Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction : Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins [Paperback]

Charles M. Wynn (Author), Arthur W. Wiggins (Author), With Cartoons by Sidney Harris (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2001

Astrology...poltergeists and ghosts...firewalking...spontaneous human combustion...psychic surgery...ESP. This is the stuff of tabloid headlines. Sure, many people find them laughable, but consider that these papers are all staying in business because people are buying them-and often believing in their outrageous stories, even labeling it all science. The fact is that not all "science" is created equally. Indeed, some "science" isn't science at all but is really downright bogus-in other words, pseudoscience. However, separating the wheat from the chaff might not be as easy as you think when you consider how many people are seduced by the headlines that surround them in the supermarket line. UFOs and creationism certainly have their advocates among intelligent and educated people. Sometimes, though, wrongly held beliefs can get you into real trouble. Consider the proclamation by Marshall Applewhite: "Planet Earth about to be recycled. Your chance to survive-leave with us."In April 1997, 39 people-believing just that-committed suicide in their communal home in Rancho Sante Fe, California. They hoped to shed their earthly "containers" and be whisked away by extraterrestrials to a spaceship and, ultimately, a higher level of existence. Unfortunately, their tragically misguided belief in the pseudoscientific claim of Marshall Applewhite cost them their lives. "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" takes us on a tour of the most notorious instances of pseudoscience and sets the record straight. To clearly demonstrate what is wrong with this brand of ersatz science, the authors look closely at what's right about real science, and then compare the true scientific approach with that of pseudoscience. Readers learn that science's most basic value is that all ideas about reality are subject to testing by experiment and challenge by critical, rational thought.Scientifically literate thinkers accept ideas tentatively. They base their acceptance on evidence rather than on authority. People who are not scientifically literate are more likely to accept ideas absolutely. They are more vulnerable to deficient or phony ideas. "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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this lightweight little book, Wynn, a professor of chemistry, and Wiggins, a professor of physics, follow up their Five Biggest Ideas in Science with what might be called The Five Biggest Ideas in Pseudoscience: UFOs and aliens, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP. Into this mix they throw every suspect (usually money-making) pseudoscience they can think of. Their inclusion of graphology might be questioned, since it has long held a higher reputation in Europe than in the U.S., and the matter of Holocaust deniers is better dealt with elsewhere. The chapter on creationism is unlikely to change the opinions of many believers, and an ill-considered section on life after death may cause some readers to set the book aside. Angels fear to tread into discussions of the immortality of the soul, and these authors should have too. Wynn and Wiggins apparently were aiming for a serious discussion leavened with humor, but their approach seems incoherent. Sidney Harris, well known for his work in the New Yorker, has contributed cartoons, but they are rather hit-and-miss and just add to the uneven tone of the book. The authors make some interesting points (Noah's ark, if built to the dimensions given in the Bible, wouldn't have been seaworthy), but it's doubtful that readers who believe in astrology, ESP or UFOs will pick this book up to begin with, let alone be convinced by the authors' arguments. (June 5)Forecast: It won't be long before this title takes a quantum leap into the remainder bins.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...succinct and jargon-free style... The strength of this book resides in such sparkling prose." -- Journal of the American Medical Association, April 3, 2002

"...worthy and well-meaning...readable and likeable..." -- THE SKEPTIC MAGAZINE, 2001

"Peppered with humorous cartoons of Sidney Harris...offers valuable tips for anyone pondering the shaky claims of bogus science." -- Stacey's Booksellers, Staff Review, November 2001

"Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction is a very approachable book on pseudoscientific subjects." -- Alberta Skeptics

"This is non-technical but very good. Unfortunately most Americans will be off reading pseudoscience trash rather than this." -- Leptonic's

"an excellent primer on Science and Pseudoscience, complete with a set of straightforward techniques for telling the difference between them." -- New England Skeptical Society, July 2001

...the public has much to gain from the authors' contrast between the nature of scientific evidence and the stories of pseudoscience that fill the media. -- Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft, National Science Teachers Association President 2000-2001

Here we have, in their book, a clearer look at the misconceptions and outright deceptions that plague us. Lots of sunlight, and a dash of disinfectant! -- James Randi, aka The Amazing Randi

Quantum Leaps is one of a far too small cluster of rational books that responds to 'voodoo science' issues such as UFO's, astrology, and other such nonsense. -- Leon M. Lederman, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics

This book is an enjoyable and informative primer...with wonderful cartoons by Sidney Harris that complement the text. -- Lawrence M. Krauss, author of Atom: An Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth...and Beyond

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030907309X
• ISBN-13: 978-0309073097
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Science/Pseudoscience Primer, June 1, 2001

By 

Jon Blumenfeld (Norwalk, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction : Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins (Paperback)

The real value of this book is in the first three chapters, which contain a simple yet powerful description of how science works, and why pseudoscience is, well, pseudoscience. The remainder of the book covers a variety of pseudosciences grouped into five major categories. While detail is a bit thin on the individual entries, the authors do an excellent job of showing why pseudoscientific hypotheses fall down in the face of science. Hard-core skeptics will find nothing new in the pseudoscience sections, but it's always valuable to have so much information in one place to use as a handy reference. The cartoons by Sidney Harris add humor and include some classics - don't be surprised if you find yourself thumbing through the book just to find the next cartoon. This book could easily be used as the basis for a course on Science and Pseudoscience.

