
Pseudoscience
The Conspiracy Against Science
Overview
Author(s)
Praise
Summary
Case studies, personal accounts, and analysis show how to recognize and combat pseudoscience in a post-truth world.
In a post-truth, fake news world, we are particularly susceptible to the claims of pseudoscience. When emotions and opinions are more widely disseminated than scientific findings, and self-proclaimed experts get their expertise from Google, how can the average person distinguish real science from fake? This book examines pseudoscience from a variety of perspectives, through case studies, analysis, and personal accounts that show how to recognize pseudoscience, why it is so widely accepted, and how to advocate for real science.
Contributors examine the basics of pseudoscience, including issues of cognitive bias; the costs of pseudoscience, with accounts of naturopathy and logical fallacies in the anti-vaccination movement; perceptions of scientific soundness; the mainstream presence of “integrative medicine,” hypnosis, and parapsychology; and the use of case studies and new media in science advocacy.
ContributorsDavid Ball, Paul Joseph Barnett, Jeffrey Beall, Mark Benisz, Fernando Blanco, Ron Dumont, Stacy Ellenberg, Kevin M. Folta, Christopher French, Ashwin Gautam, Dennis M. Gorman, David H. Gorski, David K. Hecht, Britt Marie Hermes, Clyde F. Herreid, Jonathan Howard, Seth C. Kalichman, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Arnold Kozak, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Emilio Lobato, Steven Lynn, Adam Marcus, Helena Matute, Ivan Oransky, Chad Orzel, Dorit Reiss, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Kavin Senapathy, Dean Keith Simonton, Indre Viskontas, John O. Willis, Corrine Zimmerman
Hardcover
Out of Print ISBN: 9780262037426 536 pp. | 7 in x 9 in 19 b&w illus.Paperback
$34.95 T ISBN: 9780262537049 536 pp. | 7 in x 9 in 19 b&w illus.Reviews
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[Kaufman and Kaufman] have done a masterful job of curating a series of essays on science and pseudoscience....This comprehensive work can not be praised enough. Highly recommended.
Choice
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...an invaluable volume that examines the cognitive biases that lead to pseudoscience, the history of pseudoscience, the reasons for its wide acceptance, how it is endangering our society, how to recognize it, and how we might reduce its impact....a tour-de-force, a compendium of vital information about science....The book is an excellent antidote to fake news and a handy reference.
Science-Based Medicine
Awards
- Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles for 2018