Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.46 (824 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B06XGJFNQM |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 323 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-11-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Pandora's Lab takes us from opium's heyday as the pain reliever of choice to recognition of opioids as a major cause of death in the United States; from the rise of trans fats as the golden ingredient for tastier, cheaper food to the heart disease epidemic that followed; and from the cries to ban DDT for the sake of the environment to an epidemic-level rise in world malaria. Offit. For every "Aha!" moment that should have been an "Oh no", this book is an engrossing account of how science has been misused disastrously - and how we can learn to use its power for good.. What happens when ideas presented as science lead
"Weird Science" according to Painterofdefright. I enjoy stories about human achievement and failure (for example Eric Larsen's books) so this book was very appealing to me. Ice-pick lobotomies: brrrrrr! Unfortunately, some of the associations seem as sketchy as the bad science the author decries, for example drawing parallels between Nazi eugenic programs and Trump's rants about illegal immigrants. A better, more thorough, examination of nitrogen fertilizer is in The Alchemy of Air . "Fascinating book" according to Diana Smith. I really enjoyed this book. He talks about several well-accepted scientific facts that were later disproven. We all trust scientists, but they have been really, really wrong in these instances. Prescribing heroin as a pain-killer, telling the public that margarine is healthy, etc. This is a fascinating book, a book I could not put down.. "Interesting read" according to IowaGreyhound. The author is a bit too negative. I realize that the topic is what went wrong, but nothing is all bad any more than all good. He has some great points and I recommend it.