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An Eye-Opening Tour through the Twists and Turns ofBad Scienee DEWDHEY $22.95 USA $32.50 CAN £17.99 UK YES. KO MEUTROHS ''Have you really detected an alien civi~ lizationV' In this lively excursion, the acclaimed author of 200% of Nothing takes a funfilled, in-depth look at eight famous (or rather, infamous) cases of bad science: highly touted discoveries or projects that are astonishing examples of serious scientific slipups. Originally trumpeted as impressive projects full of promise, some of this century’s most publicized scientific studies—SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence), Binet’s IQ theory, neural nets—have been fatally flawed. From the alleged detection of N rays to the Biosph ere 2 debacle. Yes, We Have No Neutrons unveils exactly what went wrong. Mr. Dewdney takes us behind the scenes to reveal why bad science occurs for a variety of reasons, whether due to faulty methodology or flawed interpretations of results. In some instances, researchers— amateur as well as experienced—neglected Copley Square This answer could not have been better calculated to raise curiosity about the incident still further^ guaranteeing a great deal of publicity for Project Ozma. A better answer would have been, "As far as we know, the anomalous signal originated right here on Earth." —from Yes, We Have No Neutrons BOSTON PUBLIC UBRARY "We're not sure. There's no way to know." ? • ^ • I • I m I f <> I I i % * * I » • r V. ' 1 ‘ •■ «#* iM 1 £ ^ \ «t t lifVLU ^ i'V« - t ^ \ 1 r $ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from China-America Digital Academic Library (CADAL) https://archive.org/details/yeswehavenoneutrOOakde Tour through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science A. K. DEWDHEY John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York • Chichester • Weinheim • Brisbane • Singapore • Toronto This text is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 1997 by A. K. Dewdney Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada. Reproduction or translation of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dewdney, A. K. Yes, we have no neutrons : an eye-opening tour through the twists and turns of bad science / A. K. Dewdney. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-471-10806-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Errors, Scientific^—Popular works. I. Title. Q172.5.E77B48 1997 500—dc20 96-35312 Printed in the United States of America 10 987654321 Dedicated to Martin Gardner, who actually believes in an , independent reality. ■ 't ii:* ♦• . ' W. 1 ■r ^ 1 ■■■y-4 ■ /ft ¥ J , * ^r> <> •pi * -» D ^ • -s*'. :: i) t i * Vfc x .1 ■■yi'- ic i / .-. I Hi S',-<