The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience [2 volumes]

The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience [2 volumes] PDF Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1576076547
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 920

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Book Description
A thorough, objective, and balanced analysis of the most prominent controversies made in the name of science—from the effectiveness of proposed medical treatments to the reality of supernatural claims. Edited by Michael Shermer, editor and publisher of The Skeptic magazine, this truly unique work provides a comprehensive introduction to the most prominent pseudoscientific claims made in the name of "science." Covering the popular, the academic, and the bizarre, the encyclopedia includes everything from alien abductions to the Bermuda Triangle, crop circles, Feng Shui, and near-death experiences. Fifty-nine brief descriptive summaries and 23 investigations from The Skeptic magazine give skeptical analyses of subjects as far-ranging as acupuncture, chiropractic, and Atlantis. The encyclopedia also gives for-and-against debates on topics such as evolutionary psychology and case studies on topics like police psychics and the medical intuitive Carolyn Myss. Finally, the volumes include five classic works in the history of science and pseudoscience, including the speech William Jennings Bryan never delivered in the Scopes trial, and the first scientific and skeptical investigation of a paranormal/spiritual phenomenon by Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier.

The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience [2 volumes]

The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience [2 volumes] PDF Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1576076547
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 920

Get Book

Book Description
A thorough, objective, and balanced analysis of the most prominent controversies made in the name of science—from the effectiveness of proposed medical treatments to the reality of supernatural claims. Edited by Michael Shermer, editor and publisher of The Skeptic magazine, this truly unique work provides a comprehensive introduction to the most prominent pseudoscientific claims made in the name of "science." Covering the popular, the academic, and the bizarre, the encyclopedia includes everything from alien abductions to the Bermuda Triangle, crop circles, Feng Shui, and near-death experiences. Fifty-nine brief descriptive summaries and 23 investigations from The Skeptic magazine give skeptical analyses of subjects as far-ranging as acupuncture, chiropractic, and Atlantis. The encyclopedia also gives for-and-against debates on topics such as evolutionary psychology and case studies on topics like police psychics and the medical intuitive Carolyn Myss. Finally, the volumes include five classic works in the history of science and pseudoscience, including the speech William Jennings Bryan never delivered in the Scopes trial, and the first scientific and skeptical investigation of a paranormal/spiritual phenomenon by Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier.

Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience

Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience PDF Author: William F. Williams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135955220
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
The Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience is the first one-volume, A-to-Z reference that identifies, defines, and explains all of the terms and ideas dealing with the somewhat murky world of the "almost sciences". Truly interdisciplinary and multicultural in scope, the Encyclopedia examines how fringe or marginal sciences have affected people throughout history, as well as how they continue to exert an influence on our lives today. This comprehensive reference brings together: superstitions and fads that are part of popular culture, such as fortune telling; healing practices once thought marginal that are now become increasingly accepted, such as homeopathy and acupuncture; frauds and hoaxes that have occurred throughout history, such as UFOs; mistaken theories first put forward as serious science, but later discarded as false, such as phrenology and racial typing, etc. More than 2000 extensively cross-referenced and illustrated entries cover prominent phenomena, major figures, events topics, places and associations.

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience PDF Author: Brian Regal
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN: 9780313355073
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
More than just a collection of factual entries, this rich resource explores the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific pursuits in a way that spurs readers to ask questions and formulate answers. What makes science science? How do we tell which assertions, beliefs, and methods are scientifically sound, and which are not? Brian Regal's authoritative, entertaining new reference, Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia gets at the heart of these questions by helping readers understand how the scientific method works, how to critically analyze all kinds of "evidence," and how to sort through long-running myths and current pseudoscience controversies. Ranging from the dawn of history to the present and across world cultures, Pseudoscience uses a field of endless fascination as a means of driving home the importance of solid scientific reasoning. The encyclopedia spans the full spectrum of scientific and nonscientific pursuits, from chemistry, biology, psychology, and medicine to eugenics, religion, cryptozoology, the occult, and paranormal activities. Specific entries focus on general concepts of science, the lives of individuals, and claims of abilities. Throughout, these entries go beyond simply stating facts by constantly engaging readers in a discussion about the very nature of true scientific discovery.

Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication

Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication PDF Author: Susanna Hornig Priest
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1412959209
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1145

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Book Description
The explosion of scientific information is exacerbating the information gap between richer/poorer, educated/less-educated publics. The proliferation of media technology and the popularity of the Internet help some keep up with these developments but also make it more likely others fall further behind. This is taking place in a globalizing economy and society that further complicates the division between information haves and have-nots and compounds the challenge of communicating about emerging science and technology to increasingly diverse audiences. Journalism about science and technology must fill this gap, yet journalists and journalism students themselves struggle to keep abreast of contemporary scientific developments. Scientist - aided by public relations and public information professionals - must get their stories out, not only to other scientists but also to broader public audiences. Funding agencies increasingly expect their grantees to engage in outreach and education, and such activity can be seen as both a survival strategy and an ethical imperative for taxpayer-supported, university-based research. Science communication, often in new forms, must expand to meet all these needs. Providing a comprehensive introduction to students, professionals and scholars in this area is a unique challenge because practitioners in these fields must grasp both the principles of science and the principles of science communication while understanding the social contexts of each. For this reason, science journalism and science communication are often addressed only in advanced undergraduate or graduate specialty courses rather than covered exhaustively in lower-division courses. Even so, those entering the field rarely will have a comprehensive background in both science and communication studies. This circumstance underscores the importance of compiling useful reference materials. The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication presents resources and strategies for science communicators, including theoretical material and background on recent controversies and key institutional actors and sources. Science communicators need to understand more than how to interpret scientific facts and conclusions; they need to understand basic elements of the politics, sociology, and philosophy of science, as well as relevant media and communication theory, principles of risk communication, new trends, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of science communication programmes, to mention just a few of the major challenges. This work will help to develop and enhance such understanding as it addresses these challenges and more. Topics covered include: advocacy, policy, and research organizations environmental and health communication philosophy of science media theory and science communication informal science education science journalism as a profession risk communication theory public understanding of science pseudo-science in the news special problems in reporting science and technology science communication ethics.

Pseudoscience

Pseudoscience PDF Author: Brian Regal
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science & Technology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
More than just a collection of factual entries, this rich resource explores the difference between scientific and pseudoscientific pursuits in a way that spurs readers to ask questions and formulate answers. What makes science science? How do we tell which assertions, beliefs, and methods are scientifically sound, and which are not? Brian Regal's authoritative, entertaining new reference, Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia gets at the heart of these questions by helping readers understand how the scientific method works, how to critically analyze all kinds of "evidence," and how to sort through long-running myths and current pseudoscience controversies. Ranging from the dawn of history to the present and across world cultures, Pseudoscience uses a field of endless fascination as a means of driving home the importance of solid scientific reasoning. The encyclopedia spans the full spectrum of scientific and nonscientific pursuits, from chemistry, biology, psychology, and medicine to eugenics, religion, cryptozoology, the occult, and paranormal activities. Specific entries focus on general concepts of science, the lives of individuals, and claims of abilities. Throughout, these entries go beyond simply stating facts by constantly engaging readers in a discussion about the very nature of true scientific discovery.

Science Friction

Science Friction PDF Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429900881
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Bestselling author Michael Shermer delves into the unknown, from heretical ideas about the boundaries of the universe to Star Trek's lessons about chance and time 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 historian decides to analyze the data to see who was truly responsible for the Bounty mutiny. 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, 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.

Why People Believe Weird Things

Why People Believe Weird Things PDF Author: Michael Shermer
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
ISBN: 9781429996761
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science PDF Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486131629
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
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.

Encyclopedia of Ethics in Science and Technology

Encyclopedia of Ethics in Science and Technology PDF Author: Nigel Barber
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780816043149
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Covers the central concepts, people, facts, phenomena, and controversies in the ethics of science and technology, as well as the seminal figures and formative ideas in the two fields.

Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution

Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution PDF Author: Wilbur Applebaum
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135582556
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1628

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Book Description
With unprecedented current coverage of the profound changes in the nature and practice of science in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, this comprehensive reference work addresses the individuals, ideas, and institutions that defined culture in the age when the modern perception of nature, of the universe, and of our place in it is said to have emerged. Covering the historiography of the period, discussions of the Scientific Revolution's impact on its contemporaneous disciplines, and in-depth analyses of the importance of historical context to major developments in the sciences, The Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution is an indispensible resource for students and researchers in the history and philosophy of science.