Book Review - The Unnatural Nature of Science: Why Science Does Not Make (Common) Sense

Authors

David Lopatto, Grinnell CollegeFollow

Document Type

General Interest Article

Abstract

A distinguished psychologist once wrote that if you wished to understand the history of scientific thought you need a psychologist at your elbow. Lewis Wolpert, Professor of Biology at University College in London, has taken that sentiment further. It seems that if you wish to understand the difference between scientific and nonscientific thinking you should delve deeply into the literature of cognitive psychology. For natural thinking, "ordinary, day-to-day common sense will never give an understanding about the nature of science." Instead, the trained scientist engages in unnatural (i.e., counterintuitive) thinking about a word that defies ordinary experience. In order to understand science, the teacher, the student, and the citizen need to understand the esoteric manner in which scientists gather knowledge.

Publication Date

July-December 1996

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

103

Issue

3-4

First Page

84

Last Page

84

Copyright

© Copyright 1996 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Lopatto, David (1996) "Book Review - The Unnatural Nature of Science: Why Science Does Not Make (Common) Sense," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 103(3-4), 84-84.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol103/iss3/7