Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown
by Michael Shermer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael ShermerEdition: Paperback
Published: 2005-12-27
ISBN: 073945630X
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown
Book Review: A Condescending Bore
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this book hoping for something akin to Penn and Teller's B******t. I like to think of myself as a skeptical thinker and was hoping to see these psychics and televangelists get a little comeuppance but all I got was a guy who is way too enamored with himself and his chosen profession. I am not religious by any means but I found his constant carping against religion tiring. I wouldn't mind if it were a matter of merely pointing out the con men that use religion for their own purpose but you start to lose my interest when you generalize everyone in a group and than start the name calling. Pretty petty for a man of science I thought . I know several smart compassionate people who also happen to be religious just as I know smart compassionate atheists. As far as I'm concerned it's not religion that causes conflict but the "my group is right" mentality of all special interest groups. I wasn't expecting to be recruited to the Brights movement. Speaking of which, there was way too much discussion on the naming of the Bright movement and I can't help but think this would only be interesting to a Bright.
I think I could have lived with the God bashing if there had at least been something interesting here. In one chapter Shermer attacks historians for using other than comparative, scientific methods. He sites "Germs, Guns and Steel" by Jared Diamond but I was never sure to what effect. I was confused as to whether he was agreeing or disagreeing with the conclusions. I have read Diamond's book and it seemed to me Shermer was drawing the same conclusions but presenting it as a wholly original idea proving his point. Or maybe I just didn't understand what he was talking about. This book is definitely not laymen friendly (in my case anyway). I'm not a scientist but I do pride myself on being able to follow technical writing but several of the essays here are presented in a dry fashion and I had a hard time holding my attention. He reminds me of the boorish know it all at a cocktail party you can't wait to get away from.
There are several examples I could site of what seems to be the basic problem I had with this book and that is the idea that he and science are right and everyone else is wrong. In one chapter, Shermer takes historians to task for not using objective methods when evaluating events of the past. Science he assures us is the only way to the truth because it is completely objective, implying that no scientist has ever skewed data to reach the conclusion he or she wanted or needed. For someone who prides himself on being a skeptic that doesn't seem like very critical thinking to me.
Summary of Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown
“Michael Shermer has given a lot of things a lot of thought. If your perceptions have ever rubbed you the wrong way, you’ll find Science Friction fascinating.” —Bill Nye, The Science Guy
A scientist 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 son explores the possiblities 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, bestselling author 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.
“Meaty accounts [and] entertaining discussion . . . well worth having.” —The Washington Post Book World
“Meaty accounts [and] entertaining discussion . . . well worth having.” —The Washington Post Book World
“[Shermer’s] main obsession is the truth . . . Amateur skeptics will learn from his matter-of-fact dismissals of astrology and creationism.” —Psychology Today
“Extremely entertaining.” —Science News
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