StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper “Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud” the author has a different approach to science and scientific achievements. He desires to take technological advances to its logical conclusion and pleads for robotic in preference to manned space exploration…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud"

Download file to see previous pages

He has the approach of a rationalist, resents alternative medicine and pseudoscience, defends legitimate science, and criticizes the unfair approach of some scientists, media and the policy advocates. Voodoo Science discusses and comments about all such issues. Park hails from a lawyer-cum-farmer family. He desires to pursue law. He joins Air Force in 1951 at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico, and serves there until 1956. In the radar school of the Air Force, he develops a passion for physics and finally takes his Ph.D. in physics at Brown University in 1964.

He has authored more than a hundred technical papers on the structure and properties of single-crystal surfaces. He has been the guide to many Ph.D. students. He is an atheist. Science searches what already exists, which it terms as research; it cannot create anything and as such it has no right to condemn the creator, which in general parlance is called the practice of atheism. Spirituality is the science of all sciences. Summary of book The book under review was published in 2000. He deals with topics like telepathy, alternative medicine and homeopathy, and criticizes them.

In turn, he faces bitter criticism, and on the other side his book is hailed for its bold attempt to question the supposedly scientific claims, that are in fact awkward. In 2008, his book, “Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science,” sees the light of the day. The book again receives mixed response. The author proclaims that "science is the only way of knowing," which confirms that Park is an atheist. He provides simple and thought-provoking scientific lessons and condemns alleged fraudulent science that engulfs humankind.

He takes a dig at the fear of imaginary dangers, dependence on magical cures, and the faulty view of how the world works. He comes down heavily on democratic institutions like the media, courts, bureaucracy and the politicians and advocates for raise in general scientific literacy. He maintains that universe is governed by natural laws that cannot be dodged or outwitted. Content of book Park does not claim to address other scientists. His target audience is a common man, the non-specialist reader and he writes with appropriate skill needed for that level.

He is a die-hard scientist. He criticizes bad science reporting, that has led to a faulty interface between science and public policy. The chapter titles indicate the different compartments of his atheist mind. Some of them are: “It’s not news; it is entertainment (science coverage in the media …How strange is the universe? (Ancient superstitions reappear as pseudoscience)” There are ten chapters in all. While criticizing all these, Park does not miss the sense of humor.

The examples of landing on the Moon and the Roswell incident reveal some new information and Park mentions about the cover-up and its relation to Cold War politics. He argues about the futility of the experiment of human landing on the moon, except for the sensational part of it. Park mentions that it is a pointless exercise, as through robotic devices, more knowledge about the universe is already available. Evaluation of book From the viewpoint of literature this is a credible book. His command over the language is perfect and he has the literary flair, mixed with witticisms. 

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud Book Report/Review. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/social-science/1476599-voodoo-science-the-road-from-foolishness-to-fraud
(Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud Book Report/Review)
Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud Book Report/Review. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1476599-voodoo-science-the-road-from-foolishness-to-fraud.
“Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1476599-voodoo-science-the-road-from-foolishness-to-fraud.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud

Material Science: Road Tires

Name: Institution: Course: Date: Material Science: Road Tires the road tire is the outer fitting of the wheel; the part that comes into contact with the ground in motor vehicles and similar machines.... In vehicles, bicycles, airplanes and similar machines, the road tires essentially bear the total load of the machine.... During braking, the wheels experience a lot of friction with the road.... Natural rubber is obtained from rubber tree is used mainly in the manufacture of the rubber part that is exposed to the surface; this is because it is considered durable and does not wear out easily due to its flexibility and elasticity properties....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Tests on ESP

Moreover, many scientists claim that there is a dominant element of fraud involved in the studies and the claims.... Parapsychology Terminology: the term parapsychology is derived from Para meaning ‘alongside' and psychology is as it was, meaning something alongside mainstream psychology (Melton, 1996).... Realizing that the onslaught of criticism was getting intense, Rhine along with Joseph Gaither Pratt wrote Parapsychology: Frontier science of Mind (Berger, Arthur, Berger, Joyce, 1991)....
3 Pages (750 words) Research Paper

Foolishness and The Great Gatsby

Daisy came from money, that much was made clear, so it is doubtful that she would be left penniless if she divorced Tom.... Daisy's quote regarding the daughter being a fool was not just poignant and relevant to herself and the women in this novel, but to everybody in the novel, except for Nick Carroway, the narrator....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

African American Religion Hoodoo

Teachings and rituals are handed down from a one practitioner to another, but there are no priests or priestesses and no division between initiates and laity (Haskins, 1978, p.... The influence that Natives had on rootwork is openly acknowledged, moreover, many of the most famous rootwork practitioners of the 19th and 20th centuries came from mixed-race families (Long, 2001, p.... Divination from dreams is an important part of hoodoo, too.... Probably the one thing that most distinguishes hoodoo from other systems of folk magic is the centrality of the mojo bag, or mojo hand....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

An Example of religion being a connection: Voodoo

In this paper, the author… s the notion of religion as a connection, taking off from a discussion on some of the problems with defining the term religion, and then proceeding with examining voodoo as a religious framework that includes the notions of connectedness and ritualism.... The main problem with defining religion seems to lie with the difficulty in providing a sufficient set of distinguishing traits or characteristics that would differentiate the concept of religion from all other similar concepts....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The History of Slavery

It further acts as a source of comfort from the hardships and challenges in day-to-day living as well as providing insight into life's unexplainable mysteries.... The name originated from an African word that symbolized spirit.... n this respect, they thus attribute illnesses as either coming from God or from Satan.... If a disease responds to the contemporary modes of healing that Brodwin refers to as biomedicine, it is viewed as an illness from God....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Vodou in Africa and the Diaspora

from the paper "Vodou in Africa and the Diaspora" it is clear that Vodou has remained a legitimate religion.... In Haiti, the Africans gained firm strength from their religion, and this was powerful making Vodou survive the cruelty of the oppressive French rulers making the revolution conspire.... hellip; The Vodou priest got reinforcement from their consultation with their oracles.... It is ironic that even after the Europeans had desolated the ethnic enforced immigration of enslaved African from various ethnic groups, they still provided the circumstances for the development of the Vodou....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Science of the Indy 500

The first admission fee was 1$ from whence an annual tradition established itself.... Every piece of technology, every creation in the human world starts from scratch and goes on to become complex and bigger; generating into something creative and sometimes a genius (Reed, 2005).... "The science of the Indy 500" paper focuses on INDY 500, a term the world has been familiar with ever since the beginning of the history of racing....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us