Charles Bradley says:

There are many (well, more than a few) books about errors and

fraud in science. The common term is junk science. They tell

you what to believe. The better ones tell you why you should

believe what they tell you is the truth. But junk science books

also tell you what to believe, and sometimes provide reasons

why you should believe their claims. How can you tell who to

believe? Sherry Seethaler tells you how you can sort out the

claims and reach sound conclusions.

In the Watergate era, “follow the money” led to the truth.

this book offers 10 powerful lines of questioning to help you

get past honest errors and fraudulent science. The only nit

I can pick with the book is that some of the web sites recommended

for additional information have some of their content with

well loved trends, giving them apparent reliability they do not

deserve. Hunt for an opposing view. Vigorous debate tends to

reveal the truth. Three web sites I have found useful are

wattsupwiththat dot com, junkfoodscience dot com, and

climateaudit dot org.

The same approach, critical evaluation of claims, has been applied

to other areas. David Hackett Fischer wrote for historians in

“Historians’ Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought”

but the work is useful for readers of history and readers in

general. My Amazon review finished with “This is a book worth

rereading every few years. ” Jeremy Bentham’s work on

Political Fallacies is also fine, and more general than the

title implies.

Rating: 5 / 5

Sacramento Book Review says:

Sherry Seethaler’s //Lies, Damned Lies, and Science// is educational, insightful, and useful.

This book comes out at the perfect time, as there is a growing controversy over global warming and whether or not strong legislation should be written to reduce carbon emissions. Seethaler makes a compelling overall argument that one must consider the source and the science before reasoning a conclusion.

With huge political hype and partisan backing of certain initiatives, Seethaler’s book is an intriguing read and counterpoint to the growing list of books further hyping trends with dubious scientific backing.

The moral? Use all information at hand to make a reasoned judgment and know when science is used correctly to back up a point and when it is twisted.

This would make a fantastic gift for that special someone who may be just a small bit susceptible to believing anything they are told. Even if you disagree with some of the points in this book, it is a compelling read.

Reviewed by

Susie Kopecky
Rating: 4 / 5

Emc2 says:

Nowadays is becoming hard to separate wheat from chaff, whether you are concerned about your health, transgenic foods, or global warming, the media and advocacy groups (on all sides of the issue) are distorting and politicizing real science. Often just one scientific paper is enough to reject a product or technology, and no longer is publication in a technical or scientific journal enough to guarantee findings we can trust. Where is our rational thinking?

Lies, Dammed Lies, and Science is a excellent book to start if you are not familiar with a given subject and you want to know why so many contradictions and controversies are discussed in the media and scientific journals. Written for the laymen, this book will help you to do your own rational thinking even if you lack a background in science. The author is very courageous as she uses plenty of cases considered taboo, politically incorrect, or settled science (meaning that normal scientific skepticism is not allowed). You will be surprise to learn that many mainstream theories and paradigms are not as mature nor as settled as they are being sold to the public. We all need to know how real science works and evolves, and deal adequately with scientific uncertainty. Often there is no black and white, and as clarified in the book, we have to overcome our built-in capacity to oversimplify and avoid uncertainty. In a very concise but comprehensive way, the book also analyzes how policy making must proceed in light of the normal uncertainties and controversies typical of scientific research. The author also presents a very honest criticism of the “precautionary principle”, which was applied by the European Union to ban genetically engineered food.

Mrs Seethaler delivers what she promises, a handy toolkit to allow you to do your own debunking of the bombardment of “scientific facts” we are exposed every day by the media, politicians, lobbing groups, and NGOs. Brilliant book, highly recommended, every serious science teacher and journalist should at least take a peek at this book. The truth is out there and the public deserves to know!
Rating: 5 / 5