Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins

209 Pages·2017·6.727 MB·English

by  Charles M. Wynn, Arthur W. Wiggins, Sidney Harris

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Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction
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Quantum Leaps in 
the Wrong Direction
Where Real Science Ends …
and Pseudoscience Begins
SECOND EDITION
Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins
with Cartoons by Sidney Harris
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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
© Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction
rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress
ISBN 978–0–19–062029–5
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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CONTENTS
Preface to the Second Edition vii
About the Authors ix
Prologue xi
1. The Road to Reality: Scientific Method 1
2. Scientific Reasoning in Action 11
3. The Road to Reality versus the Road to Illusion 25
4. UFOs and the Extraterrestrial Life Hypothesis 39
5. Out- of- Body Experiences and Entities 55
6. The Astrology Hypothesis 71
7. The Creationism Hypothesis 91
8. Normal Sensory Perception, Extrasensory Perception,
and Psychokinesis 109
9. Alternatives to Medicine 127
10. Reflections on the Scientific Approach to Reality 141
Epilogue 153
Glossary 157
Additional Reading 165
Websites 171
Educational Modules 173
Index 177
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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
It would have been naïve of us to believe that availability of the original
edition of Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends …
and Pseudoscience Begins would eradicate belief in astrology, ghosts,
spontaneous human combustion, psychic surgery, and extrasensory
perception (ESP).
Unreasonable resistance to change one’s beliefs—b elief perseverance—
still persists despite efforts by us and others to show that such beliefs are
irrational or based on wrong evidence.
Thus this second edition, which has been updated, contains an expanded
discussion of alternative medicine as well as further Additional Readings,
and now provides information about reliable websites and educational
modules.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Charles M. Wynn, Sr., graduated from the Bronx High School of Science
and the City College of New York and then attended the University of
Michigan, where he received a Ph.D. in chemistry. After receiving his degree,
he served as a Peace Corps volunteer at the Malayan Teachers College in
Penang, Malaysia. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at
Eastern Connecticut State University and is the author of Quantitative and
Qualitative Experiments for General Chemistry.
Arthur W. Wiggins graduated from the University of Notre Dame and then
attended the University of Michigan, where he received an M.S. in physics.
He is Distinguished Professor of Physics Emeritus at Oakland Community
College in Farmington Hills, Michigan and is the author of The Joy of Physics
and Physical Science with Environmental Applications.
Professors Wynn and Wiggins are the co- authors of The Five Biggest Ideas
in Science, The Five Biggest Unsolved Problems in Science, and The Human Side
of Science: Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories
behind Science’s Big Ideas, and co- editors of And God said, “Let there be evolu-
tion!”: Reconciling the Book of Genesis, the Qur’an and the Theory of Evolution.
Sidney Harris is “America’s premier science cartoonist” (Isaac Asimov). He
attended Brooklyn College and the Art Students League of New York (City).
He has published more than 600 cartoons in American Scientist and was
elected an honorary member of Sigma Xi. An exhibit of his cartoons and
paintings has been touring museums around the country since 1985. His
cartoons have appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker.
He is the author of 49 Dogs, 36 Cats, & a Platypus: Animal Cartoons (1999),
Einstein Atomized: More Science Cartoons (1996), and a number of other
books; he also illustrated Wynn and Wiggins’ books, The Five Biggest Ideas
in Science, The Five Biggest Unsolved Problems in Science, and The Human Side
of Science: Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories
behind Science’s Big Ideas, and Wiggins’ book, The Joy of Physics.