Is This Wi-Fi Organic?: A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online

by Dave Farina

How to Separate Real Scientific Truths from Fake News
This book separates fact from fiction and teaches science basics in an easy-to-understand and -apply way. With the knowledge base gained from Dave Farina’s teaching, you can spot misinformation and lies on the internet before they spot you.

Is This WiFi Organic? is about science that affects us all. Food, medicine, and technology. Earth, sea, and sky. Light, heat, and fire. Science is the study of everything around us. It has ultimately yielded to all of the modernity that is inextricable from our everyday experience, from cures for diseases to the electricity we use constantly. But one impressive scientific breakthrough, the internet, has pervaded and encapsulated popular culture, and it is also making it harder and harder to know what is true―and what is not.

Learn how to separate internet fact from fiction. We live in the information age, giving us access to every datum ever collected and every opinion its originator thought fit to share. But with this newfound access to information comes a new challenge. Namely, how can you tell what information is true and what is false? In Is This WiFi Organic? Dave Farina, author and science expert from the YouTube channel Professor Dave Explains, is here to help you fight confirmation bias and logical fallacies. In this book of science essays, you will learn:

• The real science behind controversial health issues like medications and vaccines
• What energy actually is―and how we use it each and every day
• A core of scientific knowledge, from biochemistry and molecular biology to theoretical physics, that will help you pull truths from the weeds of misinformation and outright lies.

Readers captivated by the scientific and technological teachings in science books like Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, Everybody Lies, and The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe will love Is This WiFi Organic?

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Chemistry, Biology, Skepticism, Health, Psychology

286 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2021

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one, Farina was ruthless with the pseudo-scientists of the pandemic and “quantum” healing epidemic. He called out charlatans like Andrew Wakefield and Deepak Chopra and very easily dismantled how they are wrong about everything they talk about. There was also some basic cell biology and physics which was interesting to learn more about.

In the end he emphasized the need to elevate intelligent people rather than celebrities. A great read and I might just buy this one for my shelf.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt more like a rant from a frustrated person than an actual guide to spotting misleading information. The introductory, quick coverage of scientific topics was nice, and I understand the reason for that information, but I don't think it's enough for the epidemic of science illiteracy we are facing. More actual information about sources, how to find information, and how to vet information would have been more beneficial. One of the key things that tells me that this is more of an opinion book than a guide book is the lack of any kind of references. He makes some pretty big claims that challenge people's world-view, it would have been nice if some of the sweeping generalizations had been cited. I had hoped this might be a good book for my anti-science family member but the writing style is so abrasive I think she would stop reading after 10 pages because she would feel attacked. I like the premise, but the execution wasn't what I was hoping for.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan warned readers: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” Dave Farina has made it his life’s mission to remedy such wholesale ignorance, hosting a youtube channel in which he addresses popular misconceptions about the natural world. He adds to his work with Is This Wi-Fi Organic, in which primers on physics, biochemistry, and energy precede and inform take-downs of various spurious claims. Farina focuses on those with a direct bearing on human health (diet and medicine), though after the two-thirds mark he moves to the area of the obnoxious-but-not-dangerous category, the likes of astrology and such. Farina takes serious issue with the “nature good, artificial bad” conceit so ubiquitous in our culture, frequently reminding readers that nature can be capricious and destructive as easily as it can be beneficial. The author’s experience as an online educator is definitely on display here, with clear explanations and helpful illustrations; there’s also a good dash of humor, sometimes snark, when he’s addressing particularly ludicrous claims. The book is most helpful in constantly keeping readers tied to the foundation: we begin with chemistry and physics, and even as Farina builds on that to explain how cells work, or muscle tissue is created, he continually reminds readers of these processes’ ultimate electrochemical origins. Is This Wi-Fi Organic is both educational and fun, but it has its quirks. Farina’s passion for creating a scientifically literate populace is admirable but leads him to a naive technotriumphalism at times — championing a command economy and cold fusion, for instance. Farina might be served looking at a history or economics book once in a while. Despite this, I think the book is helpful as an introduction to the basic goings-on of the natural world and ourselves, especially if paired with something like A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age, which focused more on skills on interpreting graphs, parsing statistics, etc.

