View in EDS PDF Full Text ePub Full Text

The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense
Description: As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another. Shermer argues that science is the best lens through which to view the world, but he recognizes that it's often difficult for most of us to tell where valid science leaves off and borderland science begins. To help us, Shermer looks at a range of topics that put the boundary line in high relief. For instance, he discusses the many'theories of everything'that try to reduce the complexity of the world to a single principle, and shows how most fall into the category of pseudoscience. He examines the work of Darwin and Freud, explaining why one is among the great scientists in history, while the other has become nothing more than a historical curiosity. He also shows how Carl Sagan's life exemplified the struggle we all face to find a balance between being open-minded enough to recognize radical new ideas but not so open-minded that our brains fall out. And finally, he reveals how scientists themselves can be led astray, as seen in the infamous Piltdown Hoax. Michael Shermer's enlightening volume will be a valuable aid to anyone bewildered by the many scientific theories swirling about. It will help us stay grounded in common sense as we try to evaluate everything from SETI and acupuncture to hypnosis and cloning.
Authors: Michael Shermer
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Science--Miscellanea, Belief and doubt, Parapsychology and science, Skepticism
Categories: SCIENCE / General, SCIENCE / History, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects
Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
FullText Links:
  – Type: ebook-pdf
  – Type: ebook-epub
Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: nlebk
DbLabel: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
An: 271764
RelevancyScore: 972
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: eBook
PubTypeId: ebook
PreciseRelevancyScore: 972.249633789063
IllustrationInfo
ImageInfo – Size: thumb
  Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$271764$PDF&s=r
– Size: medium
  Target: https://rps2images.ebscohost.com/rpsweb/othumb?id=NL$271764$PDF&s=d
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Description
  Group: Ab
  Data: As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another. Shermer argues that science is the best lens through which to view the world, but he recognizes that it's often difficult for most of us to tell where valid science leaves off and borderland science begins. To help us, Shermer looks at a range of topics that put the boundary line in high relief. For instance, he discusses the many'theories of everything'that try to reduce the complexity of the world to a single principle, and shows how most fall into the category of pseudoscience. He examines the work of Darwin and Freud, explaining why one is among the great scientists in history, while the other has become nothing more than a historical curiosity. He also shows how Carl Sagan's life exemplified the struggle we all face to find a balance between being open-minded enough to recognize radical new ideas but not so open-minded that our brains fall out. And finally, he reveals how scientists themselves can be led astray, as seen in the infamous Piltdown Hoax. Michael Shermer's enlightening volume will be a valuable aid to anyone bewildered by the many scientific theories swirling about. It will help us stay grounded in common sense as we try to evaluate everything from SETI and acupuncture to hypnosis and cloning.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Michael+Shermer%22">Michael Shermer</searchLink>
– Name: TypePub
  Label: Resource Type
  Group: TypPub
  Data: eBook.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science--Miscellanea%22">Science--Miscellanea</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Belief+and+doubt%22">Belief and doubt</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Parapsychology+and+science%22">Parapsychology and science</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Skepticism%22">Skepticism</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectBISAC
  Label: Categories
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SCIENCE+%2F+General%22">SCIENCE / General</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SCIENCE+%2F+History%22">SCIENCE / History</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SCIENCE+%2F+Philosophy+%26+Social+Aspects%22">SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects</searchLink>
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=nlebk&AN=271764
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Classifications:
      – Code: 500
        Scheme: ddc
        Type: prePub
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Science--Miscellanea
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Belief and doubt
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Parapsychology and science
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Skepticism
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Michael Shermer
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Michael Shermer
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2001
            – D: 04
              M: 02
              Type: profile
              Y: 2014
          Identifiers:
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780195143263
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780190286637
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9780195157987
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9780198032724
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: The Borderlands of Science : Where Sense Meets Nonsense
              Type: main
ResultId 1