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

by A. K. Dewdney (Author) "The year 1895 was a momentous one for Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, a fifty-one-year-old physicist at the University of Wurzburg in Germany..." (more)
Key Phrases: fusion genie, synaptic weights, cold fusion, University of Utah, Brigham Young, Synergia Ranch (more...)

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.com Sales Rank: #2,021,163 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for some, April 26, 2000

By	Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly good, but some confusions, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

Mr. Dewdney confuses diffeent catagories of scientific theory. He in on the mark when he talks about N-rays and cold fusion as examples of bad science. But with IQ tests, psychoanlaysis and SETI the situation is much murkier. These fields are still controverial and it is questionable as to what degree they are "bad science" if at all.

In regard to SETI (The search for extraterrestrial intelligence) he says that it is a non-falsifieable hypothesis that there is "extraterrestrial intelligence" and as such is (I presume according to Popper) not science. This is wrong on two counts: 1) The SETI scientists do not assert that there is extraterrestrial intelligence, only that there may be. Since there may be, or may not be, it may be valid to search for it, and 2) Even if they asserted that there was extraterrestrial intelligence, it is not non-falsifiable. To assert that there is extraterrestrial intelligence is to assert that it is not the case that there is not extraterrestrial intelligence. Actually receiving an intelligent signal from space would falsify that hypothesis.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, August 17, 1997

By A Customer

This book might have been an interesting debunking of bad science, but Mr. Dewdney conducts his examination in the true spirit of the Inquisition: he is less interested in finding the truth than he is in watching the accused burn. The result is singularly unsatisfying, as the reader wades through pages of Mr. Dewdnet not debunking bad science, but simply deriding it and righteously thumbing his nose at it. The experience is rather like watching someone shoot fish in a barrel--except that he's armed only with a squirt gun. Readers looking for an intellectually careful exploration of the issues here will be disappointed