Related
The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe: How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake , Steven Novella et. al. From the hosts of “The Skeptics Guide to the Universe“, a skeptical/science/geek podcast I’ve been listening to since 2006.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark , Carl Sagan
A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age , David Helfand
50 Popular Beliefs that People Believe are True , Guy Harrison

[Gendou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave is the king of plain language debunking. This book eviscerates alternative medicine by teaching the tiniest bit of basic chemistry. Given the title, I wish he'd taken the Organic industry to task a little bit more. It was sort of a short book, there was room for more. Hopefully Dave will write more.

One mistake I caught was that, in discussing marijuana, schedule 1 drugs were conflated with "the most addictive" which is not how the classification works. The classification is actually "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse" which fit marijuana at the time of its classification into schedule 1. The high potential for abuse is still there. This isn't contradicted by its being less addictive than other substances in the same class.

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Science Let this word simmer in your mind for a moment. Examine every texture. Taste the nuance. What does this word make you think of? How does it make you feel?"

Is This Wi-Fi Organic? was a decent book on science communication. I have watched a few videos by the author on his YouTube channel, and thought I'd check out his book. While most of the content was well done, I had a few small points of contention. More below.

Author Dave Farina received a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, and performed graduate studies in both synthetic organic chemistry and science education at Cal State Northridge, receiving an MA in the latter. He is best known for his above-mentioned YouTube channel: "Professor Dave Explains," where he has over 3 million subscribers.

Dave Farina:


As the book's title cheekily hints at; the writing in the book proper attempts to dispel common misconceptions about science. The average layperson has roughly zero knowledge of many basic scientific principles and are functionally scientifically illiterate. Books like this are important, to help these people familiarize themselves with some of the basics. There is a large-scale distrust and misunderstanding of science, and what it is, especially since the recent debacle of how COVID was handled. Many people have lost trust in science. Science communicators like the author are important to help push back against much of the irrationality that has bubbled up into the public arena in the age of a democratized internet.

The author opens the book with the quote above, and it continues below:

"Do you imagine futuristic cityscapes? Do you feel hopeful? Do you picture billowing smokestacks? Do you feel terrified? Does it remind you of school? Does that hold a positive or negative connotation for you?
As to what you envisioned, it may have been any of the above, or something totally different still. But the general consensus of the American public on this matter can be quite easily traced through recent history. In the years following World War II, the American economy was booming. The middle class was gainfully employed, adequately fed and sheltered, and filled with optimism. Because of this, science was viewed as a gleaming obelisk of limitless advancement. It was Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. It was the Jetsons. It was longevity and prosperity."

Farina writes with an effective style here, and I found the book to be very readable. I am admittedly very picky about how engaging my books are, and thankfully this one passed muster.
The audio book version I have was also read by author, and I felt he did a great job of this, too.

Farina speaks to the nature of the problem in this quote:

"Prior to the internet, there were sources of information that were unanimously agreed upon to be trustworthy and reliable. Stories published by newspapers had to be heavily researched by professional journalists. Knowledge from an encyclopedia was not questioned by those who needed to reference a fact, because they were written by top specialists in every discipline, which contributed to their considerable cost. Whether we regard them as good or bad, those times are gone, and they are never coming back. Unlike the encyclopedias of old, the quality of information on the internet is not reliable. It ranges from outstanding to abysmal. For this reason, the internet can serve as a magic mirror, a place where people go to confirm pre-existing bias. Outlets that reflect what we already “know” are correct and trustworthy. Those that do not are ignored, deemed fraudulent, deceitful, paid for by malevolent institutions, or worse. This method of assessment rarely has any respect for the qualifications of those who produce the content we encounter, which has led to what is popularly referred to as the “post-truth era.”

The writing in the book proper starts with Farina giving the reader a lesson in some basic chemistry. He continues on into organic chemistry, before talking about health and wellness.

