科學新聞不能這樣看

by Joe Schwarcz, 蘇瓦茲, 葉偉文 (translator)

科學新聞這麼多，你讀懂了嗎？
報上說，抗氧化劑有助健康，所以我們卯起來吃準沒錯？
大科學家鮑林說，維他命C預防感冒，聽他的就對了？
網路上流傳，微波爐煮出來的食物，有輻射又沒營養，這東西千萬別用才好？
大家都說有機的最好，花大錢買有機食品，一定可以買到健康囉？
基因改造食品聽起來實在危險，我要怎麼避開才好？
科學家操弄不過大自然，所以一切都是天然的最好？
不再害怕紛亂的科學資訊，蘇老師一一教你聰明解讀

Genres: Science, Health, Food, Essays, Chemistry

358 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Dr. Joe Schwarcz holds a PhD in chemistry and is host of the radio program The Dr. Joe Show, directo of McGill University's Office for Science & Society and the author of fourteen bestselling books. Well known for his informative and entertaining lectures, Dr. Schwarcz has received numerous awards for teaching and deciphering science for the public.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes I'm not sure why I torture myself with these popular chemistry books. I'm always disappointed by how the authors manage to take a topic I'm wonderfully interested in and sully it with bad writing (who knew chemistry could evoke the use of so many exclamation points?)(!) and clumsy attempts to make science interesting to "everyday folks". On the other hand, Mr. Schwarcz a good job of emphasizing that the words "a scientific study shows..." should not be taken as gospel without asking questions about how scientific that study really was. How many subjects were involved? How significant was the supposed effect? Was the effect reproducible in subsequent studies? etc. Mostly this book just reinforced my belief that you're not going to outsmart millions of years of co-evolution between the incredibly complex human body and the surprisingly complex foods we eat by taking massive quantities of vitamin D or by getting that acai smoothie at Jamba Juice.

[Christian Van Cleave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains very interesting commentaries on things we use in our everyday lives, from organic foods to dynamite to birth control pills. Stuff I had never considered wanting to know the origins of but now I'm glad I know!

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book. It just got a bit repetitive for me after awhile. Don't get me wrong. I had Dr. Schwarcz as a chemistry professor and I loved his classes. He's an amazing teacher.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts with a number of chapters emphasizing the need to beware of pseudoscience and ridiculous claims. Later, other chapters relate how many scientific advancements came to be. Interesting stories built around proven facts of chemistry. Each chapter can stand on its own. Entertaining and informative.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Dr Joe.