philosophy-of-science - Book Reviews

Rationality: From AI to Zombies

Internet rationality celebrity Eliezer Yudkowsky drags us through an epic logical journey to the land of the "Bayesian Conspiracy" and the idea that real rationality is about "winning."

3-stars

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

When I picked up Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark", I wasn't expecting such a thorough treatment of alien abduction claims! This book is Sagan's plea for our society to adopt a more scientific perspective as we confront both personal and global

4-stars

Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science

This is the hardest I've laughed for any book in my 2017 reading theme. "Higher Superstition" is a wickedly perceptive takedown of the absurdities of the "academic postmodern left" and their "perspectivist" critique of science. Gross and Levitt defend the epistemological integrity of science

3-stars

Making "Nature": The History of a Scientific Journal

"Making 'Nature'" feels like half the book it could have been. Rather than settling for a rather dry exposition of the journal's history, Baldwin attempts to enliven the narrative by exploring some of Nature's biggest controversies. Yet her effort falls short because she is unwilling to take a

4-stars

Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

"The scientific method is the most reliable way of discovering the truth." That's how I responded when a friend recently challenged me to state my core beliefs. As I ranted about Popper on "falsifiability" and our conversation descended into the depths of definitional disputes, I realized

2017-focus

Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

"Bad Science" angered me more than any book I've read in the last few years. Dr. Goldacre lays bare the tactics used by people committing the worst crime I can think of - deliberate falsification and misrepresentation of scientific data. I get so worked up about this because:

5-stars

The Hunt for Vulcan: And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe

In "The Hunt for Vulcan", the head of MIT's writing program takes us on a fast-paced tour through some of the biggest controversies and discoveries in astronomy and physics. Throughout this short and thoroughly enjoyable book, Levenson weaves together explanations of complex science with their historical context in

2-stars

The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax: And Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language

"The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax" is a compilation of tongue-in-cheek essays written by linguist Geoffrey Pullum that were published in the journal Natural Language and Linguistic Theory in the 1980's. I was loaned this book by a friend when I started talking about the information content of non-verbal

science

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

"The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" is a difficult, dense read that requires a fairly broad familiarity with the history of science. Often overly professorial in tone and frequently repetitive, the book is a tough slog. Yet this book is one of the cornerstones of the field of the