Rational Optimist See Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort Through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (FT Press Science) Details
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as of 2012-09-01 11:33 AM
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What's healthy? What's unhealthy? What's safe? What's dangerous? Watch the news, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by snippets of badly presented science: information that's incomplete, confusing, contradictory, out-of-context, wrong, or flat-out dishonest. In this book, Dr. Sherry Seethaler provides a "bag of tricks" for making sense of science in the news. You'll learn how to think more sensibly about everything from mad cow disease to global warming and make better science-related decisions in both your personal life and as a citizen. You'll begin by understanding how science really works and progresses, and why scientists sometimes disagree. Seethaler helps you assess the possible biases of those who make scientific claims in the media, and place scientific issues in appropriate context, so you can intelligently assess tradeoffs. You'll learn how to determine whether a new study is really meaningful; uncover the difference between cause and mere coincidence; figure out which statistics mean something, and which don't. Finally, drawing on her extensive experience as a science journalist, she reveals the tricks self-interested players use to mislead and confuse you, and points you to sources of information you can actually rely upon. Seethaler's many examples range from genetic engineering of crops to drug treatments for depression, but the techniques she teaches you will be invaluable in understanding any scientific controversy, in any area of science or health.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort Through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (FT Press Science) Reviews
Rational Optimist : Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort Through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (FT Press Science) Reviews
| 73 of 76 people found the following review helpful  Critical Thinking for Everyone, By Dr H (Earth) - See all my reviews This review is from: Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (Hardcover) This book will not tell you what to think; it will teach you how to evaluate what others -want- you to think. If I were teaching a course on Critical Thinking, I would use this book as the central textbook; never before have I seen such a concise, readable coverage of the topic in a single volume. Each component of the process is identified, described, and presented with real-world examples.At a time when everyone is trying to sell us something -- be it material goods or strange new ideas -- critical thinking is essential for survival. Whether you are trying to figure out where to take a stand on global warming, or how to not get ripped off by the local used-car salesman, this book will help. *Everyone* should read this book: I can only give it five stars here, but it rates many more. Excellent job! 37 of 38 people found the following review helpful An excellent guide to critical thinking, This review is from: Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (Hardcover) A good way to read this book is to start with the conclusion where the author shares twenty thinking tools to evaluate findings. This is an abstract of the entire book including all the critical thinking processes the author covers.This is an excellent book that provides the qualitative critical thinking necessary for making better rational decisions regarding purchases, health care, and lifestyle. Many books impart the statistics to differentiate what is truly different from what is not. But, few books focus on framing the question correctly, understanding the biases of the stakeholders, and how to evaluate the findings. Ultimately, the qualitative thinking the author imparts is as important as the quantitative knowledge imparted by math books. The author does an excellent job explaining how science works. It is a constant feedback loop of battling hypothesis and rebuttals that confuse the public. But, if you make an effort to understand the issue, you... Read more 43 of 52 people found the following review helpful Learn how to think about science in the media, By Science Goddess (Champaign, IL United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: Lies, Damned Lies, and Science: How to Sort through the Noise Around Global Warming, the Latest Health Claims, and Other Scientific Controversies (Hardcover)  Hi, this is Joanne, a bioengineering instructor at the University of Illinois. I read science books and review them. See more at my youtube site [...] The review for Dr. Seethaler's book begins several minutes in. This book is a fabulous manual to help readers learn how to think critically about scientific information we are bombarded with via the news. |
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