AIDS is not caused by HIV. Coal and oil are not fossil fuels.
Radiation exposure is good for you. Distributing more guns reduces
crime. These ideas make headlines, but most educated people scoff
at them. Yet some of science's most important concepts-from gravity
to evolution-have surfaced from the pool of crazy ideas. In fact, a
good part of science is distinguishing between useful crazy ideas
and those that are just plain nutty. In this book, a well-known
physicist with an affinity for odd ideas applies his open mind to
nine controversial propositions on topical subjects. Some, it turns
out, are considerably lower on the cuckoo scale than others.
Robert Ehrlich evaluates, for the general reader or student,
nine seemingly far-out propositions culled from physics, biology,
and social science. In the process, he demonstrates in
easy-to-understand terms how to weigh an argument, judge someone's
use of statistics, identify underlying assumptions, and ferret out
secret agendas. His conclusions are sometimes surprising. For
instance, he finds that while HIV does cause AIDS and the universe
almost certainly started with a big bang, our solar system could
have two suns, faster-than-light particles might exist, and time
travel can't be ruled out as mere science fiction.
Anyone interested in unorthodox ideas will get a kick out of
this book. And, as a fun way of learning how to think like a
scientist, it has enormous educational value. Of course, only time
will tell whether any of these nine ideas will be the next
continental drift--the now orthodox account of the Earth's geology
that was for years just a crazy idea.
General
Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2002 |
First published: |
September 2002 |
Authors: |
Robert Ehrlich
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 140 x 14mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
256 |
Edition: |
Revised |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-09495-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Science: general issues >
Popular science
|
LSN: |
0-691-09495-0 |
Barcode: |
9780691094953 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!