Product Description
Many science students find themselves in the midst of graduate school or sitting at a lab bench, and realize that they hate lab work! Even worse is realizing that they may love science, but science (at least academic science) is not providing many job opportunities these days. What's a poor researcher to do !?
This book gives first-hand descriptions of the evolution of a band of hardy scientists out of the lab and into just about every career you can imagine. Researchers from every branch of science found their way into finance, public relations, consulting, business development, journalism, and more - and thrived there! Each author tells their personal story, including descriptions of their career path, a typical day, where to find information on their job, opportunities to career growth, and more. This is a must-read for every science major, and everyone who is looking for a way to break out of their career rut.

* An insider's look at the wide range of job opportunities for scientists yearning to leave the lab
* First-person stories from researchers who successfully made the leap from science into finance, journalism, law, public policy, and more.
* Tips on how to track down and get that job in a new industry
* Typical day scenarios for each career track
* List of resources (websites, associations, etc.) to help you in your search
* Completely revised, this latest edition includes six entirely new chapters ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

warning
The case studies are entirely on people in the biotech sector. Good ideas, but not as useful for people outside of this field. Would have been more accurate to call the book "Alternative Careers in Biotech."

Great reference book!
This book is a great source of information for graduate students and PhD's!I am currently a graduate student finishing up my thesis work in biomedical sciences.I decided that academia is not where I want to spend my future yet felt that I really did not know what other choices I had available that did not require yet another degree.There are far more career options available than I could have imagined on my own!I like that each career has a detailed description of a 'typical day' and what characteristics a person needs for each career.Also, each career alternative describes to varying degrees how we can start on those career paths.For the most part we can't expect to head our own venture capital firm or lead a business development team in a major pharmaceutical company after graduation.But we can certainly learn how best to go about getting to that stage at some point because the book describes what job skills are needed for each profession.

For those of us who like to do a little job searching in our spare time, a lot of chapters include websites where jobs are posted.This is a great source to find out what entry level positions are available for people looking to get out of the lab.Probably one of the most important things is I have learned from reading this book is that I have acquired a much bigger skill set than just how to do bench work.This book by no means informs us how to land the jobs we desire, but it is truely a great reference manual for those of us who are clueless about life outside of academia.

good overview
I am a postdoc searching for a new career to get into. Even though I love science I am tired about the politics and grant situations that get worse and worse. I bought this book and read it. Even though it of course does not cover all possibilities it gives you some good new ideas of what you could look into. It is written by people who actually did the step to leave science. Most of them describe you briefly what their way was like, give you some information on what their current job is like in comparison to their former science job (the pros and cons), describe an average workday and finally give you some information on how you could get there. Those chapters are great. But there are also some chapters in which the authors used the space to point out how great of a person they are and how they succeeded because of luck and courrage. Those chapters are less useful because they don't give you any information of how YOU could try to get to a similar position. However, they do show that life isn't over when you quit science. There are tons of possibilities out there waiting to be found by you. In summary: definetely a book to read if you are trying to decide if you want to stay in or leave science...

outdated already
-- FIRST REVIEW, 2006 -- see 2009 update below

The work environment for scientists changes quickly, and the path to changing careers changes as well. This book has been written by people who changed careers YEARS ago -- when minimal skill sets were sufficient to change careers. Learning how to use a word-processor in the 1980s was apparently enough to land you a job in writing or law. Knowing a bit of biology and how to use a computer was enough to get you into the field bioinformatics. Not anymore! This book offers little advice for what a competitive job market is like today, how and where to find employment, and what skills to acquire to take the plunge from lab to a different career.

------- UPDATE: JUNE 2009 ---------

I've still been thinking about this book and how useless it is. What do I recommend instead? In the years since I've made my first review of "Alternative Careers in Science," I've become interested in business-thinking, for lack of a better word, and I've taken a few classes in entrepreneurship and read a few business books. I highly recommend "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink in place of "Alternative Careers in Science." "A Whole New Mind" isn't about leaving academia, specifically, but it is a good book to get you prepared for a transition and think about other skill sets and contacts you would need to explore to leave academia. I haven't completed the career transition myself, but "A Whole New Mind" has me off to a good start.