The rest of the contents of the book include:
• What Are All These Lines and Hexagons?
• The Death of Vitalism
• Natural vs. Synthetic (Tackling Chemophobia)
• The Molecules of Life
• The Molecular Basis of Wellness
• The Rise of the Alt-Health Industry
• The Body as Machine
• Recognizing Science-Based Medicine
• Biotechnology and the Future of the Species
• Energy Defined
• An Equation for This and an Equation for That
• To Debunk Is Divine
• Science and Industry in an Educated World

Ok, on to my gripes. Early on, he says that Schedule 1 drugs are "... a classification reserved for the most addictive drugs we are aware of." That's not what Schedule 1 means. According to The DEA, which designates drugs, Schedule 1 drugs are drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

Also, he goes on to say right after that: "There is no evidence to support the notion that marijuana is addictive at all." This is not true. Any behaviour or substance which taps into the reward system has the potential for addiction. Anything that lights up the dopamine circuitry in the brain can become addictive. See Anna Lembke's book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence for more.

He also says that diet can't help treat cancer. Cancer is heavily correlated with inflammation. Someone's diet can be pro or anti-inflammatory. Certain compounds like turmeric can possibly up or down-regulate oncogenes and tumour-suppressing genes. Additionally, Paul Stamets has done some work on the polysaccharide compounds found in turkey Tail mushrooms; showing 7 different possible mechanisms of anti-cancer action. Japan also has used Turkey Tail derived PSK compounds in their mainstream oncology treatments for a few decades now. Farina is just not qualified to make blanket statements like this. No one is, really. Biochemistry is incredibly complex...

Finally, in a case of hilariously tragic irony in a book about magical thinking, he closes the writing here with some magical thinking of his own. He has an airy-fairy epilogue where he chastises celebrity worship, consumerism, and other aspects of human nature. Unfortunately, celebrity worship is an evolutionary mismatch that has been baked into human psychology since time immemorial. To evolve and thrive in a cohesive tribe, people have always looked up to those they perceive as having higher social status than they do.

Mindless consumerism just hijacks the basic biological desire for greed, and its related dopaminergic circuitry to accumulate as many possessions as possible in a world of scarcity. Additionally, consumerism has been a chief driver of innovation and invention. If there were no organic demand for new products and technologies, then there would be no incentive to produce them in the first place. So, much, or even most of our new technology can largely be attributed to the human desire for novelty and innovation expressed through consumerism.

******************

Is This Wi-Fi Organic? was a good short read, despite the minor criticisms above. Farina did a great job conveying complicated technical information in a manner that should be accessible to even the scientifically illiterate layperson.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
3 stars.

[Giuliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm going to put this absolutely bluntly...Chakras aren't real. Crystals aren't enchanted. Nobody has magical healing powers...and anyone who says otherwise on any of these points is either infantile or selling you something".
This was one of the best books I've read this year. Concise, well structured, written specifically for people like me who don't have a scientific background. And I loved it. The start of the book was slightly painful, in that key notions about atomic, cellular and molecular biology had to be discussed as they would come into play later. But this was a quick process which served its purpose and was worth it, as in the following chapters the author discussed prominent theories and delusions propagated mainly by the alternative health industry, and proceeded to demolish them.
Truth be told, serious debunking only takes places in the last chapter, where a bunch of claims are dissected and fully taken apart. However, the preceding chapters help to get a very good understanding of biological and chemical processes which are often abused in marketing ploys in order to make us buy products that have no real health benefits.
I wish Dave Farina had spent more time debunking specific claims, however I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will look to buying a copy (I got mine from the local library) as a handy reference book for the future.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a 5/5 first chapter and sunk to a 1/5 by it's final chapter. It's as if you took the most smug teenager from r/atheist who thinks he can write because he knows the word "elucidates" and asked him to write a book mansplaining to every girl he saw on Tinder that the rituals and beliefs they draw comfort and meaning from are "asinine" and "inane."

No one with any basic knowledge of effective communication would write this book, stating themselves as the purveyor and educator of science while having no empathy, nuance, or knowledge of human society or psychology. Additionally he lists several scientific inaccuracies. The placebo effect does in fact still work if the recipeient knows they are receiving a placebo. Even a moronic layperson knows this has been studied. He also lists accupuncture and naturopathic doctors as scientifically debunkable as crystal healing, which is categorically false. These are just off the top of my bimbo English-major head but obviously if I find comfort in the self introspection a tarot reading can provide, all I need is a high school level chemistry and physics recap to get me back in line!

