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Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science by Dave Levitan
mcsnide's review against another edition
4.0
A quick, easy read that delves into many of the common errors politicians make when discussing science. There's not much here that a scientifically literate person doesn't already know, but the writing style is entertaining and reminders to watch out for misrepresentation of scientific ideas are always useful.
livshero's review against another edition
3.0
It's sort of depressing how wrong so many politicians are on matters of science. Excellently broke down into different fallacies.
karmakat's review against another edition
4.0
This book (along with many others) should be required reading for every voting person in the US. Levitan does a great job of explaining the various tricks that politicians (on both sides) use to bend the truth of science to make it fit their needs. Book could do a lot more to 1) inform the general public about how the scientific process works, 2) discuss the importance of critical thinking, and 3) educate people on how to use the knowledge he provides to change things in the future.
Side note, I am all for scientific debates in future political races. Sadly, they won't happen and won't matter because those who want to will continue to use the methods described in this book to prove their "truths."
Side note, I am all for scientific debates in future political races. Sadly, they won't happen and won't matter because those who want to will continue to use the methods described in this book to prove their "truths."
jbyers2's review against another edition
5.0
Required reading.
Revealing deceptive communication patterns commonly employed by many esteemed politicians to misrepresent facts and persuade the unwary to embrace nonsensical "alternative facts".
Revealing deceptive communication patterns commonly employed by many esteemed politicians to misrepresent facts and persuade the unwary to embrace nonsensical "alternative facts".
christianhartman's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I was really excited about this book, and it truly is a formidable set of critical thinking tools when gauging political rhetoric. The problem is, the author falls into a few of these very same traps of his own letting his political bias guide his writing, for example, "Cherry-Picking" data (one of the pitfalls he calls on us to look out for), from GOP politicians that fit the agenda he is trying to build. I do not doubt that of the two parties, the GOP is one with a more tenuous hold on science, and will probably be overrepresented no matter what, yet the only two examples he lists in the whole book were two quotes from Obama that were not "quite" perfect, yet still positive (e.g. Obama crowing that the ROI of the Human Genome Project was "140 to 1", while it was later updated to be "only" 65 to 1, both unbelievable numbers for ROI). If these tools were applied fairly, or even relatively equitably, this would be an excellent example of what he would be trying to espouse, yet underneath the good science it reads like a semi-political scree.
inurlibrary's review against another edition
5.0
The publication timing of this book is extremely appropriate. Not just because of our current political climate, but also literally -- debuting in April, it's something that I would want to assign as summer reading for high school and college students. While the political overtones may make it a difficult sell in that context (though it can't be denied that the bulk of scientific misinformation in media is heavily weighted towards one side of the aisle), nonetheless this is a fast, accessible read with practical applications to developing critical thinking while consuming today's news media. Chapters are divided to address the different techniques (from "Oversimplification" to "Blame the Blogger" and "The Certain Uncertainty") used both intentionally and inadvertently by politicians using specific examples and quotes from the Reagan years to the present. It concludes with the "Conspicuous Silence", illustrating that silence on an issue (such as in the case of Reagan and the AIDS crisis) can be nearly as damaging as misinformation, and that "normalizing science and discussion of science" are imperative to the science literacy of the general public. In a sea of misinformation, we could all use all use a refresher. Highly recommended for everyone, and thanks to NetGalley for the review copy!
mjbellecourt's review against another edition
4.0
On a personal level I would have ranked this book as merely three stars, and almost did. However, I immediately realized that as a scientist, I am not the intended audience of this book. In stepping back and putting myself into the shoes of the non-scientist public, I decided to give Not a Scientist four stars.
Levitan is a witty writer, and did a good job in explaining in simple terms the many problematic rhetorical flourishes politicians use to avoid inconvenient truths that the scientific community provided them. I may even recommend this book to members of my family; not that they'll listen, but it's the thought that counts.
The author is also a blast to follow on Twitter.
#IAmAScientist
Levitan is a witty writer, and did a good job in explaining in simple terms the many problematic rhetorical flourishes politicians use to avoid inconvenient truths that the scientific community provided them. I may even recommend this book to members of my family; not that they'll listen, but it's the thought that counts.
The author is also a blast to follow on Twitter.
#IAmAScientist
libra17's review against another edition
5.0
Not a Scientist is a book that sorts the types of errors that politicians usually make with regards to science (credit snatching, blaming the blogger, butter up and undercut, etcetera), explains how to spot them, and offers advice on how to fact check information found in each of the error types. Each type of error has its own chapter, and Not a Scientist is pretty much built on the examples that make up the bulk of each chapter. There is also general information about the importance of science in public discourse and how an involved citizenry can go about keeping their representatives honest (or at least as accurate as possible).
I very much enjoyed Not a Scientist for its conversational tone as well as its plethora of examples, many of which I hadn't known (Levitan doesn't often go for the low-hanging fruit of the proverbial example tree). It is deliberately written in a way that is accessible for the general public and the author goes out of his way to fully explain the science of the various topics that come up in error examples, the implications of the science, and the far-reaching effects of errors. Not a Scientist is a book that would recommend.
I very much enjoyed Not a Scientist for its conversational tone as well as its plethora of examples, many of which I hadn't known (Levitan doesn't often go for the low-hanging fruit of the proverbial example tree). It is deliberately written in a way that is accessible for the general public and the author goes out of his way to fully explain the science of the various topics that come up in error examples, the implications of the science, and the far-reaching effects of errors. Not a Scientist is a book that would recommend.