Making Sense of Science: Separating Substance from Spin

by Cornelia Dean

Overview

A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist

Most of us learn about science from media coverage, and anyone seeking factual information on climate change, vaccine safety, genetically modified foods, or the dangers of peanut allergies has to sift through an avalanche of bogus assertions, misinformation, and carefully packaged spin. Cornelia Dean draws on thirty years of experience as a science reporter at the New York Times to expose the tricks that handicap readers with little background in science. She reveals how activists, business spokespersons, religious leaders, and talk show hosts influence the way science is reported and describes the conflicts of interest that color research. At a time when facts are under daily assault, Making Sense of Science seeks to equip nonscientists with a set of critical tools to evaluate the claims and controversies that shape our lives.

“Making Sense of Science explains how to decide who is an expert, how to understand data, what you need to do to read science and figure out whether someone is lying to you… If science leaves you with a headache trying to figure out what’s true, what it all means and who to trust, Dean’s book is a great place to start.”
—Casper Star-Tribune

“Fascinating… Its mission is to help nonscientists evaluate scientific claims, with much attention paid to studies related to health.”
—Seattle Times

“This engaging book offers non-scientists the tools to connect with and evaluate science, and for scientists it is a timely call to action for effective communication.”
—Times Higher Education

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674237803
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/04/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Cornelia Dean is a science writer for the New York Times and Writer-in-Residence at Brown University.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 We the People 7

What We Know, and What We Don't Know 7

The Belief Engine 13

Thinking about Risk 29

2 The Research Enterprise 57

What Is Science? 57

How Science Knows What It Knows 65

Models 76

A Jerry of Peers 88

3 Things Go Wrong 95

Misconduct 95

Science in Court 103

Researchers and Journalists 112

4 The Universal Solvent 128

A Matter of Money 128

Selling Health 141

What's for Supper? 162

5 Political Science 182

Constituency of Ignorance 182

The Political Environment 193

Taking Things on Faith 206

Conclusion 215

Appendix: Trustworthy, Untrustworthy, or Irrelevant? 225

Notes 247

Further Reading 265

Acknowledgments 269

Index 271

Editorial Reviews

Fascinating…Its mission is to help nonscientists evaluate scientific claims, with much attention paid to studies related to health.

Seattle Times - Froma Harrop

This book is an accessible-by-all description of modern science and the societal gap of understanding.

Choice - C. Sokolik

This engaging book offers non-scientists the tools to connect with and evaluate science, and for scientists it is a timely call to action for effective communication.

Times Higher Education - Laura Bowater

Dean explains how, despite living in an ‘age of science,’ the American public is largely ignorant about what science is and how it works…Dean offers a step-by-step guide for evaluating science. In a few simple steps, she explains how to decide who is an expert, how to understand data, what you need to do to read science and figure out whether someone is lying to you…If science leaves you with a headache trying to figure out what’s true, what it all means and who to trust, Dean’s book is a great place to start.

Casper Star-Tribune - Koby Michaels

01/23/2017
Dean (Am I Making Myself Clear?), a science writer for the New York Times, guides readers through the often perplexing process of sorting conflicting reports on recent scientific developments. She moves step by step to aid the general public in assessing “the scientific and technical claims and counterclaims” with which they are regularly bombarded. Dean lays out how important it is to admit ignorance and examine the sources of information on a particular subject. Crucially, terms in everyday use have different meanings in scientific contexts. The most misunderstood is “theory,” which is not a fuzzy idea but something that has been examined, repeatedly tested, and supported by a vast body of evidence. Dean points out matters that cause confusion and distrust, particularly the large amount of basic research funded by private companies—a great source of conflicts of interest. She also examines political influence, noting that members of Congress are barely more scientifically literate than the general public. This bolsters her argument that voters need to know how to evaluate scientific claims—an argument that she details in an appendix. Dean’s excellent primer will be welcomed by those who find themselves lost in the fog of rival claims about scientific issues that affect us all. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-12-26
That "the human mind is a sink of irrationality" is the assumption behind this engagingly written guidebook.New York Times science writer Dean (Writer in Residence/Brown Univ.) previously approached this situation from another tack in Am I Making Myself Clear?: A Scientist's Guide to Talking to the Public (2012). Here, she aims to help the public deal with "a world in which researchers gather data, politicians, business executives, or activists spin it, journalists misinterpret or hype it, and the rest of us don't get it." Not only are we irrational, but we are mostly ignorant about science, and Dean explores both the reasons and the effects, including our erroneous ideas about probability and risk. With dozens of examples, many from recent events, she explains how science is taught or not taught in schools (nearly a third of science teachers are creationists), how scientific research works, how it is financed, and how it is influenced by politics and religion. Among the many topics Dean introduces are climate change, genetically modified organisms, organic foods, cancer screenings, cloning claims, genome engineering, medical malpractice litigation, misconduct of researchers, and the defects of cost-benefit analysis. She also reveals the disconnects between science and law and between science and religion. Advice for the nonscientist abounds—e.g., don't accept anything at face value, consider the source, beware of stories about trends, and keep in mind that the plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence." For patients facing treatment decisions, Dean even provides lists of questions to ask the doctor. Her summarizing list of recommendations for nonscientists includes the admonition to acknowledge ignorance and uncertainty, to consider other views by sources outside one's comfort zone, and when it comes to conclusions, consider it again. Dean's long and varied experience in the world of science reporting makes for an articulate, well-structured, and easily understood account filled with good stories and sound advice.

Kirkus Reviews