Seriously, he is doing harm by reducing all the issues with western medicine down to misinformed people, charlatons, and the "rare cases" that he cherry picks, then say shouldn't matter to us anyway because Science Will Prevail. Western medicine is not the neutral implementation of data driven discoveries that he seems to think. It is clear that he has not had the experience of being chronically ill, having a lesser known disease, or being in a demographic that demonstrably, in the here and now, are not served and even harmed by the protocols, testing methods, and other related realities of western medicine. Either that or he thinks this is irrelevant.

He wrote a whole book to tell us to correct everyone who uses scientific words by their colloquial meaning, make sure we all learn basic stem, and we will live in a utopia where we can use science to control and mitigate all the damages of capitalism with 0 evidence that would work. After everything else he said was about not believing stuff without evidence. He does realize fields studying human behavior, language usage, and society as a whole exist, right? Because he definitely acts like he does not. The man is still salty about the word "literally" being used to mean "figuratively" as if that wasn't acknowledged by mainstream dictionaries years ago. That's how language works bro. Yelling that we should all kill English by making all words mean one thing for always and forever is both illogical and ineffective.

So yeah, 2/5 because I feel like this book had a good idea but needed a fact checker and a better editor or something. It can't even deliver on its own promises as a result.

[Josh Houlding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself a pretty big fan of Professor Dave's work on his YouTube channel, and I find his antagonistic style of debunking flat earthers, anti-vaxxers, and all manner of other anti-science people to be endlessly entertaining. That being said, this book is essentially some of Dave's talking points from his YouTube debunks, with a bunch of basic biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and astronomy mixed in, all of which would be pretty easy to look up online and learn yourself. It's a decent book, but I'm not exactly sure why anyone would read this instead of just watching Dave's YouTube videos and researching the scientific concepts he talks about within them further on your own.

I personally would have preferred if this book stuck closer to what it says on the cover, "a guide to spotting misleading science online", and provided some strategies for how to differentiate between science and pseudoscience during one's foray into the information landscape in cyberspace. That's what I thought the book would be, and I was disappointed to find out that this is not really the focus of the book.

TL/DR: An alright book, but it would be faster and more entertaining to watch Dave's YouTube debunks, then spend a few minutes reading about the science he brings up within them.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

While accurate and largely correct (I only found one error, but I'm not biologist) the delivery is pretty bad and quite abrasive.

Think Richard Dawkins with more angst, less tact, and not nearly as brilliant.

Largely, such literary style is at best ineffective. At worst it will leave those mislead or misinformed experiencing a bitter emotive "Backfire Effect"...

Your time may be better spent pursuing or recommending more talented pop science educators such as Tyson or Sagan as a gateway to better science and reason derived thinking.

[Geir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of the author for quite some time now, and I jumped on the book as soon as I saw it on Audible. Now that I'm done with it I can gladly say that it was an easy and fun listening experience.

The information and entertainment Dave Farina has shared for years online through Youtube is absolutely marvelous, and now much of that has been condensed into this splendid book. This is one of those books that I'll recommend to everyone - simply because it leaves you with much of the knowledge and wisdom needed to deal with the chaos and misinformation of modern life.

[Mariela Krumova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read it, that is all the information you need

My thoughts in a book form. The book is amazingly written and it had some really cool words, i really liked his style of writing.

It has everything a book like this should have

[Brian Clegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pretty much sold on this 2021 publication by the title - but it turned out to be considerably more than I expected. I had assumed it would be a book poking fun at ignorant pseudoscientific ideas, but in reality the biggest parts of it are solid and entirely serious introductions to chemistry, biochemistry and energy (plus a touch of quantum physics).

The reason for this eclectic mix is that Dave Farina feels that they provide the knowledge foundation required to counter much online woo, whether it's about things 'not containing chemicals', so-called alternative medicines or the random use of the word 'quantum' to try to make a treatment that is nothing more than a placebo seem more scientifically based.

