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Maybe Guides #1
Maybe Yes, Maybe No by Dan Barker
In this introduction to skeptical curiosity, young readers learn that they are capable of figuring out what to believe and of knowing when there isn't enough information to decide.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
26 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Dan Barker
22 books182 followersDaniel Edwin Barker is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He has written numerous articles the organization's newspaper Freethought Today. He is the author of several books including Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist. Barker has been an invited speaker at Rock Beyond Belief. He is on the speakers bureau of the Secular Student Alliance.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 26, 2013
Be skeptical about this take on skepticism.
I think the first 39 pages of this book make for a great teaching tool, and I do like the comic with Andrea investigating the ghosts. But Mr. Barker doesn't know when to quit, and kind of blunders through the explanations for scientific process.
I picked this up from the free bin at McKay's today, since I have a friend named Andrea. But I decided to read it first, and I'm hesitant to pass it along.
I wanted to like this book. I do like the basic concept. Ask questions, don't accept things at face value, use scientific process whenever possible.
However, I feel like the book can only earn a two for it's bad points because it tells some very big, very dangerous lies.
"If something is really true, you should be able to repeat it again and again."
Think about this one for a while. Mommy gives Joe a cookie. Joe tells Judy he got a cookie. Judy refuses to believe Joe got a cookie unless he can get another cookie. Joe asks for a cookie and Mommy says "no". So is it true that Joe got a cookie?
Many things can be proved/validated through repeated experiments, but not everything can.
"If you can't think of any way to prove something is false, there's no way to know if it is true."
1. The universe does not work based on the limitation's of an individual's ability to question. That's just silly.
2. While I understand what the author is getting at, this is a very big presumption. For instance can you think of way to prove water is not wet? Does this mean water is not wet?
"If something is true, then it should not be confusing. It should be logical."
I confuse people with logic all the time. It's very easy to do...
Yes, when you are confused you should ask questions and try to work past the confusion. But the fact something confuses you does not necessarily make it untrue or illogical.
Some things appear illogical because we are missing some piece of information. For instance the inner workings of a car engine confuse me. There are people who have information I lack, and the inner workings of a car engine make perfect sense to them.
The universe is more complex than a car engine.
"Some religions teach you can pray to a god and get what you pray for."
Strictly speaking this is not a lie, but it is highly misleading about the nature of prayer in many if not most religions. Prayer is about communication. Yes, you can ask God (or whomever) for something, just like you can ask a parent for something. This is not a guarantee of getting it.
Prayer is not a ring a bell, win a cookie type deal...and yes, you should be skeptical of anyone who proclaims that it is.
It's easy to disprove that praying/receiving isn't simple cause and effect. However lack of simple cause/effect does not mean that people can't pray and get what they ask for, or that asking doesn't improve their odds of receiving.
I LOVE science. But blind faith in science is just as dangerous as blind faith in anything else. And that's the biggest things missing here, a sense of skepticism about the limitations of science. They do exist.
Of course the biggest presumption here is that the universe is logical. Sure I'd like to think it is, but sometimes, I'm skeptical...
I think the first 39 pages of this book make for a great teaching tool, and I do like the comic with Andrea investigating the ghosts. But Mr. Barker doesn't know when to quit, and kind of blunders through the explanations for scientific process.
I picked this up from the free bin at McKay's today, since I have a friend named Andrea. But I decided to read it first, and I'm hesitant to pass it along.
I wanted to like this book. I do like the basic concept. Ask questions, don't accept things at face value, use scientific process whenever possible.
However, I feel like the book can only earn a two for it's bad points because it tells some very big, very dangerous lies.
"If something is really true, you should be able to repeat it again and again."
Think about this one for a while. Mommy gives Joe a cookie. Joe tells Judy he got a cookie. Judy refuses to believe Joe got a cookie unless he can get another cookie. Joe asks for a cookie and Mommy says "no". So is it true that Joe got a cookie?
Many things can be proved/validated through repeated experiments, but not everything can.
"If you can't think of any way to prove something is false, there's no way to know if it is true."
