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Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future (2009)

by Chris C. Mooney(Favorite Author)

3.43 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0465013058 (ISBN13: 9780465013050)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: This book takes a critical look at what the end result of the current political fighting in the US over the scientific validity of various scientific discoveries or theories, how it's now set so that politics drives science, and what the end result of that is likely to be in the medium to long term. That's especially true with politics driving science education at all levels from elementary school through university graduate programs. If science does not go where it takes itself, the end result is that other countries will soon overtake us in the technological - and possibly more importantly - military arena. While it will hurt business and the economy to have the second best technological innovations for sale, it will destroy the US to have the world's second best militar... morey.Voters are increasingly unable to understand the issues well enough to vote on them, as science education continues to go downhill. That leads to *scientific illiteracy*.
review 2: I say this a lot: This book wasn't what I expected. It's not a smug attack on pseudoscience. This book is trying to make friends. The authors are concerned with scientific illiteracy and they discuss which tactics can help remedy this problem and which tactics are doing more harm than good. Chapter 8 takes aim at the New Atheist movement, authors like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. While I disagree with some of their criticism of the New Atheists, I applaud this book's effort to bridge gaps and break down walls. Overall, this is a stellar work. It can teach stubborn skeptics how to best convey their message, and it shows non-scientists that not every scientific thinker is a militant, condescending, party-pooper. less

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