Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science [Hardcover]

A. K. Dewdney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471108065 | ISBN-13: 978-0471108061 | Publication Date: March 18, 1997 | Edition: 1

An entertaining and irreverent expose of science gone wrong
In his critically acclaimed success 200% of Nothing, A.K. Dewdney revealed the alarming shenanigans of those who use "bad math" to deceive us. Now he turns his sharp-witted eye on the practitioners of "bad science" and offers an equally amusing and informative tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing mistakes scientists make. Dewdney profiles eight notorious cases of bad science, revealing fundamental errors from the subtle to the ridiculous, including claims hailing from major research centers backed by millions of dollars of funding. We learn the inside scoop about the infamous fusion fiasco, scrutinize the strange saga of the media-hyped Biosphere, probe the appealing but flawed logic of the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence, and much more.
Written in Dewdney's trademark humorous style and full of intriguing and eye-opening facts and figures
A.K. DEWDNEY (London, Ontario) is the author of 200% of Nothing (Wiley) as well as past author of the popular "Mathematical Recreations" column in Scientific American.
An Eye-Opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science A.K. Dewdney.
"We need more books like this-especially if they're this much fun to read."-Wired.
"Written with wit and a touch of pathos-and sure to please science lovers."-Scientific American.
A deliciously irreverent expose of science gone wrong.
In his critically acclaimed book 200% of Nothing, A.K. Dewdney revealed the absurd shenanigans of those who use "bad math" to deceive us. Now he focuses his mercilessly comic perspective on the practitioners of "bad science" and offers an equally entertaining and informative tour of eight notorious cases of bad science, ranging from the subtle (the infamous cold fusion fiasco) to the ridiculous (the case of the phantom "N-rays").
A.K. Dewdney (London, Ontario) is the author of A Mathematical Mystery Tour, 200% of Nothing (both from Wiley), The Armchair Universe, and The Planiverse. He is the former Mathematical Recreations columnist for Scientific American.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Cold fusion" has become an oft-used synonym for science gone wrong, but as A. K. Dewdney colorfully explains in Yes, We Have No Neutrons, that bad science has a long and (un)distinguished history. Predicating his discussion on Langmuir's "Laws of Bad Science," which describe common characteristics of dubious scientific claims, Dewdney recounts such classic scientific blunders as the "discovery" of N-rays by Rene Blondlot, psychoanalysis as practiced by Sigmund Freud, and even the ill-fated Biosphere 2 experiment. (Yes, cold fusion is there too.) Dewdney's book will sharpen the mental razor of anyone who hopes to separate legitimate claims from bunk.

From School Library Journal

YA?Eight entertaining vignettes that illustrate how science can go awry when researchers become convinced of the truth before all the results are in and the analysis completed. Examples come from 20th-century research in a variety of areas including biology, physics, astronomy, psychology, and sociology. Case studies include the 1989 announcement by two scientists that they had achieved cold fusion in a simple contraption and the highly touted, but flawed, Biosphere. The book is easy reading even for those with no technical background. The sections can be read at random, and there's enough continuity for readers to place each segment into the context of the larger theme.?Greg Matthes, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471108065
• ISBN-13: 978-0471108061
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,097,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for some, April 25, 2000

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Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science (Hardcover)

The clever title refers to the cold fusion delusion of 1989. Dewdney also takes apart the Biosphere 2 experiment in Arizona in 1991 where the roaches prospered while the people lost a lot of weight and would never have made it without some artificial help from a CO2 "scrubber." Freud, SETI, The Bell Curve believers and neural nets also come under attack as unscientific.

Well, Freud shouldn't even be suspected of being "scientific." In France Freud is read as literature, as is only right. And to attack SETI! Sure it's a long shot, probably a VERY long shot, but what else do we have to do that could possibly reveal anything near as interesting should it succeed? Shame on you, Dewdney. Otherwise, I tend to agree with him, especially about Biosphere 2 which ought to be done again with people who have something close to a clue as to the sort of Herculean dedication and commitment necessary. And bravo for going after the not-too-bright proponents of the antiquated notion of IQ, who think they can define "intelligence," but haven't the foggiest understanding of the real question, "Intelligence for what?" even if they could define it.

In other words, this is a fun book if your ox is not being gored.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of bad science, using famous examples, August 13, 2004

By 

John A. Dodds (Ann Arbor, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science (Paperback)

This book takes a look at a number of famous and sometimes influential examples of bad scientific thinking. This book actually made me slightly more sympathetic towards Pons and Fleischmann, as it turns out that their precipitous announcement of cold fusion wasn't entirely driven by their impatience; their university bosses were guilty of pushing pretty hard, too; the book takes you through the whole tale quickly, yet comprehensively. The book also covers the Biosphere 2 story (in all its wackiness) very well in a minimum number of pages. Dewdney explains how these projects deviated from good scientific practice to lead them into disaster.

Some other reviewers complain that Dewdney was unfair to the SETI folks; I think he simply was trying to explain that their project--searching for extraterrestial signals--is not really scientific in that it can never be proven wrong. If you don't find any, you just keep searching, using different methods. He might have compared it to exploration rather than to science, since SETI researchers are "exploring" the universe by way of looking for patterns in electromagnetic energy (rather than by spaceship).

Dewdney also takes apart the silliness that is Freud and the concept of IQ, both of which, unfortunately, took hold with vast numbers of people to this day. Dewdney talks about how the IQ might be a measure of SOMETHING, but if we can't define "intelligence" consistently to begin with, it is at the very least a misnamed measurement that has been widely abused. Dewdney adds that IQ is a good example of the situation where many mathematical equations are often recruited to the cause of bad science; apparently, some researchers think that the more equations you publish in a paper, the more likely the concept will be accepted!

Overall, this is a fast read that will give the reader a few good examples of how science can go off the rails.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly worthwhile with a few shortcomings; overpriced, January 17, 1998

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Scott White (Ontario, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Yes, We Have No Neutrons: An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science (Hardcover)

Dewdney begins with a lively high-school level explanation of the scientific method, and characterizes bumbling scientists as akin to Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice in Disney's Fantasia (while good scientists are contrasted as true sorcerers). This unfortunate metaphor persists throughout the book. He lambasts bad physics (cold fusion), bad social science (IQ testing, Freudian psychology, and "The Bell Curve"), and bad environmental science (Biosphere 2 -- or was this only bad public relations completely lacking in scientific credentials?). There also is a chapter on bad information theory (neural networks), but I lost interest before finishing it. The well-deserved criticisms of IQ and Freud were especially worthwhile, since both get far too little of it. I was unhappy with his inclusion of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Dewdney seems to miss the point that some science, like the work of the great 19th century naturalists, is purely descriptive and is not hypothesis-driven. His objections to SETI are based in his own funding priorities rather than scientific criticism. A worthwhile recreational read, also appropriate for young readers (e.g., as an introduction to scientific method), but awfully slim for the price.