to better learn about the key features of the nature of science, the demarcation of science and non-science, the characteristics of pseudoscience, and the engagement of science with culture and worldviews. The arguments presented for feng shui being a pseudoscience can be marshalled when considering a whole range of comparable beliefs and the educational benefit of their appraisal. Feng shui is a deeply-entrenched, three-millennia-old system of Asian beliefs and practices about nature, architecture, health, and divination that has garnered a growing presence outside of Asia. It is part of a comprehensive and ancient worldview built around belief in chi (qi) the putative universal energy or life-force that animates all existence, the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and human bodies. Harmonious living requires building in accord with local chi streams; good health requires replenishment and manipulation of internal chi flow; and a beneficent afterlife is enhanced when buried in conformity with chi directions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the proper manipulation of internal chi by acupuncture, tai-chi and qigong exercise, and herbal dietary supplements. Matthews has produced another tour de force that will repay close study by students, scientists, and all those concerned to understand science, culture, and the science/culture nexus. Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami, USA With great erudition and even greater fluidity of style, Matthews introduces us to this now-world-wide belief system. Michael Ruse, Philosophy, Florida State University, USA The book is one of the best research works published on Feng Shui. Wang Youjun, Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University, China The history is fascinating. The analysis makes an important contribution to science literature. James Alcock, Psychology, York University, Canada This book provides an in-depth study of Feng Shui in different periods, considering its philosophical, historical and educational dimensions; especially from a perspective of the ‘demarcation problem’ between science and pseudoscience. Yao Dazhi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Download or read book Elements of Ethics for Physical Scientists written by Sandra C. Greer and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2017-10-13 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to the everyday decisions about right and wrong faced by physical scientists and research engineers. This book offers the first comprehensive guide to ethics for physical scientists and engineers who conduct research. Written by a distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical engineering, the book focuses on the everyday decisions about right and wrong faced by scientists as they do research, interact with other people, and work within society. The goal is to nurture readers' ethical intelligence so that they know an ethical issue when they see one, and to give them a way to think about ethical problems. After introductions to the philosophy of ethics and the philosophy of science, the book discusses research integrity, with a unique emphasis on how scientists make mistakes and how they can avoid them. It goes on to cover personal interactions among scientists, including authorship, collaborators, predecessors, reviewers, grantees, mentors, and whistle-blowers. It considers underrepresented groups in science as an ethical issue that matters not only to those groups but also to the development of science, and it examines human participants and animal subjects. Finally, the book examines scientifically relevant social issues, including public policy, weapons research, conflicts of interest, and intellectual property. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and case studies to encourage debate and further exploration of topics. The book can be used in classes and seminars in research ethics and will be an essential reference for scientists in academia, government, and industry.

Download or read book Corrupted Science written by John Grant and published by See Sharp Press. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A searing exposé of the misuses and misrepresentations of science from the time of Galileo continuing through to the present day, this new edition includes updates on the asbestos industry, the chemicals industry, the sugar industry, the agriculture industry (the abuse of antibiotics), and the automobile industry (lead in gasoline). The final chapter has been expanded to include the full-blooded assault on science mounted by the Trump administration.

Download or read book The Scientific Origins of National Socialism written by Daniel Gasman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many studies of the origins of National Socialism claim that the vo;lkisch and proto-Nazi movement arose largely as a reaction to the materialistic ideas of nineteenth-century science and especially to the naturalistic philosophy of Ernst Haeckel and the German Monist League. Using hitherto unexplored material, Daniel Gasman calls this generalization into question. Arguing that the importance of science has been relatively neglected in accounts of the intellectual origins of Nazism, he attempts to show that Haeckel's "scientific" Darwinism, and his movement, the German Monist League, were proto-Nazi in character. Contrary to popular belief, Haeckel's type of social Darwinism actually played a critical role in the formation of National Socialist ideology. In his new introduction, Gasman notes that recent research goes far to confirm Haeckel's role as an ideological progenitor of fascist ideology. This is true not only for Germany, but also for the birth of fascist thought in Italy and France. In general, Gasman claims, the history of science plainly reveals how Haeckel's social Darwinism nourished the roots of fascism no less than avant-garde modernism. When The Scientific Origins of National Socialism initially appeared, the Times Literary Supplement called it a "very well-argued thesis... that is completely successful... and leaves the reader to extract his own moral lessons." Medical History, in its review of The Scientific Origins of National Socialism, said, "His book is essential for understanding modern Germany. It has a general message derived from the events in Germany, where scientific data were permitted to take on a mystical signficiance... with ghastly consequences." Bruce Chatwin, in the New York Review of Books, called the book "brilliant." Now available in paperback, with a new introduction by the author, this seminal work will be of interest to intellectual historians, as well as th

Download or read book Healthy Wealthy Sustainable World written by John Emsley and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2023-01-17 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains to the general reader the roles of chemistry in various areas of life ranging from the entirely personal to the worryingly global. These roles are currently not widely appreciated and certainly not well understood. The book is aimed at educated laypeople who want to know more about the world around them but have little chemical knowledge. The themes relate to the importance of chemistry in everyday life, the benefits they currently bring, and how their use can continue on a sustainable basis. Topics include: Health - conquering the diseases and stresses which still threaten us. Food - the role of agrochemicals and food chemists. Water - drinking water; the seas as a resource of raw materials. Fuels - what are they and from what are they made? Plastics - what are the used for and can they be sustainable? Cities - what role has chemistry in modern life? Sport - chemistry has changed the game. The world stands at a crossroads. What route to the future should we take? The road to a sustainable city beckons, but what effect will this have on chemistry, which appears so dependent on fossil resources? Its products are part of everyday living, and without them we could regress to the world of earlier generations when lives were blighted by disease, famines, dirt, and pain. In fact the industries based on chemistry the chemical, agrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries could be sustainable and not only benefit those in the developed world but could be shared by everyone on this planet and for generations to come. This book shows how it might be achieved.

Download or read book Soap Science and Flat Screen TVs written by David Dunmur and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-29 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The terms 'liquid crystal' or 'liquid crystal display' (LCD) are recognized in the context of flat-screen televisions, but the properties and history of liquid crystals are little known. This book tells the story of liquid crystals, from their controversial discovery at the end of the nineteenth century, to their eventual acceptance as another state of matter to rank alongside gases, liquids, and solids. As their story unfolds, the scientists involved and their works are put into illuminating broader socio-political contexts. In recent years, liquid crystals have had a major impact on the display industry, culminating in the now widely available flat-screen televisions. This development is described in detail over three chapters, and the basic science behind it is explained in simple terms accessible to a general reader. New applications of liquid crystals in materials, biosystems, medicine, and technology are also explained. The authors' approach to the subject defines a new genre of popular science books. The historical background to the scientific discoveries is given in detail, and the personal communications between the scientists involved are explored. The book tells the story of liquid crystals, but it also shows that scientific discovery and exploitation relies on human interactions, and the social and political environments in which they operate.

Download or read book Debunk It written by John Grant and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2015-02-24 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to critical thinking for young readers looking to find some clarity in a confusing world