Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future

Overview

Climate change, the energy crisis, nuclear proliferation--many of the most urgent problems of twenty-first century require scientific solutions. And yet Americans are paying less and less attention to scientists. For every five hours of cable news, less than a minute is devoted to science; 46 percent of Americans believe that God, not evolution, created life on earth; the number of newspapers with science sections has shrunk from ninety-five to thirty-three since 1989. The disconnect between the scientific community and American culture grows wider every day. In Unscientific America, journalist and best-selling author Chris Mooney and scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum explain how corporate interests, a weak education system, science-phobic politicians, and hyperspecialized scientists have created this dangerous state of affairs. They also propose a broad array of initiatives that could reverse the current trend and lead to the greater integration of science into our national discourse--before it is too late.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews for this product are not available at this time.

Author Information

Bio of Sheril Kirshenbaum

Chris Mooney is a contributing editor to Science Progress and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Republican War on Science, and Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming. He contributes to many publications including Wired, Slate, and The American Prospect. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

• Don't waste your time or money

  Posted July 12, 2009 by GEWold, Mequon WI

  Scientific method and honest journalism require integrity and a willingness to seek the truth regardless of and often in spite of personal bias and desire. I find both of these qualities to be lacking in this book. Too often scientists and journalists, frequently those seeking government grant money or sensational headlines, bend the facts to meet their personal and political point of view. This contributes to the proliferation of "junk science" and increased confusion among an increasingly unsophisticated and polarized populace. I was hoping for a truly "scientific" treatise on the importance of accurate scientific method and the necessity of confronting new and evolving issues in our society. What I got was another political screed worshiping at the alter of Obama and critical of Bush rather than an honest treatise on the importance of accurate scientific method and logic. I feel the descriptions is inaccurate and I regret wasting my money on this book.

Additional Info

Imprint

Basic Books

Filesize

881.22 KB

Number of Pages

224

eBook ISBN

9780786744558