- Paperback: 360 pages
- Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (Dec 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192860771
- ISBN-13: 978-0192860774
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,202,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Roving Mind
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Product Description
Review
"The collection is very readable and thus is accessible to a wide audience of non-scientists as well as scientists. Both adults and young people should find it interesting." -- The Physics Teacher "... Asimov's best include pieces detailing the present mysteries of solar astronomy, removing the mythology of cloning (backyard gardners do it all the time), and pointing out deficiencies in the supposed chemistry expertise of Sherlock Holmes." -- Nature
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
A collection of essays on many facets of modern science and scientific thought.
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6 reviews
65 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Slightly outdated, but insightful thoughts and crisp prose
2 May 1999
Format:Paperback
The late Dr. Asimov's clear wit and wisdom is taken to bear here on fools and the future. He begins by excoriating "Religious Radicals," in harsh liberal prose that seems rather outdated today. (For instance, there is a chapter called "The Reagan Doctrine" that pokes fun at tactics Ronald Reagan used in battling the Soviet empire.) Other chapters are also dated, including several chapters on environmental predictions that are informed by distinctly Malthusian notions of supply shortages. (To wit, "And in the mad scramble for food on your part and on the part of billions of others, the people of eath will further damage the world they live in and will begin to fight each other over scraps.") Still, Asimov writes lucidly on science in a number of historical and opinion pieces, which are carefully reasoned. Five essays at the book's end give perspective to the late thinker's personal life, and a number of inserted memorials (new to this edition) from other prominent scientists and science fiction authors really round out a book that shows Asimov's incomparable breadth of interest. The "Roving Mind" of the title is Asimov's own intellect; any thoughtful reader will find his own mind broadened for having read it.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
The definitive antidote for pseudoscience
30 Jun 2005
Format:Paperback
No intelligent person needs to be told (surely?) that Isaac Asimov's name on a book is a guarantee of excellence. And most are aware that Asimov's science essays (62 in this collection) cover the multitude and variety of subjects that Robert Heinlein had in mind when he coined the word "synthesist." So instead of trying to gild fine gold or paint the lily, I will simply reproduce Asimov's words on three of the issues he discusses.
On religious doublethink: "If there is an earthquake and a thousand people die, and one person is uncovered in a ruined house, unhurt, the Moral Majority types cry, 'A miracle!' and fall to their knees in gratitude. And the thousand who died, whose deaths, indeed, were necessary to convert the one surviver into a miracle, what of them?"
On overpopulation: "Motherhood is a privilege that we must literally ration, for children, if produced indiscriminately, will be the death of the human race; and any woman who deliberately has more than two children is committing a crime against humanity."
On skepticism: "I believe evidence. I believe observation, measurement and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild or ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be."
Other topics to which Asimov devotes essays include resurrected gods, creationism's demand to be taught in public schools, argument from consensus, scientific illiteracy in politics, sexual equality, pollution, and hyperspace ("There is no evidence for its existence").
Want to encourage your offspring to pursue a career in science? Buy them this book.
(see my unabridged review in A Humanist in the Bible Belt.)
On religious doublethink: "If there is an earthquake and a thousand people die, and one person is uncovered in a ruined house, unhurt, the Moral Majority types cry, 'A miracle!' and fall to their knees in gratitude. And the thousand who died, whose deaths, indeed, were necessary to convert the one surviver into a miracle, what of them?"
On overpopulation: "Motherhood is a privilege that we must literally ration, for children, if produced indiscriminately, will be the death of the human race; and any woman who deliberately has more than two children is committing a crime against humanity."
On skepticism: "I believe evidence. I believe observation, measurement and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild or ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be."
Other topics to which Asimov devotes essays include resurrected gods, creationism's demand to be taught in public schools, argument from consensus, scientific illiteracy in politics, sexual equality, pollution, and hyperspace ("There is no evidence for its existence").
Want to encourage your offspring to pursue a career in science? Buy them this book.
(see my unabridged review in A Humanist in the Bible Belt.)
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Worth the purchase
19 July 2006
Format:Paperback
I highly recommend this book, and I'm a cop. Which basically means I'm not that bright, and even I could comprehend this book.
Asimov is easy to read and understand. He takes complicated issues, and simplifies them. He possess a brilliant mind, and views the world from a different perspective than most other humans. As I read this collection of essays, I found myself time and time again saying, "that's so true, why didn't I think of that". It's an enlightening book, a good read, and it's cheap.
I highly recommend it.
Asimov is easy to read and understand. He takes complicated issues, and simplifies them. He possess a brilliant mind, and views the world from a different perspective than most other humans. As I read this collection of essays, I found myself time and time again saying, "that's so true, why didn't I think of that". It's an enlightening book, a good read, and it's cheap.
I highly recommend it.
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