The Borderlands of Science Where Sense Meets Nonsense

New York: Oxford University Press. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 2001. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 0195143264 . A near-fine volume in a near-fine DJ, dustjacket in Mylar, unclipped. ; 6.25 X 1 X 9.25 inches; 360 pages; "Many people have difficulty figuring out the difference between science, borderline science, and just plain nonsense. When is a theory a fact, and when is it just conjecture? Michael Shermer, a leading science author and skeptic, divides knowledge into three classes: science, based on factual evidence; borderline science, based on scientific conjecture; and nonsense, where anything goes (e.g., Bigfoot). He is especially zealous about separating science from borderline science; borderline science includes many modern grand explanatory hypotheses, such as superstring theory. Nonetheless, most attempts to create a Theory of Everything result in nonsense. Shermer explores the work of Darwin, Freud, and Carl Sagan, as well as the shameful episode of the Piltdown Man." .