Uncertain Science ... Uncertain World by Henry N. Pollack

by Henry N. Pollack

Is the world warming due to the Greenhouse Effect? Can nuclear weapon arsenals be relied upon without periodic testing? Is the world running out of oil? What action should be taken against an outbreak of foot-and-mouth or BSE? Why can't scientists provide certain answers to these and many other questions? The uncertainty of science is puzzling. It arises when scientists have more than one answer to a problem or disagree amongst themselves. In this engaging book, Henry Pollack guides the reader through the maze of contradiction and uncertainty, acquainting them with the ways that uncertainty arises in science, how scientists accommodate and make use of uncertainty, and how in the face of uncertainty they reach their conclusions. Taking examples from recent science headlines and every day life, Uncertain Science … Uncertain World enables the reader to evaluate uncertainty from their own perspectives, and find out more about how science actually works.

Genres: Science

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

HENRY N. POLLACK, PhD
Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus
Department of Geological Sciences
The University of Michigan

Finalist, Royal Society Prize for best science book of 2010
Silver Medal, Living Now 2010 Book Awards

Reviews

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

He might not be the most . . . . to the point author, but he seems to get A! point across. The points he does make don't seem to me to fit in with what his original thesis of each chapter was; he seems to have a little ADD . . . SQUIRREL!!! CHASE CHASE CHASE CHASE gotcha!!! ohhhh gee this squirrel has an interesting toe which happens to bring me to my next point.

Nonetheless I am enjoyed the book very very much despite his sightly unorganized style. I'll say that if I could write his book for him I would only change the order of some sentences here and some paragraphs there or maybe a section moved to a different chapter. I would not change the order of any of the actual words. So I guess I don't like the editor because it kind of seems like the book is in its first draft.

**Spoiler** if there are spoilers in lay scientific books

Overall, I thought his main point (as deduced from the first chapter or so) would be how main stream media and most lay people think that science is a load because of its uncertainty, but in reality science's strength comes from its uncertainty. That is a very good point for most people to know (i.e. R_________s). Instead he seems to go down a different path. It seems the book is just about global climate change.

Don't get me wrong, he has some very good points on climate change and brings together a lot of the info in a concise manner. Its just that I wasn't expecting a book on climate change. The "issue" of climate change does illustrate the public's views on scientific uncertainty very well and is relevant to his main point. Its just, again, I wasn't expecting that.

My Main Point:
Good layman's science book. Very good. Read it if you want to know more about climate change. Read it if you want to know about scientific uncertainty (obviously). I would suggest, read it.