A few words about the 'Editorial Review' above - It's clear the reviewer needs to read the book again, because he or she completely missed the point. The reviewer ignores the excellent initial chapters on the nature of science, and then makes a series of gaffes. The fact that Graphology has a better reputation in Europe than in the US doesn't make it any less pseudoscientific. The truth is not a popularity contest. Similarly, the fact that true believers in creationism won't be converted doesn't matter. Converting true believers isn't the point - providing information to those who haven't made up their minds yet is far more important. Holocaust denial is an excellent example of a pseudoscience that doesn't fit the standard 'debunking the UFOs' model of skepticism, and shows how to apply the techniques of critical thinking more generally. Finally, anyone offended by the chapters on near death experiences and life after death hasn't done a good job of reading them. The question is about science and how it works - theology is left untouched. The point is to show that NDE's aren't good, scientific evidence of anything mystical. If you make a scientific claim, you'd better be ready for scrutiny of that claim. Belief in souls is either a question of faith, and so outside the purview of science, or it's a scientific question open to review like any other. You can't say it's scientific when there's evidence you want to use in favor, but then make scrutiny off limits because you're squeamish about violating religious dogma.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Needs to be read by those vulnerable to the nonsense., December 29, 2001

By 

Timothy P. Scanlon (Hyattsville, MDUSA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction : Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins (Paperback)

When we're younger, and think we have the whole world figured out, we look for patterns while also looking for a means to be different. What we are too often led to is the subject matter of this book.

The authors cover a whole series of fads and pseudosciences by which we're frequently insulted, e.g., astrology, tarot cards and I Ching, and a host of others. The subjects are handled with a bit of wit, but not the cutesy angle of the "idiots guide to..." books.

I'm pretty well read on skeptical literature so for me there was little new. However, the silly fads covered in the book are often considered far more acceptable than critical analysis or thinking. Therefore, the book should be assigned to maybe high school seniors or college freshmen, those inclined to fall into such traps, i.e., into believing such nonsense. At least, then, when they get through their post adolescent turmoil, they'll have had a direction, a reference to put the foolishness in perspective. I'm not so naive to think that young people won't pass through such fads--most of us did at one point or another in our lives. But, again, seeds will be planted when most mature to a more complicated world in which we rely on evidence to come to conclusions.

And they DO cover what constitutes a scientific examinination of something, i.e., a contrast to the "intuitive," testimonial or anecdote-based, or merely "faith" angle they're trying to refute. That is a valuable contribution to the seed for future critical thinking.

The book does, however, have its weaknesses. One petty one, for instance is that the authors referred to the Greek gods for whom the planets are names. I believe their named for ROMAN gods (the biggest, gas giant, for example, being Jupiter, not Zeus). And, in retrospect, I wish they'd covered some of the trendy "therapies" which are draining the pockets of many, who, after these functionless raps still think for some reason that they're morally superior to the rest of us. But I suppose they make up a different genre of the stuff of which we need to be wisely informed.

The book is a fine primer for those thus far ill-informed of its subject matter. As such, that's not a criticism but a perspective. It's a wonderful, step-by-step primer for those new to skepticism, e.g., young people experimenting with it or their parents trying to reason their kids off of astrology kicks and so forth. But I wouldn't recommend it to those who've read far more sophisticated stuff on the subjects already.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quantum leap in the right direction!, December 5, 2006

By 

Steve Reina (Troy Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction : Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins (Paperback)

This small 189 page book is a great read and an excellent introduction to both science and critical thinking.

After introducing information about how the scientific method works, the authors proceed to describe various paranormal phenomonon with an eye towards what science says about:

-- Visits by ET (science hasn't authenticated any but it sure is trying);

-- Past life regression (invariably a trick of faulty memory or purposeful deception);

-- ESP and related phenomenon (more the provence of a magician's trickery than anything else);

-- Creationism vs. evolution (render to science its legitimate purview and to faith its legitimate purview); as well as other interesting issues like

-- The Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot and crop circles (all confessed to be purposeful falsifications for which there's been no reliable evidence).

As can be seen the issues are without exception interesting stuff and a great way to show lay people the scientific method in operation.

Highly recommended!