1. The universe does not work based on the limitation's of an individual's ability to question. That's just silly.
2. While I understand what the author is getting at, this is a very big presumption. For instance can you think of way to prove water is not wet? Does this mean water is not wet?
"If something is true, then it should not be confusing. It should be logical."
I confuse people with logic all the time. It's very easy to do...
Yes, when you are confused you should ask questions and try to work past the confusion. But the fact something confuses you does not necessarily make it untrue or illogical.
Some things appear illogical because we are missing some piece of information. For instance the inner workings of a car engine confuse me. There are people who have information I lack, and the inner workings of a car engine make perfect sense to them.
The universe is more complex than a car engine.
"Some religions teach you can pray to a god and get what you pray for."
Strictly speaking this is not a lie, but it is highly misleading about the nature of prayer in many if not most religions. Prayer is about communication. Yes, you can ask God (or whomever) for something, just like you can ask a parent for something. This is not a guarantee of getting it.
Prayer is not a ring a bell, win a cookie type deal...and yes, you should be skeptical of anyone who proclaims that it is.
It's easy to disprove that praying/receiving isn't simple cause and effect. However lack of simple cause/effect does not mean that people can't pray and get what they ask for, or that asking doesn't improve their odds of receiving.
I LOVE science. But blind faith in science is just as dangerous as blind faith in anything else. And that's the biggest things missing here, a sense of skepticism about the limitations of science. They do exist.
Of course the biggest presumption here is that the universe is logical. Sure I'd like to think it is, but sometimes, I'm skeptical...
November 7, 2013
Amazing book for kids (and possibly adults). This book encourages kids to be skeptical and ask questions. It encourages honesty, and promotes changing your mind when better evidence is made evident. There is so much pressure for kids (and adults) to make a decision about a belief and stick to that belief, even when trial and error, evidence, and proof suggests otherwise. This book encourages kids to admit when they are wrong, and figure out for themselves what is true. Such a great book!
February 21, 2023
Great science rules to make kids think but needed more examples.
Created good conversations.
Not the most well-written or interesting book, though.
Created good conversations.
Not the most well-written or interesting book, though.
July 17, 2015
I want to give this 2.5 stars, since half the book was really good. The rest.... not so much. I love the idea behind this book, which is why I wanted to read it with my kids. But boy, am I glad I pre-read it. The comic in the beginning is great, and does a fantastic job of illustrating the fact that it is good and smart to question things. Right after this, though, the author bashes people's personal beliefs on quite a few topics. I skipped these pages with my kids. I don't want ANY book to tell my kids what they should or should not believe, and while the author did not explicitly come out and say that such-and-such a belief is bad, the mocking tone was apparent and uncalled for. I certainly am not going to read material to my kids that ridicules another person's beliefs, no matter what that belief is. There is enough nastiness in the world as it is... I don't need my kids thinking that it is alright to look down on someone else for any reason. Furthermore, while I can see where the author was trying to go with using the scientific process to analyse information, the way in which some of it is presented is misleading and most of it is over simplified. I did read this part to my kids, and they got a lot out of it, but I won't be rereading it due to some inaccuracies.
Sigh... still searching for something worth buying :( Thank goodness for libraries.
Sigh... still searching for something worth buying :( Thank goodness for libraries.
December 19, 2014
I think this is an important conversation to have with your children but I don't need a book to do it. It also seemed very leading: science good, faith bad. I am not a religious person and I feel you should think critically about what you choose to believe in but I think skeptics are too negative. I prefer to leave room for something to believe in and leave room for those ideas to change. I am not going to tell my kids not to believe in miracles, as this book suggests. I am agnostic and so I believe in the possibility of something and nothing at the same time.
December 10, 2008
This book teaches the concepts of skepticism and science to kids. I bought this after my kids started hearing all sorts of stories at school from other kids (ghosts, kids flying, etc) and I wanted to teach them to not blindly believe everything they hear. I think this book was useful for that.
February 17, 2012
How many books out there for kids broach the topic of how to question ideas? Not many and this one does it well. Keeping it on my list of books to get when my wee one is older.
