Scientifically Thinking
How to Liberate Your Mind, Solve the World's Problems, and Embrace the Beauty of Science
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- $24.99
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
Shows the many advantages of thinking like a scientist and argues that today's problems require a scientific approach.
You don't have to be a scientist to think like a scientist. Anyone can do it and everyone should. This book will show you how. The advantages are many: from detecting bias to avoiding error and appreciating the richness of the world. Author Stanley Rice, himself a scientist, explains that science is essentially organized common sense. While the brain is hardwired for common sense, unfortunately, it also relies on a number of misleading tendencies. Instead of reasoning objectively it tends to rationalize. Often it sees what it wants to see rather than what is really there. And it is adept at both self-deception and deceiving others. Rice notes that these tendencies were useful in the past as the human race evolved in an often-hostile environment. But today bias and delusions put us at risk of worldwide catastrophe.
The author invites readers to participate in the adventure of scientific discovery. He provides many interesting and humorous examples of how science works. He shows how hypothesis testing can be used to tackle everyday problems like car trouble or seeing through the specious appeal of a fad diet. Beyond practical applications, science meets the basic human need to satisfy curiosity: it tells verifiable stories about the universe, providing humans with fascinating narratives supported by testable facts. The author also explores some of science's biggest ideas, including natural selection (creating order out of randomness) and interconnectedness (Earth's systems are intricately intertwined).
Read this book and learn to think like a scientist. It will guard you against being manipulated by politicians, corporations, and religious leaders, and equip you to deal with the world's most pressing problems. And you will have a lot of fun doing it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this literate, accessible book, biology professor Rice (Encyclopedia of Biodiversity) shows laypeople how to think critically and evaluate information like a scientist. Human brains are wired to seek patterns not "to reason, but to rationalize" warns Rice, and often carelessly discard what doesn't fit expectations. Thus, humans are widely susceptible to illusion and unconscious bias. Science is a "process of elimination," testing one idea after another until the testers discover the one that best explains what can be observed. After a description of the scientific method, Rice launches into a wide-ranging exploration of the problems that can be attacked and solved using it. Along the way, he shows how to watch out for bias and avoid the fallacy of seeing a single cause-and-effect when multiple causes are more likely. "Do It Yourself" challenges at the end of each chapter offer short exercises to clarify points. In championing the value of critical thought, Rice shows readers how to winnow truth from misinformation and avoid being swayed by inaccurate data or outright lies masquerading as truth. Rice's arguments will interest any reader curious about viewing the world with rigor as well as creative insight.)