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When science fails
Book by Tiner, John Hudson
136 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 1974
8 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
John Hudson Tiner
102 books17 followersJohn Hudson Tiner is a lifelong educator, and has acquired a reputation for writing clearly about science. He has wide-ranging interests, and has also written about American history and several of the sciences. He and his wife, Jeanene, live in Missouri.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 30, 2019
This book is mainly interesting and it's written in a way that's easy to understand, but the title doesn't make the least bit of sense. The whole point of the book is how scientists have misused their influence and stifled advance in the field of science. Because of pride and prejudice, they failed. Science did not fail; stupid people failed.
If you can ignore the title, you'll enjoy this interesting and informative read.
If you can ignore the title, you'll enjoy this interesting and informative read.
June 26, 2019
I read this book a long time ago, when I was quite young. (See dates below; the cover art on my mom’s edition was very different and more whimsical.) The title was intriguing to a young bookworm and skeptic; and I was quite taken with the early chapters, which were mostly about pioneers of modern biological and medical science like Vesalius, Harvey, Semmelweis, Pasteur, Jenner, Mendel, Fleming, et al. (I think Copernicus and Einstein were mentioned, but the medical stories dominated.)
Looking back, I realize these chapters actually argued against the title. They all followed more or less the same formula: brilliant thinker questions the common wisdom of his time, formulates new hypothesis, searches for and finds evidence in support of it, and is eventually vindicated (though sometimes not until after death). Such stories are not failures but successes. They illustrate exactly how modern science works: New discoveries which conflict with established theory spur further investigation, and eventually new theories, which explain the state of affairs better than the old ones. The truths of science are continually subject to revision in light of new evidence. This adaptability is exactly what gives science so much power to expand our knowledge and improve our technologies.
So why portray these stories as evidence of scientific failure? Because the author is preparing the ground, casting doubt on the legitimacy of scientific endeavor. Only in the last few chapters does he reveal his thesis: let’s chuck out science altogether, all you need is the Bible. The final chapter pits the Genesis account of creation against the supposedly godless ‘Darwinism’ (which absolutely no one but Creationists calls it any more.)
By the first time I got to the end of the book, I had an uneasy feeling with no name I knew to call it. I know its name now: gaslighting. This book is intellectually dishonest, mixes falsehoods with facts (e.g., Semmelweis did die of an infected wound — received not while performing surgery as the book claims, but from a beating by orderlies in a mental asylum, whither an unscrupulous colleague had him committed), logically inconsistent, and betrays a deep ignorance of what science is and how it works.
I have read several positive reviews of this book on various websites, written by people who rate it highly and recommend or actually use it to teach children. If you have read this far and are still considering using it for that purpose, I urge you not to. That is not education, but indoctrination. Your children will grow up unable to understand the world around them. Not only will their factual knowledge of the world be wrong in many important respects, but more importantly their ability to think critically and reason from empirical evidence will be severely crippled. And all for the sake of a single pet theory, which is not even accepted by the majority of Christians. For those who are asking: yes, it *is* possible to believe in both God and science. Don’t let the lunatic fringe tell you otherwise. And don’t teach children bad science *or* bad religion. This book is both.
Looking back, I realize these chapters actually argued against the title. They all followed more or less the same formula: brilliant thinker questions the common wisdom of his time, formulates new hypothesis, searches for and finds evidence in support of it, and is eventually vindicated (though sometimes not until after death). Such stories are not failures but successes. They illustrate exactly how modern science works: New discoveries which conflict with established theory spur further investigation, and eventually new theories, which explain the state of affairs better than the old ones. The truths of science are continually subject to revision in light of new evidence. This adaptability is exactly what gives science so much power to expand our knowledge and improve our technologies.
So why portray these stories as evidence of scientific failure? Because the author is preparing the ground, casting doubt on the legitimacy of scientific endeavor. Only in the last few chapters does he reveal his thesis: let’s chuck out science altogether, all you need is the Bible. The final chapter pits the Genesis account of creation against the supposedly godless ‘Darwinism’ (which absolutely no one but Creationists calls it any more.)
By the first time I got to the end of the book, I had an uneasy feeling with no name I knew to call it. I know its name now: gaslighting. This book is intellectually dishonest, mixes falsehoods with facts (e.g., Semmelweis did die of an infected wound — received not while performing surgery as the book claims, but from a beating by orderlies in a mental asylum, whither an unscrupulous colleague had him committed), logically inconsistent, and betrays a deep ignorance of what science is and how it works.
