A survival guide to the misinformation age : scientific habits of mind / David J. Helfand.

  • Helfand, D. J. (David J.), 1950-
Date:
[2016]
  • Books

About this work

Description

"This book provides an inoculation against the misinformation epidemic by cultivating scientific habits of mind. From dissolving our fear of numbers and demystifying graphs, to elucidating the key concepts of probability and the use of precise language and logic, Helfand supplies an essential set of apps for the pre-frontal cortex while making science both accessible and entertaining."--Publisher marketing.

Publication/Creation

New York : Columbia University Press, [2016]

Physical description

xii, 325 pages : black and white illustrations ; 24 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Information, misinformation, and our planet's future -- A walk in the park -- What is science? -- A sense of scale -- Interlude 1. Numbers -- Discoveries on the back of an envelope -- Insights in lines and dots -- Interlude 2. Logic and language -- Expecting the improbable -- Lies, damned lies, and statistics -- Correlation, causation ... confusion and clarity -- Definitional features of science -- Applying scientific habits of mind to Earth's future -- What isn't science -- The triumph of misinformation, the perils of ignorance -- The unfinished cathedral -- Appendix. Practicing scientific habits of mind.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    AB.AN
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9780231168724
  • 0231168721