Science Tales E-Book

Darryl Cunningham

• Herausgeber: Myriad Editions
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The first edition of Darryl Cunningham's Science Tales was published in 2012 and shortlisted for the British Comi Awards 'Best Book'. This new edition has been updated to include a clinical exposé of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its political framework in the UK and USA. A graphic milestone of investigative reporting, Cunningham's essays explode the lies, hoaxes and scams of popular science, debunking media myths and decoding some of today's most fiercely-debated issues: climate change, electroconvulsive therapy, the moon landing, the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine, homeopathy, chiropractic, evolution, science denialism and, new for this edition, fracking. Thoroughly researched and sourced, Cunningham's clear narrative, graphic lines and photographic illustration explain complicated and controversial issues with deceptive ease.

Leseprobe

SCIENCE TALES

‘Climate change is a familiar story. What’s unusual is the way it’s told. Science Tales deals with some of the most urgent debates in science using pictures, speech bubbles and comic-strip layouts. Cunningham takes a view on such knotty issues as homeopathy and the MMR vaccine, sorting facts from fiction and presenting complex information in a highly accessible way.’ Observer ‘Cunningham’s charming artwork complements his concise arguments on climate change, the first moon landing and homeopathy, among other subjects. He consistently champions the scientific method over all forms of quackery, and his stark lines and simple layouts give his comic the feel of a scientific analysis. The artwork is uncluttered, leaving little to distract the reader from the exposition, delivered in stripped-back, staccato prose.’ New Scientist ‘Cunningham projects a quietly authoritative voice throughout. As the narrator and host for each chapter he is confrontational yet balanced; unflinching in his condemnation of the irrational and the unsupportable without ever lapsing into belligerence. Artistically, his clean lines and his deceptively simple cartooning style perfectly complement the clarity inherent in the delivery of his carefully considered points. Cunningham manages to deftly précis the salient points of each chapter’s discussion in an entertaining, engaging, and sometimes slyly witty way. Science Tales manages to be somehow simultaneously both succinct and substantive, and a fierce and intelligent promoter of the scientific process over blind superstition and baseless supposition.’ Broken Frontier ‘Cunningham’s art has clean lines and a continuity that is often graceful, charming and endearing. He speaks with quiet authority on his subjects, but is careful to cite a whole range of sources and research papers.’ Independent

‘It’s good to see the arguments presented so well, clearly and concisely. What Cunningham does here is rather brilliantly presented, and customarily classy. As an artist his work is equally at home in the stark black and white of Psychiatric Tales or the lush and varied colours in Science Tales… Science Tales is impressive, Cunningham delivering his message with style, great art, even moments of outright comedy. All in all, we have something else to deliver the message of science and reason, and that’s a good, good thing.’ Forbidden Planet ‘A lovely book which combines its no-nonsense approach with a funny, pro-science attitude.’ Edzard Ernst, The Pulse ‘It’s a meticulous picking apart of the ridiculous web of half-baked facts and fiction that’s often woven around one or two grains of truth, usually completely taken and distorted totally out of context, to prove his case. Anyone who enjoyed Darryl’s previous work, Psychiatric Tales, will definitely enjoy this. Darryl also employs the same understated clinical yet also slightly comical art style.’ Page 45 ‘A fantastic nonfiction comic book about science, scepticism and denial. Cunningham has a real gift for making complex subjects simple. If you’re a Mythbusters fan, admire James Randi, enjoyed Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science, and care about climate change, you’ll enjoy this one. More to the point, if you’re trying to discuss these subjects with smart but misguided friends and loved ones, this book might hold the key to real dialogue.’ Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing ‘He has managed to distil the arguments into a wonderfully clear and concise form… a great primer for those seeking arguments to undermine their Daily Express-reading uncle.’ Herald Scotland