I have read several positive reviews of this book on various websites, written by people who rate it highly and recommend or actually use it to teach children. If you have read this far and are still considering using it for that purpose, I urge you not to. That is not education, but indoctrination. Your children will grow up unable to understand the world around them. Not only will their factual knowledge of the world be wrong in many important respects, but more importantly their ability to think critically and reason from empirical evidence will be severely crippled. And all for the sake of a single pet theory, which is not even accepted by the majority of Christians. For those who are asking: yes, it *is* possible to believe in both God and science. Don’t let the lunatic fringe tell you otherwise. And don’t teach children bad science *or* bad religion. This book is both.
May 13, 2023
Hudson attempts to prove that science ultimately fails by highlighting one of the great strengths of science: the lack of dogmatism. This is a silly little book made for Christians that need their anti-evolutionist worldview to be validated by someone who seemingly has experience.
May 31, 2025
Since science is advancing, all prior science is a failure. Interesting that he mentions social distancing being mentioned in Leviticus but the god loving anti maskers didn't follow this rule. Another piece of religious drivel masquerading as fact.
November 4, 2015
In my opinion this book lacks of many information or authentic information. one of the things that I personally not like is that offends science and the tittle of the book is offensive
February 26, 2010
Tiner's book is an interesting look at some of the many discoveries made in spite of science's conventional wisdom. It is apparently intended as a school text, and while the style is definitely geared for younger readers, I found it interesting and informative as well.
One thing I found troublesome, though, is that Tiner's choice of examples tends to undermine his thesis. In case after case, the hero of the story is someone who ignores the conventional wisdom of the day to prove something by experimentation and observation. While I know that he's coming at this from the Christian faith -- as am I -- the overall effect of the book is to denigrate faith in favor of logic and experiment. In addition, the cover seems to indicate that this book is intended as a refutation of Darwinism, when in fact there is nothing of the kind inside.
Had this been presented as a survey of scientific mavericks, it would have been much more effective. As it is, it comes across merely as an indirect attack on evolutionary thinking, with a few Bible verses thrown in every now and then. While the packaging is misleading, though, it's still an informative book, and I plan on keeping for my daughters to read.
One thing I found troublesome, though, is that Tiner's choice of examples tends to undermine his thesis. In case after case, the hero of the story is someone who ignores the conventional wisdom of the day to prove something by experimentation and observation. While I know that he's coming at this from the Christian faith -- as am I -- the overall effect of the book is to denigrate faith in favor of logic and experiment. In addition, the cover seems to indicate that this book is intended as a refutation of Darwinism, when in fact there is nothing of the kind inside.
Had this been presented as a survey of scientific mavericks, it would have been much more effective. As it is, it comes across merely as an indirect attack on evolutionary thinking, with a few Bible verses thrown in every now and then. While the packaging is misleading, though, it's still an informative book, and I plan on keeping for my daughters to read.
May 10, 2023
This is a great little book. I had bought it as part of homeschool for my son, and was interested in reading it myself. So many interesting anecdotes about discoveries by simple, everyday people.
September 11, 2023
This book was very educational, interesting, and written in an easy-to-read fashion. I couldn't hardly put it down. I would recommend this book to anybody!
February 28, 2022
My son read this book for school and said that I would really enjoy it. I did! Though short, the chapter subjects wetted my appetite to investigate further scientific discoveries and those who made them. The author deals with medicine, medical practices, astronomy, DNA, Biblical archaeology, etc. Many discoveries were not made by professionals, but by those who investigated ideas.
March 3, 2025
Gave it two stars for being entertaining despite being a prime example of the author’s research failing. I would only recommend this book as something to illustrate the dangers of gullibly accepting anything just because it’s labeled “Christian”. It takes very little research to show several stories merely perpetuate old hoaxes and misunderstandings.
February 4, 2017
As a educational book, When Science Fails is really good reading for school kids. When I started to read I hoped to learn more about "how-science-fails", but I felt liked book is proof that yes, science can make mistakes. But it is humans who are making mistakes. All the important discoveries it is still science. Eventhough on that time of the period novody like new ideas. It took time, sometimes even centuries, to see that science did not fail.
September 14, 2010
I read this book because it was required for Literature. I can say that this is definitely a book I will recommend to everybody! Tiner compiled stories of great science discoveries! He also showed that our God is an Awesome GOD! A book that will possibly turn atheist to Christians.
This book is written greatly, not a boring page!
This book is written greatly, not a boring page!
January 22, 2021
Really liked readin this as a Christian. Interesting
September 2, 2015
Wonderful Book!! One of my favorites book!!!! :)
April 28, 2019
Quite interesting, I guess.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews