Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2012-05-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0486131629

Fair, witty appraisal of cranks, quacks, and quackeries of science and pseudoscience: hollow earth, Velikovsky, orgone energy, Dianetics, flying saucers, Bridey Murphy, food and medical fads, and much more.

The Book of Common Fallacies

The Book of Common Fallacies
Author: Philip Ward
Publisher: Skyhorse
Total Pages: 495
Release: 2012-06-01
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1620873362

Long before Snopes.com and Wikipedia, The Book of Common Fallacies set out to debunk popular beliefs and set the record straight. By tracking down the facts and citing experts in a multitude of fields, Philip Ward points out the senseless ideas that we have come to accept as fact. Newly updated with today’s common misconceptions and available as a single-volume paperback for the first time, The Book of Common Fallacies exposes the truth behind hundreds of commonly held false beliefs.

Panic Attacks

Panic Attacks
Author: Robert Bartholomew
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2004-08-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752494708

Examining the ability of the media to whip up a panic and our tendency to fall victim to mass delusion and hysteria, this title discusses America's "kissing bug" scare of 1899; Seattle's atomic fallout fiasco of 1954; the phantom slasher of Taipei in 1956; Belgium's recent Coca-Cola poisoning scare and the "mad gasser" of Mattoon, and more.

How to Talk to a Science Denier

How to Talk to a Science Denier
Author: Lee McIntyre
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2022-08-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262545055

Can we change the minds of science deniers? Encounters with flat earthers, anti-vaxxers, coronavirus truthers, and others. "Climate change is a hoax--and so is coronavirus." "Vaccines are bad for you." These days, many of our fellow citizens reject scientific expertise and prefer ideology to facts. They are not merely uninformed--they are misinformed. They cite cherry-picked evidence, rely on fake experts, and believe conspiracy theories. How can we convince such people otherwise? How can we get them to change their minds and accept the facts when they don't believe in facts? In this book, Lee McIntyre shows that anyone can fight back against science deniers, and argues that it's important to do so. Science denial can kill. Drawing on his own experience--including a visit to a Flat Earth convention--as well as academic research, McIntyre outlines the common themes of science denialism, present in misinformation campaigns ranging from tobacco companies' denial in the 1950s that smoking causes lung cancer to today's anti-vaxxers. He describes attempts to use his persuasive powers as a philosopher to convert Flat Earthers; surprising discussions with coal miners; and conversations with a scientist friend about genetically modified organisms in food. McIntyre offers tools and techniques for communicating the truth and values of science, emphasizing that the most important way to reach science deniers is to talk to them calmly and respectfully--to put ourselves out there, and meet them face to face.

Beyond Velikovsky

Beyond Velikovsky
Author: Henry H. Bauer
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1999
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9780252068454

Since the appearance in 1950 of Worlds in Collision, Immanuel Velikovsky's radical theories of planetary physics have been the center of controversy. This book presents an analysis of the Velikovsky affair, resolves the misunderstandings and arguments between opposing camps, and leads us to an understanding of the scientific process itself.