Retrato do autor
7 Works 175 Membros 6 Críticas

About the Author

Charles M. Wynn received his B.Ch.E. at City College of New York, and his M. S. and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Wynn is currently a chemistry professor at Eastern Connecticut State College. Wynn co authored The Five Biggest Ideas in the World, a book about the five major scientific mostrar mais disciplines: physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth science, and biology. (Bowker Author Biography) mostrar menos

Includes the name: Sr. Charles M. Wynn

Obras por Charles M. Wynn

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1939-05-08
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
USA
País (no mapa)
USA
Local de nascimento
New York City, New York, USA
Ocupações
Chemical engineer

Membros

Críticas

Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" draws the line between what is good science and what isn't even really science at all. The basis for the book begins with the examination of the five most widely believed pseudoscientific ideas: UFOs, out-of-body experiences, astrology, creationism, and ESP These ideas are reviewed in detail to see just how well they stand up to scientific scrutiny. Cleverly illustrated with cartoons by the renowned Sidney Harris, "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" is both wonderful fun as well as illuminating science. Although many science topics can seem mysterious, especially when you really get into the details, in the long run its methods and ideas are remarkably straightforward. "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" takes this methodical approach to dissect the worst in the field. Tremendously witty, disarmingly fun, this is a book for anyone-especially for those folks who check their horoscope everyday.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
paamember | 3 outras críticas | Jan 13, 2016 |
This is a fantastic book idea! Nearly half of America’s scientists believe science and religion are compatible. So, let’s take believing scientists from the three major monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and get them to talk about evolution. Why the evidence forces them to acknowledge a 13.7 billion year old universe and a human race that evolved over nearly 4 billion years, and then how they reconcile this scientific evidence with the Bible.

The first half of the book, which discusses the evidence for planetary and biological evolution, is interesting but not as strong. All readers will presumably be interested in religion, but not all will be interested in science, and I think this section could have been summed up more succinctly. Ten pages for each of the three writers would have been sufficient.

The second half, however, is superb. Let me give you a sampling of each writer.

Christian scientist Howard Van Till: Howard has learned to respect scripture in a new way. Claims of divine inspiration and infallibility are unwarranted. Many people, he surmises, will find this disappointing. But for him, it “feels like a load has been taken off my shoulders.” He now recognizes the Bible as “storied theology,” creatively crafted stories shaped by a deeply theological agenda.

Trying to reconcile Genesis with what we now know about our origins is “wrong, wrong, wrong. This wonderful bit of dramatized theology should never be mistaken for some primitive version of Big Bang cosmology.” Concordism, says Howard, is a failed strategy.

Jewish scientist David Kay: We are wrong to dismiss our ancient ancestors as primitives. These guys knew the rains came (or didn’t) regardless of the faithfulness of their fellow Hebrews. Readers of the Torah back in the day knew better than to take it literally, but rather sought in its pages a deeper lesson.

“If reality doesn’t conform to Scripture, don’t assume either is wrong: the problem isn’t reality or Scripture; the problem is your own understanding of one, the other, or most likely both.” Rabbinic interpretation finds ways to understand sacred text that are both reverent and relevant.

Muslim scientist T. O. Shanavas: Thankfully for more conservative readers, they may find more of a kindred spirit in Shanavas, who definitely believes in the Genesis story. Not that Shanavas disagrees with evolution; on the contrary, he argues convincingly that the Qur’an describes our evolutionary beginnings much more directly than the Hebrew Bible. Genesis is accurate, but Adam and Eve should be understood not as a story of biological origin. Adam was the first spiritual man.

Prepare to be astounded as Shanavas digs up ancient Muslim thinker after thinker who describes natural selection and the creation of man in evolutionary terms. These guys pre-dated Darwin by as much as a thousand years! Yikes, while we Christians were fumbling around in the dark ages, were the Muslims beating us to the punch? Many of us still remain in the dark, and it’s time we realized that, in a number of ways, we can remain Muslims/Christians/Jews without rejecting the scientific discoveries which should leave us in awe of our world.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
DubiousDisciple | May 23, 2012 |
A thoroughly enjoyable look at the intersection of science and nonsense, with cartoons to boot.
½
 
Assinalado
Devil_llama | 3 outras críticas | Apr 26, 2011 |
Reviewed June 2001

Very good reference book on pseudoscience, quite a bit is covered here. I enjoyed the section on the scientific method and all the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The cartoons by Sidney Harris were usually enjoyable. I did find the lack of references annoying, as I would like to see where the authors got their information directly. The story on Bridey Murphy is great. I've always wondered about it, but where are the footnotes. Because of the generalist nature of the book, it was quite easy to read, chapters are short. I found the glossary very useful. The author tells us in the prologue that "3 groups of people will read this book...people already acquainted with the phenomena and already in disagreement with our conclusions." I really doubt that "believers" are going to read this book - even if given to them by a friend. It's just beyond their grasp. 2008 Note: I have met Charlie Wynn many times and this year I mean to get this book autographed at TAM or the Toolbox.

13-2001
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
sgerbic | 3 outras críticas | May 7, 2008 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
7
Membros
175
Popularidade
#122,547
Avaliação
3.8
Críticas
6
ISBN
13
Línguas
4

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