In between the basic science chapters we do get into the dodgy claims, also taking on, for example, that marketing term 'organic' and various other unlikely ways scientific terms are misused (sadly we never do encounter that organic wi-fi). Farina emphasises the ridiculous distinction between 'natural' and 'synthetic' in chemical terms, pointing out the many dangers of nature and the fact that a chemical with identical structure is the same thing whether it is natural or synthetic in origin. He also does an effective job of demolishing the idea that there can be a product or treatment that does a detox.

Taking on all these examples of pseudoscience and 'natural'-based marketing is a well trodden path, but what's novel here is providing a fair amount of straight science to accompany it - I was particularly pleased to see the chemistry section, as the subject is woefully under-represented in popular science.

What I'm less sure about, sadly, is whether this will change any minds. You have to be interested in science to read those science sections, and Farina's regular suggestion that no sensible person would fall for alternative therapies and their ilk is unlikely to win over current believers. The weakest part of the book is when he oversimplifies the history of science. For example, he describes alchemy as pseudoscience, where it is the ancestor of chemistry with considerable overlap by the time you get to Robert Boyle. For that matter, Farina is (rightly) very positive about Isaac Newton's work, without pointing out the considerable time he put into alchemy.

This book is probably preaching to the converted - but it will do a very useful job for those who feel that pseudoscience is nonsense, but lack the science knowledge to back up their assertion.

[Rick Kwitkoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Farina is clearly frustrated with the lack of REAL scientific understanding in the world and most especially in his home country, The United States of America.
I enjoyed this book if only for the very clear and concise treatment that Farina gives to mostly high school level science that is NOT well understood by so much of the adult population and indeed, in much of the "developed" world.

The first 11 chapters are devoted to simple explanations of many key concepts in science. Very few of them are anything but high school level, however, there were some topics that I first encountered during my initial years of University while obtaining a BSc in Biology.
The final chapter is a BIT of knowledge about how to spot incorrect and pseudoscience most especially as one might encounter it via social media posts.

Personally, I have been countering CRAP and pseudoscience for many decades. It is not easy to spot this stuff all the time. Just reading Farina's book is NOT going to make you an expert at breaking down misleading info and pseudoscience. However, it will be a GOOD beginning if you are at all inclined to do so.

Dave Farina has a well-established YouTube channel "Professor Dave Explains" in which the majority of his videos are tutorials in many different subjects, mostly within science fields. Reading this book and then watching his videos and his debunking videos will give one a good grounding in some very basic science and how to spot the garbage.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book going into it. I love Dave's YouTube channel and his explanatory style and illustrations are incredibly effective. I even tended to read the book in his voice.

Books are not video and a successful approach in one medium isn't necessarily going to translate into another. The information in this book is spot-on and its presentation is clear and understandable.

Where the book struggles is in the sheer amount of information it imparts in its less than three hundred pages. This information could easily fill multiple volumes and still be engaging and clear but as it is I feel it was just so much information that had to be digested all at once to make sense of it. I was familiar with most of the principles in the book and I had to take frequent breaks and re-reads to really get what each Sefton was about.

Teaching science is desperately needed in an age where people seem too be in competition to believe the most implausible and outrageous claims made. I'm certain such education needs to be done, and I applaud Dave's effort here, but I still find his videos much better paced for the kind of information he's imparting.

One thing the book excels at is communicating the urgency of the need for this kind of education; but the hectic pace of the book makes it ironically seem almost as difficult to comprehend as a more densely-written tome.

[Ross Blocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended! Dave Farina (Professor Dave Explains on YouTube) is a gifted science communicator, and in Is this Wi-Fi Organic? matter-of-factly breaks apart terms like chemical, toxin, genetic modification, quantum, frequency, energy, nuclear, radiation, and theory... terms that have colloquial meanings in addition to their technical ones that confuse public discourse and open consumers up to bad information and scams. There's no fat here (apart from the discussion of lipids), and Farina covers a lot of ground quickly and effectively. He moves from basic physics, to chemistry, to biological chemistry, to food, energy, and beyond. Each precept builds upon the last. After each lesson, he sums up the section with a memorable TL;DR ("too long; didn't read") takeaway, such as "Vaccines don't cause autism." Because they don't.

