Just A Theory: Exploring The Nature Of Science - Softcover

Moti Ben-Ari

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591022851 ISBN 13: 9781591022855

Publisher: Prometheus, 2005

Synopsis

Some people claim that evolution is "just a theory". Do you know what a scientific theory really is? Just a theory is an overview of the modern concepts of science. A clear understanding of the nature of science will enable you to distinguish science from pseudoscience (which illegitimately wraps itself in the mantle of science), and real social issues in science from the caricatures portrayed in postmodernist critiques.Prof. Ben-Ari's style is light (even humorous) and easy to read, bringing the latest concepts of science to the general reader. Of particular interest is his analysis of the terminology of science (fact, law, proof, theory) in relation to the colloquial meaning of these terms.Between chapters are biographical vignettes of scientists - both familiar and unfamiliar - showing their common commitment to the enterprise of science, together with a diversity of backgrounds and personalities.This accessible, informative, and comprehensive work will give lay readers a good grasp of real science.

About this title

About the Author:

Moti Ben-Ari is associate professor in the Department of Science Teaching at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, and the author of six textbooks on computer science. He has received the 2004 ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education.

From Booklist:

Contrary to common belief, scientific theories are not true or false but are provisionally accepted pending disproof. Computer scientist Ben-Ari spells out this modest but far-reaching claim in two parts: one describes the elements that qualify something as science, and the second dissects the logical deficiencies of pseudoscience. Far from dryly defining the hallmarks of a valid theory, Ben-Ari illustrates these elements with examples from the history of science, such as Galileo's formulas for acceleration and Newton's for gravity. Further discussing aspects of a valid theory, such as whether it's susceptible to falsification, or the social environment in which new theory supplants reigning theory, Ben-Ari is ready for the bemusing task of contemplating the assertions of astrology and so-called intelligent design in biology. He concludes that the predictive power of both is vague, and the mechanism for each is typically an ad hoc explanation of a particular observation, not of a wide class of observations, as a scientific theory insists upon. A readable precis that will best suit science majors. Gilbert Taylor
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About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1591022851
• ISBN 13: 9781591022855
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 249