Uncommon Sense: The Heretical Nature of Science

by Alan Cromer

Book Overview

Most people believe that science arose as a natural end-product of our innate intelligence and curiosity, as an inevitable stage in human intellectual development. But physicist and educator Alan Cromer disputes this belief. Cromer argues that science is not the natural unfolding of human potential, but the invention of a particular culture, Greece, in a particular historical period. Indeed, far from being natural, scientific thinking goes so far...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195096363
• ISBN13: 9780195096361
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

abstract reasoning

Professor Cromer makes the case for a particular type of thinking necessary in science. He claimed that only a small percentage of his students in his science classes could understand the abstract reasoning and critical thinking necessary to pass a rigorous science class. He laid the blame on not being introduced to science at an early enough age. He claimed that the early K12 teachers for the most part didn't understand science. In the last half of his book he offers prescriptions for correcting this situation. The book was written in the 90s and one can see the success of his book with the introduction of algebra on the high school exit exams. Also the success of Numbers on CBS fridays, which does for mathematics what he presribed for science. It is a very influencial book.

Why you will NEVER see an Extraterrestrial

Read this book!If you wish to debate the X File's fan - read the book. If you just want to ruin their most recent UFO siting you only need to read Ch 9 Are We Alone?The simple mathematics presented will assure you that the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was NOT Extraterrestrial!Nearest Star with a slight chance of a planetary system - 6 light years ( 3.3 X10^13 miles).Typical speed of a space ship (Apollo - 25000 mph | 7 mps) 10 miles per second.Time in a sooped up Apollo space ship 100,000+ YEARS!Think we could build a bit faster ship tomorrow - a resonable max speed of a rocket = 41 mps. See the end notes page 223 for ch 9 note 5. So divide 100000 yr by 4 and it is still too long 25,000 yr. by a factor of 1000!

Best short book about what science really is

I was delighted with this wonderful book. The author gives an all around explanantion about the origins of science and its nature, pointing out the misconceptions that are distorting science education. A great book for the professional scientist that usually never has time to ponder how science is distinct from the intuitive creativity of common sense and the educated person that wants to understand this activity that permeates our society but is basically not understood.

It Will Tickle Your Brain

Ever wonder why there seems to be so many people who do not use reasoning or logic? How come so many people hold contraditory concepts and somehow seem unbothered by the conflicting beliefs they hold? Well, this book helps to explain it in a historic and cultural examination. The book takes the reader through evolution to considerations about possible universe populations. It is a delightful book to quote and a joy to read again and again. You will like it.

An antidote for wishful thinking

I found this book a paridigm shifter. It will permantly alter your thinking about the puzzle of why seemingly rational people will accept irrational attitudes. The author suggests that the rise of the "scientific method" was a (happy) historical accident that we owe to the greeks. His experience as a physics teacher is used as an example of the difficulty in weening people away from subjective thinking. The central idea of this book is that objective thinking is a learned skill that does not come naturally to humans. While this may seem inherently pessimistic it seems to me more realistic than ignoring a major educational problem.