I consider myself fairly well studied on these topics, and I learned a lot from this book. Farina offers solid data and excellent explanations and analogies that I hope to hold on to. This is important information that we all should have just as humans living an examined life, but even more so as consumers. I listened to the audio version, read by the author himself, which clocked in at under 7 hours.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Farina really knows his science. In this book he covers chemistry, biology, and physics. And he discusses the dangers of being ignorant regarding science in today’s society - for example how eschewing science based medicine for alternative medicine could cause harm when a person has a serious illness.

For this science lover it was an amazing overview. However, I am not Dave Farina’s target audience. He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I simply enjoyed the discussion.

And this brings me to why I rated the book a 3.0. For someone like me who is well versed in science, the book was just a lovely refresher. But I wasn’t his target audience. If I am understanding correctly, the purpose of the book is to educate non-scientists enough that they can distinguish fact from fiction when encountering information on the Internet. In my opinion, the explanations are too esoteric for the science novice. If a reader knows little to nothing about science, this book is going to lose them.

Maybe I’m wrong and this book is intended for people who know some science and are interested in knowing more? Although in my experience, people either love science and absorb all they can or they are disinterested.

[Antony Monir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is nice but would’ve been nicer with a focus on how to actually debunk misinformation beyond the most basic level. A lot of modern day charlatans (fitness industry, influencers, etc.) can find “science-based” articles and studies that support their arguments. In this case, a basic high school science understanding (which surprisingly many people don’t have) is insufficient and higher critical thinking skills are needed. In the author’s defence, the science concepts in this book were explained well but whenever there was a discussion of the political aspects of science, there was little nuance. The author’s mention that monopoly profits are justified due to the risk taken by pharmaceuticals does not excuse the price paid for medication that has existed for literal decades such as insulin in the US, especially knowing that in other countries such exorbitant fees aren’t allowed. This is an important political issue to understand since it erodes many people’s trust in science, but I digress. The book is a fine introduction to scientific critical thinking among many other fine introductions to scientific critical thinking. 3/5

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could Do Without the Diatribe

Some of us can cocieve of a universe in which the divine still has a place. Science is a fantastic tool for interatcing with the physical world and surely and anti-science attitude is surely a death sentence in many ways. Maybe go a little easier with the broad generalizations of people and don't call them ignorant and incapable of understanding science just because they live in a world where there is room for mystery and divinity and yes, a little magic. I am not a scientist, but I already understood most of the basics of this book... hey, I read Hawking and Greene and others... I am not ignorant. I also practice magic, I speak to the dead and the gods, I have experienced things that science does not have ready answers for because: 'you imagined it' is not an acceptable answer. Dear Dave... I love you and your mission, but I implore you to talk to Dr. Dean Radin.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Dave’s YouTube channel and especially of his work debunking pseudoscience online. This book is well written and interesting, but Dave’s tone is a bit harsh. I’m not sure it’s the sort of thing that would reach anyone who is already science-skeptical.

I would, however, recommend this book to people who are themselves working to communicate science to the public or counteract pseudoscience and misinformation. This book offers a toolbox that can be drawn upon for explaining science as well as understanding how pseudoscience and misinformation work (especially through narratives). Dave offers some genuinely unique insights in this frontier, especially his point that the public’s well-founded mistrust of industry and its use of science often bleed over into their perception of science itself.

[Vladimir Burtsev · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a good example of ignorant skepticism pretending to be a "scientific". Author is claiming to be a “science expert”. But he seems to be a pathetic charlatan. Show me his publications in the peer-reviewed scientific journals, please. I did not find anything that proved his expertise in any science. He even does not have any scientific credentials (research expertise, peer-reviewed papers etc.). The majority of his arguments are based upon stupid dumb, toddler's level nonsense or a scientific dogmatism. In the process of argumentation the author exposed logical fallacies and his lack of knowledge of scientific methodology and his shallow understanding and misunderstanding of modern scientific researches, assumptions and new theories. For me this so-called "Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online" looks like a complete fraud.

[Bara_Chat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's more a bunch of debunking rather than an actual guide (although there are some general guidelines scattered throughout) on debunking. The general message is still, for me, clear enough. The writing style is fine, I didn't find it as abrasive as others mentioned. Maybe it's because the few videos I've watched of him debunking and he can be much more biting. Its general focus is on health-related science and pseudoscience. I would have liked a bit more variety but then again his formal education is in chemistry. It's pretty good overall. Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars which makes the current average pretty spot-on in my opinion. (French speaker here, please excuse any error that might have slipped in).

