Arthur W. WigginsCritiques

An overview of physics, with short biographies, a bit of history, and experiments.... It would make a great textbook for a high school or college freshman physics class.

A waste of time and paper. It's not that the subject is uninteresting it's that this poorly written and edited book adds nothing to the body of work on these various scientists that is already out there. There are little parenthetical asides, some meant to be humorous and some merely reminders, which should either have been omitted or replaced with a footnote. Most of the illustrations are from Wikimedia commons and are attributed, not to the original source, but to the Wikipedia contributor who posted them. This is not an illuminating practice, and requires some justification, which I did not find in the book. A picture of Neil de Grasse Tyson has simply gone missing from the final text.

The "in 90 minutes" books are not all that good, but they would be a much better choice than this book.½

Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" draws the line between what is good science and what isn't even really science at all. The basis for the book begins with the examination of the five most widely believed pseudoscientific ideas: UFOs, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP These ideas are reviewed in detail to see just how well they stand up to scientific scrutiny. Cleverly illustrated with cartoons by the renowned Sidney Harris, "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" is both wonderful fun as well as illuminating science. Although many science topics can seem mysterious, especially when you really get into the details, in the long run its methods and ideas are remarkably straightforward. "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" takes this methodical approach to dissect the worst in the field. Tremendously witty, disarmingly fun, this is a book for anyone-especially for those folks who check their horoscope everyday.

A thoroughly enjoyable look at the intersection of science and nonsense, with cartoons to boot.½

Reviewed June 2001

Very good reference book on pseudoscience, quite a bit is covered here. I enjoyed the section on the scientific method and all the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The cartoons by Sidney Harris were usually enjoyable. I did find the lack of references annoying, as I would like to see where the authors got their information directly. The story on Bridey Murphy is great. I've always wondered about it, but where are the footnotes. Because of the generalist nature of the book, it was quite easy to read, chapters are short. I found the glossary very useful. The author tells us in the prologue that "3 groups of people will read this book...people already acquainted with the phenomena and already in disagreement with our conclusions." I really doubt that "believers" are going to read this book - even if given to them by a friend. It's just beyond their grasp. 2008 Note: I have met Charlie Wynn many times and this year I mean to get this book autographed at TAM or the Toolbox.

13-2001

Massiveness of some but not all elementary particles, chemical origin of life, the proteome, long-range weather forecasting, accelerating expansion of the universe. Another valiant attempt to turn young people and other nonscientists on to reality.

Pseudoscience > Popular works/Science > Methodology > Popular works