– Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History The future of our civilization may depend on it." Given the state of the world today, in which scientifically under-informed voters elect scientifically illiterate politicians, Professor David Helfand has written the right book at the right time with the right message. " A Survival Guide for the Misinformation Age is an impassioned plea for science literacy. Craig Wheeler, The University of Texas at Austin Helfand's wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, humorously cynical intellect comes through at every turn." " A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age is a no-holds-barred paean to the scientific mode of thinking. The Triumph of Misinformation The Peril of IgnoranceĪppendix: Practicing Scientific Habits of Mind Applying Scientific Habits of Mind to Earth's Futureġ2. Correlation, Causation, Confusion and Clarityġ0. Introduction: Information, Misinformation, and Our Planet's FutureĤ. Helfand has taught scientific habits of mind to generations of Columbia University undergraduates, where he continues to wage a provocative and necessary battle against sloppy thinking and the encroachment of misinformation. Who says it has to be dull to learn to think like a scientist? Who says only a few can do it? Not David Helfand, one of our nation's leading astronomers and science educators. We fear numbers and prefer neat and simple solutions to complex problems, but scientific reasoning plays a central role in combating misinformation and is one of our best tools for meeting the upcoming crises of our century.įrom confronting our fear of quantitative reasoning and demystifying graphs to elucidating the key concepts of probability and data analysis and the use of precise language and logic, A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age supplies an essential set of apps for the frontal cortex while making science both accessible and entertaining. But as we endeavor to solve global problems of energy, food, and water shortages, a planetary biodiversity crisis, and emerging threats to our public health, the development of scientific habits of mind becomes even more essential for our survival. We seek simple explanations where complexity is required. We all swim in a sea of Big Data, dangerously vulnerable to the unscientific thinking that now replaces the critical faculties we used to rely on.
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