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Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Published:
Basic Books 2017
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
"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.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
04/25/2017
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780465094929, 9781541698178
ASIN:
B01K3WN1FU
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Andrew Shtulman. (2017). Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong. Basic Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Andrew Shtulman. 2017. Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong. Basic Books.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Andrew Shtulman, Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong. Basic Books, 2017.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Andrew Shtulman. Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong. Basic Books, 2017.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
462a68ce-5ea0-42d1-37b3-42dcc5b898e1
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Needs Update?:
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Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 18:09:45
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 02:46:26
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 21, 2024 09:45:10
Last Metadata Change:
Oct 01, 2023 11:43:09
Last Availability Check:
Apr 21, 2024 09:45:14
Last Availability Change:
Nov 01, 2022 22:36:00
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 24, 2024 02:13:21

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Scienceblind
fullDescription
"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.
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        March 27, 2017
        This timely, important, and well-crafted book by Shtulman, a professor of cognitive science at Occidental College, voices a convincing and unsettling argument about the persistence of science denial that has even broader implications for the state of public discourse. After noting that science denial is not a new phenomenon, Shtulman identifies a reason for its persistence that readers may not have suspected: intuitive theories, “our untutored explanations for how the world works.” These best guesses are often wrong, but they give people a reassuring sense that they understand more than they actually do. Several examples, such as the belief that heat is a thing that is transferred between objects rather than a process, provide ample support for his thesis. He observes that the danger posed by intuitive theories is compounded by the difficulty of moving beyond them when presented with contradictory evidence. Restructuring views is difficult, but not impossible, Shtulman maintains, if we “get our hands dirty in the details of the knowledge itself: the concepts that need to be differentiated, collapsed, reanalyzed, or discarded.” This thoughtful analysis merits a wider audience than it is likely to receive, but perhaps its lessons will reach educators and leaders who are in a position to spread them.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        March 15, 2017

        Shtulman (psychology & cognitive science, Occidental Coll., CA) argues that the common theories people have are usually wrong. These intuitive ideas, as psychologists call them, are based on behavior rather than science. He argues for these misconceptions to be changed by transforming them from their foundation. Shtulman organizes intuitive theories by the physical and biological world. For the physical, he devotes a chapter each to matter, energy, earth, cosmos, motion, and gravity. Shtulman discusses topics such as what the universe is made of, what makes objects move, and what causes continents to drift. For the biological, he dedicates a section each to adaptation, ancestry, growth, inheritance, life, and illness. He examines the reasons people look like their parents, how species are related, and how illness spreads. He argues that intuitive theories are developed as children, and that people must change the concepts behind these beliefs when they become adults. Although this book is thoroughly researched with a wealth of scholarly sources cited, Shtulman reaches a broad audience by investigating topics that everyone can understand. VERDICT Recommended for anyone interested in cognitive science, psychology, or general science.--Tina Chan, MIT Libs., Cambridge

        Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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"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...
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