Nonsense on Stilts
How to Tell Science from Bunk
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Nonsense on Stilts
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Narrated by:
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Jay Russell
About this listen
Recent polls suggest that fewer than 40 per cent of Americans believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, despite it being one of science's best-established findings. More and more parents are refusing to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link has been consistently disproved. And about 40 per cent of Americans believe that the threat of global warming is exaggerated, despite near consensus in the scientific community that manmade climate change is real.
Why do people believe bunk? And what causes them to embrace such pseudoscientific beliefs and practices? Noted skeptic Massimo Pigliucci sets out to separate the fact from the fantasy in this entertaining exploration of the nature of science, the borderlands of fringe science, and - borrowing a famous phrase from philosopher Jeremy Bentham - the nonsense on stilts.
Presenting case studies on a number of controversial topics, Pigliucci cuts through the ambiguity surrounding science to look more closely at how science is conducted, how it is disseminated, how it is interpreted, and what it means to our society. The result is in many ways a "taxonomy of bunk" that explores the intersection of science and culture at large.
No one - not the public intellectuals in the culture wars between defenders and detractors of science nor the believers of pseudoscience themselves - is spared Pigliucci's incisive analysis. In the end, Nonsense on Stilts is a timely reminder of the need to maintain a line between expertise and assumption. Broad in scope and implication, it is also ultimately a captivating guide for the intelligent citizen who wishes to make up her own mind while navigating the perilous debates that will affect the future of our planet.
©2010 The University of Chicago (P)2010 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about Nonsense on Stilts
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- MISS
- 04-01-12
Good, but...
This is a book that I like, as the subject matter is right up my alley, but I must say I have stopped listening to it as the style of narration gets bothersome after a while. The narrator speaks with a 'staccato' voice that cannot possibly reflect his normal mode of speaking. A few minutes is fine, but after a while becomes tiring. It's a bit like listening to a robot and a bit as if the narrator thinks we won't be able to understand what he says if he speak normally instead of in this artificial and disjointed fashion he has invented. That nonwithstanding, if you don't mind this, then do definitely consider buying it as Pigliucci talks a lot of sense and deserves to be heard.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-12-11
nonsense on stilts
excellent,read,if you want to listen to common sense ; The talker is excellent overall quality
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Swing Swang
- 28-08-14
Good and Bad in Equal Measures
I wanted to like this a lot.
I did in fact like this a lot, at least to start with.
However the latter half of this book seemed to have an such an anti-religeous thread running through it that at times what appeared to be a personal vendetta against anyone who believed in a deity masked the validity of many of Pigliucci's arguments. A little more humility, and a little more respect for contrary, but valid, opinions would have done much to mitigate this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stuart Sorensen
- 08-04-16
I keep coming back to this
I love this Ebook. It's clear, accessible, witty and a wealth of information. Thoroughly recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-01-22
A must listen for everyone
Everyone who wants to make well informed decisions on scientific issues should know how to distinguish science from pseudoscience and this book will give you all the tools to do that. I think everyone should read this. Especially now, with people so often being mislead by people who are not at all experts on issues they try to influence about. Anti vaxxers, Trump supporters, brexiteers , racist people, flat earthers, creationists, climate change deniers...and so on, are trying to lead people down a dangerous, possibly life threatening route. If this book would be compulsory in schools, we could have much more resilient societies. I'll go and listen to Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World next, although it should've been the other way round.
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