Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong

Első borító
Basic Books, 2017. ápr. 25. - 320 oldal
"A fascinating, empathetic book" -- Wall Street Journal

Humans are born to create theories about the world -- unfortunately, we're usually wrong and bad theories keep us from understanding science as it really is


Why do we catch colds? What causes seasons to change? And if you fire a bullet from a gun and drop one from your hand, which bullet hits the ground first? In a pinch we almost always get these questions wrong. Worse, we regularly misconstrue fundamental qualities of the world around us. In Scienceblind, cognitive and developmental psychologist Andrew Shtulman shows that the root of our misconceptions lies in the theories about the world we develop as children. They're not only wrong, they close our minds to ideas inconsistent with them, making us unable to learn science later in life. So how do we get the world right? We must dismantle our intuitive theories and rebuild our knowledge from its foundations. The reward won't just be a truer picture of the world, but clearer solutions to many controversies -- around vaccines, climate change, or evolution -- that plague our politics today.

Részletek a könyvből

Tartalomjegyzék

Cover
What Is the World Made Of? How Do Those
What Makes Something Hot? What Makes
What Makes Something Heavy? What Makes
What Makes Objects Move? What Paths
What Is the Shape of Our World? What Is
Why Do Continents Drift?Why Do Climates Change?
What Makes Us Alive? What Causes Us to Die?
Why Do We Grow Bigger? Why Do We Grow
Why Do We Resemble Our Parents?Where
What Makes Us Ill? How Does Illness Spread?
Why Are There So Many LifeForms? How
Where Did Species Come From? How Are They
How to Get the World Right

Más kiadások - Összes megtekintése

Gyakori szavak és kifejezések

A szerzőről (2017)

Andrew Shtulman is an associate professor of psychology and cognitive science at Occidental, where he directs the Thinking Lab. His work has been featured in Scientific American, CBS News, and the New Yorker. He lives in Pasadena, California.

Bibliográfiai információk