Science friction : where the known meets the unknown / Michael Shermer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shermer, Michael.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Science--Miscellanea.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xxxvii, 296 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Times Books, 2005.

Summary:

Ascientist pretends to be a psychic for a day--and fools everyone. An athlete discovers that good-luck rituals and getting into "the zone" may, or may not, improve his performance. A historian decides to analyze the data to see who was truly responsible for the Bounty mutiny. A son explores the possibilities of alternative and experimental medicine for his cancer-ravaged mother. And a skeptic realizes that it is time to turn the skeptical lens onto science itself. In each of the fourteen essays in Science Friction, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores the very personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the unknown. What do we know and what do we not know? How does science respond to controversy, attack, and uncertainty? When does theory become accepted fact? As always, Shermer delivers a thought-provoking, fascinating, and entertaining view of life in the scientific age.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-277) and index.

ISBN:

0805077081

OCLC:

55682384