August 22, 2010
great tool for growing kids on what kind of information to accept from friends, and how to investigate claims further. one of a kind.
September 24, 2011
Good book for kids, but way too short for the price.
March 3, 2015
Read this as a child and it always stuck with me.
August 7, 2021
I thought this was great given the target age. I suspect many people of faith will hate it, despite religion being only briefly touched upon, because the entire text encourages questioning all things.
FWIW, I don't have a problem with faith, in principle. There is much in our physical universe, and beyond its bounds (if there are any... finite or infinite, both present troublesome questions), which is unknown. Maybe even unknowable, at least while we travel the material realm!
What matters to me is acknowledging that what we choose to believe about those unknowns *is* a choice. Faith, by definition, is belief despite evidence to the contrary.
Kids need to learn to live with great ambiguity -- and that's ultimately what this book is about: recognizing the difference between what is knowable with measurable certainty, and what is not, so that they are not such easy victims of fools or malefactors.
FWIW, I don't have a problem with faith, in principle. There is much in our physical universe, and beyond its bounds (if there are any... finite or infinite, both present troublesome questions), which is unknown. Maybe even unknowable, at least while we travel the material realm!
What matters to me is acknowledging that what we choose to believe about those unknowns *is* a choice. Faith, by definition, is belief despite evidence to the contrary.
Kids need to learn to live with great ambiguity -- and that's ultimately what this book is about: recognizing the difference between what is knowable with measurable certainty, and what is not, so that they are not such easy victims of fools or malefactors.
March 24, 2020
2.5 stars. I love the concept here - teaching kids to checks facts for themselves, ask lots of questions, and think about things rationally - but this simplifies science too much and makes a lot of leaps that simply are not true, like if something is logical, it shouldn't be confusing. This is poorly executed, especially for what it is trying to do.
July 12, 2021
Great read for a confusing world
I just pre read this before adding it to my 8 year old son’s curriculum. I can’t wait to share it with him! What a clever and engaging story to teach a child about due diligence. For my son who loves YouTube videos that often make silly claims, this book is a great primer to using skepticism and science to shift fact from fable.
I just pre read this before adding it to my 8 year old son’s curriculum. I can’t wait to share it with him! What a clever and engaging story to teach a child about due diligence. For my son who loves YouTube videos that often make silly claims, this book is a great primer to using skepticism and science to shift fact from fable.
January 5, 2021
I appreciated the simplicity of this book and the conversations it led to with my children. They're already natural skeptics, but the book has given them some easy to remember steps that will help them develop their critical thinking skills.
February 10, 2021
Great intro to skepticism
We really enjoyed this book. There may be a little emphasis on someone’s value if they are NOT a skeptic, but not too much that it couldn’t be directed while reading to my 6 year old.
We really enjoyed this book. There may be a little emphasis on someone’s value if they are NOT a skeptic, but not too much that it couldn’t be directed while reading to my 6 year old.
September 10, 2019
Such a simple guide to scientific method
My kiddo loved it. Such an easy way to show them how to think for themselves. The simple rules are easy to follow and remember
My kiddo loved it. Such an easy way to show them how to think for themselves. The simple rules are easy to follow and remember
May 16, 2020
My parents gave me this book as a young child, and the principles it teaches have become my philosophy and approach to life.
July 6, 2020
Great!
Simple and straightforward way to discuss information and how to parse out the truth using scientific methods. I am glad I got it for my kids.
Simple and straightforward way to discuss information and how to parse out the truth using scientific methods. I am glad I got it for my kids.
August 28, 2020
Good for thinking
I read this with my grade schooler to encourage skepticism and critical thinking. He connected with the simple language and cartoons.
I read this with my grade schooler to encourage skepticism and critical thinking. He connected with the simple language and cartoons.
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November 15, 2022Good read with the kids
March 5, 2024
Two words only! "THE BEST"
October 16, 2015
Book to read with the child. Not so nice illustrations, no color and long so it is to read just a little each time.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews