Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A brilliant defense of the scientific worldview, 1 Jul 1999
By A Customer
Norman Levitt's name will be familiar to anyone following the so-called "Science Wars." It was, after all, his (and coauthor Paul Gross') earlier book, "Higher Superstition," that sparked the most recent slew of battles in this war, and inspired Alan Sokal to write his notorious hoax article for Social Text. For those who appreciated Sokal's own recent book, "Fashionable Nonsense," but found the pacing a bit sluggish, rest assured: Levitt is a better writer than Sokal, and even wittier. Also, with only a single author, this book is more focused than other recent volumes on the topic, such as Koertge's "A House Built on Sand." Levitt is not afraid to tread on sensitive toes: already in the Introduction, he's put forward his compelling case that nonscientists are almost humorously unqualified to pass judgment on the validity and veracity of the conclusions drawn by mainstream, traditional, objective scientific programs. If you still think, despite all you've heard and read, that all scientific conclusions are socially conditioned, why not give this volume a spin and try to rebut Levitt's arguments.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A brilliant defense of the scientific worldview, 1 Jul 1999
By A Customer
Norman Levitt's name will be familiar to anyone following the so-called "Science Wars." It was, after all, his (and coauthor Paul Gross') earlier book, "Higher Superstition," that sparked the most recent slew of battles in this war, and inspired Alan Sokal to write his notorious hoax article for Social Text. For those who appreciated Sokal's own recent book, "Fashionable Nonsense," but found the pacing a bit sluggish, rest assured: Levitt is a better writer than Sokal, and even wittier. Also, with only a single author, this book is more focused than other recent volumes on the topic, such as Koertge's "A House Built on Sand." Levitt is not afraid to tread on sensitive toes: already in the Introduction, he's put forward his compelling case that nonscientists are almost humorously unqualified to pass judgment on the validity and veracity of the conclusions drawn by mainstream, traditional, objective scientific programs. If you still think, despite all you've heard and read, that all scientific conclusions are socially conditioned, why not give this volume a spin and try to rebut Levitt's arguments.
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