Science: Good, Bad, and Bogus (Paperback)

by Martin Gardner (Author) "The creation of dianetics is a milestone for man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and arch..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Uri Geller, Martin Gardner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, you will come away having learnt something from this book...I suspect because it is such a definitive book and other publishers still put out books about such 'discoveries' that there hasn't been a follow-up so this makes this book an important read. SFCrowsnest, February 2008

Product Description
In this lively collection, Gardner examines the rich and hilarious variety of pseudoscientific conjectures that dominate the media today. With a special emphasis on parapsychology and occultism, these witty pieces address the evidence put forth to support claims of ESP, psychokinesis, faith healing, and other pseudoscience.

Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (March 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879755733
• ISBN-13: 978-0879755737
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,284 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for the sceptical worldview, May 6, 2000

By	Mike Christie (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gardner has never pulled his punches when it comes to claims of ESP, paranormal abilities, spoon-bending and the like. This book collects 38 pieces he wrote over thirty years, half book reviews and half articles. All of them attack, and in most cases dismember, pseudoscience and its claims.

The book reviews are acid and make interesting reading, but the articles are the meat of the book, because here is where Gardner assembles fully coherent arguments not just to demolish a foolish book, but to show in detail how someone like Uri Geller fools people. It becomes abundantly clear as you read this book that any competent magician (Gardner is one) can duplicate any of the feats of ESP or spoon-bending cited. It's sad, but not surprising, that this never makes the headlines the way Geller's original claims did back in the seventies.

In addition to pieces on modern figures, some less well-known than Geller, Gardner also writes about figures such as Conan Doyle, who was a passionate believer in spiritualism; and Freud, who had a long and very close friendship with a numerologist. There is a short piece on Einstein, who is often cited by parapsychologists as an establishment figure who nevertheless believed in ESP. Gardner comprehensively demolishes the basis for this citation, quoting letters from Einstein showing that he had no such belief, and was in fact very sceptical.

The only reason I haven't given the book five stars is that its very nature as an anthology prevents it from really achieving coherence. It's an excellent addition to the sceptic's armoury, though, and I strongly recommend it, along with another of Gardner's along similar lines: "Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The simple, effective arguments against pseudoscience, December 5, 2003

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I first read this book almost twenty years ago and even though some of the events and principals have faded into oblivion, the basic theme has not. While there are some negative consequences of science, in many ways they are secondary to the enormous benefits. The number of ways in which the scientific approach has benefited our lives are clearly too numerous to mention. And yet, there are those who, largely for personal gain, choose to ignore it when it is advantageous to do so. When that advantage is financial, we can at least understand them, even while we consider them despicable. The saddest of all are the ignorant masses who fall victim to the nonsense that the charlatans dispense.
In this book, Gardner primarily takes on the purveyors of pseudoscientific nonsense rather than the followers, debunking ESP, UFOs and other views that fly in the face of mountains of scientific data that has been painstakingly accumulated and repeatedly verified. There are simple, effective counter arguments against most of the areas of pseudoscience, and Gardner quite effectively makes them, at times properly separating the arguments when they need to be separated. For example, the idea of life after death and mediums communicating with the dead are two separate issues. One can expose the false medium without proving that there is no life after death. It would be so simple for any departed spirit to send a special message that would be conclusive proof that they were alive, and yet no medium has ever managed to do it. The best that is offered is a general "all is good here" style of drivel, which means nothing.
My favorites in these stories are always those that invoke the giant conspiracy explanation of events. Especially hilarious are the proponents of UFOs who firmly believe that the U.S. government has conspired for over fifty years to hide information about crashed alien space ships. I am the first to admit that governments lie to the people, but to believe that such a secret could be kept for so long is ridiculous.
The entire scientific world owes a debt to Martin Gardner for his courage in taking on those who are either very gullible or who are willing to prey on the gullible, all in the name of pseudoscience. To me, the wonders of science dwarf the petty "accomplishments" of the crackpots and sleazeballs he writes about in this book. Much of it is human nature at its' worst.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, curious collection, July 10, 2005

By	Frank Laker (Red Bank, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Gardner, in his usual fine style, tackles biorhythms, ESP, quantum theory, black holes, faith healing, and much more. The collection also includes letters from readers and the author's replies, which make the book especially intriguing. A large collection of fascinating topics.