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Amazing...but False!: Hundreds of Facts You Thought Were True, But Aren't
 
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Amazing...but False!: Hundreds of Facts You Thought Were True, But Aren't (Paperback)

by David Diefendorf (Author)
2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Amazing...but False!: Hundreds of Facts You Thought Were True, But Aren't + Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time + Bad Science
Price For All Three: £22.03

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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Sterling (1 Feb 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1402737912
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402737916
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 19 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 339,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #39 in  Books > Reference > Fun Facts & Trivia > Amazing Facts

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Product Description

Product Description
Edison invented the lightbulb - and motion pictures. Camels store water in their humps. Captain Kidd was a notorious pirate. What do these so-called facts have in common? Theyre all false! Every one is a myth that, through time, has achieved the status of reality. Finally, someone is here to set the record straight, once and for all. In this fully illustrated colour collection of popular misconceptions, freelance writer and journalist David Diefendorf uncovers hundreds of widely accepted truths in various categories: famous firsts, health and the body, history, misquotations and misusages, people, religion, science and technology, and more. Its fun and informative, and a great gift for any brainiac, trivia buff, or know-it-all. James Randi, the internationally-known debunker of pseudoscience and a brilliant magician, provides the entertaining foreword.

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2.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Cool for kids, I guess..., 11 Feb 2009
I like to see myths busted, and I LOVED "The Skeptic's Dictionary" which I hope you will find elsewhere at Amazon.

So I bought this book, and expected to learn lots of new stuff. Alas, I found that the book promised too much - many of the myths busted here lost their credibility long ago, so a lot of the book was old news to me.

On the other hand - the growing generation may NOT know the stuff here, and it is certainly VERY WELL PRESENTED in full colour pages, good writing, all in all a VERY ACCESSIBLE book. Some "adult content" (text, not pictures) indicates that this is not for the pre-teens, but I would recommend it to teens and anybody looking for a scientific approach to small and large questions you may have wondered about. Entry-level skepticism, and way more healthy and nutritious than the flood of fast-food new-age mumbojumbo X-files rubbish too many feed on.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Poor, 19 May 2009
I bought this book because I am fond of critical thinking and I love seeing silly sensationalist myths debunked. However, this book has some major shortcomings. Firstly, despite an introduction from the acclaimed Mr. Randi, the quality of arguments in the book is generally very poor. They lack any substantial depth and precision of thought.

In addition, none of the myth busting contain any reputable references (scientific journals etc). For example when he counter argues claims such as suicide increasing at christmas by saying that studies show that there is no increase in suicide during the Christmas period, he doesn't state what and who did these studies. It doesn't matter if he's correct, it's just a bit annoying having a so called myth buster use sloppy methodology. Afterall, it's sloppy methodology which aids and profilerates the manifestion of myths in the first place!

Another shortcoming is that many of the myths and incorrect facts he details in the book are already common knowledge - unless you're 9 or have been living with your head in the sand for quite a while. For example: "zero gravity in space" and "the dark side of the moon is always always dark" - in fairness most people would know the aforementioned are just boulderdash.

These shortcomings beg the obvious question, just who is the intended audience of this book? It has nice glossy, colourful presentation but the intellectual content is practically non-existent. Okay, I'm being harsh if its aimed at kids but then it should just be made a bit more obvious. The super hero font on the cover is perhaps a give away but such things aren't always obvious when you're buying online and besides shouldn't we not be judging books by the cover in this day and age :-) !
The introduction and thumbs up from Mr. Randi as declared on the front cover, certainly fooled me there might be some stimulating and intellectual content in this book, but there just wasn't. The only place I can imagine it being where adults frequent is a Dentist's waiting room. Sorry.
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