[Alican Kunta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Dave - as I am of many other excellent science communicators and pseudoscience debunkers. His videos of him just being a total jerk to the charlatans who totally deserve it are my latest favorite on youtube. And here Dave does just that. He demolishes the most popular of the junk sciences with receipts and arms the reader with the necessary debunking tools.
I'll be honest, I skimmed through the basic science chapters in the book because even I'm not that big of a nerd, but overall a very entertaining and enlightening book on today's science scene written in a very fluid easily digestible style, very much like his signature commentary style on his videos.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate; although I was already aware of most of what he said, it was good information, but I think it went too far into the actual science and biochemistry for the title. It was fairly interesting, but I'm not sure that it was appropriate. I highly recommend it, but maybe under a different title and subtittle , maybe something like "The science and Biochemical methodology for spotting misleading science online". I don't know, maybe that's a little too much, but "A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online" doesn't indicate the scientific depth of the book.
Still, a worrthwhile read!

[Carol Blakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book quite interesting and informative in some respects and on some topics. When he wrote of the scientific explanations for cancer and chemical bonds, I was glad for the explanation. But when he called people ignorant and childish for exploring nontraditional medical practices, it fell flat in my mind. Those tactics make me suspicious and less likely to receive his assertions. If you are speaking truth, you do not need to attack another’s viewpoint or worldview. You just need to put the truth out there and it will speak for itself.

[Joey Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cathartic listen for someone who is beyond fed up with the ignorance and hostility directed toward science professionals and educators, particularly here in America in the year 2024. Even as someone who didn't always do so hot in those science classes, I was able to grasp many of the scientific facts, concepts, and principles he lays out here. Sure, maybe I couldn't always follow the more advanced explanations perfectly, but fortunately, Dave uses them very selectively, and I imagine the visual aids included in the print version are a big help for visual learners like myself. The audiobook edition sated my appetite to hear Dave doing what he does best: raking the charlatans and hucksters of the world over the coals for all to see. I can't recommend this book or his YouTube channel enough!

[Zain Khwaiss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dave Farina is painfully conceded in his world view and juvanile temperament. He starts the book by explaining away distrust of science as a product of capitalism destroying the environment, also comparing distrust of synthetic products with xenophobic propaganda.

This book is only good if you want a refresher on high school science. I'm not defending the charlatans or pseudo science. But a good chunk of this book are highly opinionated rants that are only usefule at identifying the thought patterns that led to the hubris of environmental destruction since modernity.

[Dragan P · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book for anyone struggling to distinguish pseudoscience from real science in today’s world. It’s also for those seeking a clear framework to differentiate grifters from genuine scientists and science communicators.
The author provides clear, accessible explanations in simple terms. This is not a scientific paper, nor does it claim to be. Its primary goal is to reach those who are not scientifically literate. If someone expects something else, ends up disappointed, and leaves a poor rating because of that, I’d argue they’ve missed the point and submitted a dishonest review.

[WiseB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is an excellent read which provides knowledge and information in science on chemistry, biology, biochemistry and physics, whilst not requiring to be well versed or educated in science domain. The objective is for readers to understand science based facts to judge and be aware of various pseudoscience based misinformation, misconception and hoaxes ... including vitalism, alt-health, quantum mysticism, organic myth etc.

[Michel Meijer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the target audience for this book. Being a trained chemist with interests in biochemistry, physics, scientific progress, the universe and what not related, the book was more or less a rehearsal of some basic and slightly less basic facts. I like the fact Dave Farina was able to write as clear and concise about these topics in less than 300 pages. However, I would probably not picked it up if I knew the level up beforehand. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

[John Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone is a fan of this YouTube channel. I found this book engaging, but of course hard to understand in certain parts and also I tried to listen to the audiobook while multitasking and if you really want to understand it or comprehend it, it takes a lot of concentration. Very good though I like the parts about vaccines, the difference between fusion and fission there’s a part at the end where he debunk RICKY that’s pretty funny