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A review by stateofgrace
Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues by Martin J. Blaser
3.0
I had to read this book for a class, which historically leads me to absolutely hate a book. In this case, I didn't totally hate it, but I still have some issues with this book. Right off the bat, it's a non-fiction book about a topic that I'm not particularly interested in, so I definitely started this book on the wrong foot.
My main issue is the way that the results of certain scientific experiments were presented as being factual evidence for proving causation when really all that scientific experiment proved was correlation. In particular, when the author was trying to establish a link between antibiotic use in early childhood and the development of autism, the evidence was very weak, and yet it was still presented as a reasonable conclusion to draw, that antibiotic use increases the chances of developing autism. Additionally, the author posited many different hypotheses throughout the book, and many of these hypotheses were underdeveloped and underexplored.
My main issue is the way that the results of certain scientific experiments were presented as being factual evidence for proving causation when really all that scientific experiment proved was correlation. In particular, when the author was trying to establish a link between antibiotic use in early childhood and the development of autism, the evidence was very weak, and yet it was still presented as a reasonable conclusion to draw, that antibiotic use increases the chances of developing autism. Additionally, the author posited many different hypotheses throughout the book, and many of these hypotheses were underdeveloped and underexplored.