‘Cunningham is extremely good at explaining the links between bad science and profiteering, both by supposed scientists and by the media. It’s clear and straightforward at all times, making complex issues simple, but never simplistic.’ Headline Environment ‘Cunningham is admirably erudite… The result is persuasive rhetoric: popular science not overly technical, but communicated clearly and with conviction. Cunningham writes with the courtroom eloquence of the prosecuting barrister, denouncing the accused in capital letters, his words as precise as his drawing style is hard-edged.’ Graphic Medicine ‘His style is cartoony and raw, but manages to be full of expression and also very evocative. Science Tales deserves a wide audience and even if you haven’t tried to read something in comic format before, you’ll find this easy to follow on the one hand, and thought-provoking on the other.’ Bradford Telegraph & Argus ‘Cunningham never accuses people who are swayed by conspiracy theories or pseudoscience of being evil or stupid, and his tone is polite enough to win hearts and minds, provided they’re open minds. Science Tales will find its home in classrooms and houses with children, where young people will find it and then prick up their ears anytime an adult mentions “getting an adjustment” or “seeing a homeopath”. It will remind them that science is a matter of facts, not politics.’ Comics Alliance ‘An eye-catching way to get across the important message that a science-based approach to understanding makes far more sense than one that is evidence-free. Much of modern conventional wisdom is framed by the media, corporations and activist groups to attend to their own agendas. Cunningham draws out the fictions and lays bare the facts.’ Chemistry World

DARRYL CUNNINGHAM

SCIENCE TALES

First published in 2012 This ebook edition published in 2014 by Myriad Editions 59 Lansdowne Place Brighton BN3 1FL, UK www.myriadeditions.com Copyright © Darryl Cunningham 2012, 2013, 2014 The moral right of the author has been asserted. 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 written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-908434-62-3 This ebook edition has been created using CircularFLO from Circular Software

CONTENTS:

Foreword 9 ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY 13 HOMEOPATHY 25 THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF DR. ANDREW WAKEFIELD 45 CHIROPRACTIC 61 THE MOON HOAX 85 FRACKING 101 CLIMATE CHANGE 135 EVOLUTION 155 SCIENCE DENIAL 179 Acknowledgements 199 Sources 201

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foreword:

My childhood was filled with fantastical tales of ghosts and UFOs. I read whatever I could on these subjects, rather credulously believing them, simply because they were written down. I powerfully wanted to believe in something more than the ordinary banal world I saw around me. It was an escape from a humdrum home and school life into something more exciting. Why couldn’t there be ghosts? What if the Loch Ness monster existed? I searched the skies in the hope that I might see an alien craft, and, disappointingly, never saw one. I craved the fantastic and the bizarre in order to bring colour to a monochrome world, only to realise, as I gained a few critical thinking skills, that the evidence for these things just didn’t exist. Of course, the universe has amazing and strange qualities anyway for those who care to see them. There’s no need to believe in fantasy in order to see the extraordinary in the world, when reality offers up so much that is astonishing. The journey I took from credulous believer in nonsense to a more hard-headed state of mind was a tough one, in which I had to dispense with much I believed. Accepting that you are wrong in the light of new evidence can be a painful process, but is a necessary one. Science, unlike religion, is in a continuous state of revision, depending on evidence. If you want the truth then you must go where the facts take you, however uncomfortable that might make you feel. I’ve argued strongly for the positions I take in the chapters of this book, but I’d like to think I’d be strong enough to change my mind on any of them if the evidence became available. That’s a door that must always be kept open. I’ve selected these particular subjects because they were the most prominent hot-button science issues at the time of writing. I had noticed over the past couple of years that, whenever I read a science blog or listened to a science podcast, these subjects would come up as the most controversial, time and again. The level of misunderstanding among much of the general public, not just on the issues themselves but about just how the scientific process works, never fails to amaze me. This book is my small attempt to rectify that problem. The order of the subjects in the book moves

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foreword:

from ‘personal choice’ medical issues, like chiropractic and homeopathy, up to larger issues that concern the environment, such as climate change. The chapter on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which was first published in the US edition (How to Fake a Moon Landing, Abrams 2013), is now included here in this newly revised edition for the UK. The whole structure of the book is meant to build up a case for critical thinking and the scientific process itself. This book is pro-science and pro-critical thinking. What it isn’t is a book promoting a scientific élite whom we must all follow, sheep-like. It is the scientific process itself I’m promoting here, not the scientific establishment, who are just as capable of being fraudulent, corrupted by politics and money or just plain wrong as any group of humans engaged in any activity. We know the scientific process can be relied on, because, if it couldn’t be, the lightbulb wouldn’t work when you switched it on, your mobile phone would be a useless brick, and satellites wouldn’t be orbiting the planet. Science isn’t a matter of faith or just another point of view. Good science is testable, reproducible, and stands the test of time. What doesn’t work in science falls away, and what remains is the truth. Darryl Cunningham Yorkshire, November 2012

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