This book changed my working life for the better.
As a recent Biology Ph.D. graduate, I am fortunate to have found this book about 1 year before graduation.I have always enjoyed biology, but my heart was just not in research, poring over the same project and data, day in and day out, 50 hours a week.Biology Ph.D.'s are, unfortunately, trained with tunnel vision in terms of career development.You are lead down a research path, and graduation represents a fork in the road:You can choose a life of academia following your mandatory postdocs, or you can immediately enter industry, following your mandatory postdocs.
For those who don't know, a postdoc is a type of internship following your graduation.You are the personal Igor for the head of the lab (usually a professor at a university or medical school).Hours are typically 6 days a week, 60 hours minimum, and earns about $35,000.You work on at lest 2-3 projects for the lab, and are expected to assist in training the new graduate students as well.In addition, you are expected to find your own grant money.
After the extreme stress of graduate work had been completed, call me crazy, but I decided an increase in stress was not what I wanted.Don't get me wrong; for those who love research, this is heaven, but not for me.
A year prior to graduation, I found this book.In my multiple years of study, no one had ever mentioned a sentence about any of the career options mentioned here, ALL of which were accessible to a Ph.D. student.About two dozen career options are mentioned here, from clinical research, to broadcast journalism, to sales...lots.Every career is discussed in detail from a personal account of someone who actually works in the field.Everything is discussed, from salary, hours, a typical day, to extra training and advancement opportunities.
This book did nothing short of change my career outlook from a pessimistic view of my science career to a wonderful new career in medical writing...earning twice as much as the postdoc I quit after one week.(If this doesn't appeal to you, there are plenty of other choices in this book.)
The book does not discuss EVERY option.The job I have now was not mentioned initially in the book.However, it opened my eyes, and got me started in this path.Spend the cash and buy it.Consider it a cheaper version of going to a great career counselor....or a psychiatrist. ... Read more

Product Description

This important book fills a need in the developing area of Pain Medicine. It provides physicians with an up-to-date resource that details the current understanding about the basic science underlying the mechanism of action of the various CAM therapies used for pain. It summarizes the clinical evidence both for efficacy and safety, and finishes with practical guidelines about how such treatments could be successfully and safely integrated into a Pain practice.

Customer Reviews (1)

Very good book!
Finding a decent book on CAM has been difficult. This is the best book I have seen yet! Being a nurse certified in pain I always look for familiar authors. The authors and contributors to this book are both familiar and local to the Boston area where I practice.
An area of importance in treatment of pain is concern for the patient. This validates the pain and the patient knows someone is listening. This book enables the patient to "accept their limitations" (of pain) and be able to live a life that is best for them. The model of this book emphasizes therapeutic approaches to enhance healthy forms of living "while factors such as candy bars and coffee consumed all day long" will not be ignored. ... Read more

Product Description
Hailed in the New York Times as "entertaining and immensely educational," Snake Oil Science is not only a brilliant critique of alternative medicine, but also a first-rate introduction to interpreting scientific research of any sort. The book's ultimate goal is to illustrate how the placebo effect conspires to make medical therapies appear to be effective--not just to consumers, but to therapists and poorly trained scientists as well. Bausell explores this remarkable phenomenon and explains why research on any therapy that does not factor in the placebo effect (and other placebo-like effects) will inevitably produce false results. Moreover, as the author shows in an impressive survey of research from high-quality scientific journals, studies employing credible placebo controls do not indicate positive effects for alternative therapies beyond those attributable to random chance. Readers will come away from this book with a healthy skepticism of claims about the latest "miracle cure," be it St. John's Wort for depression or acupuncture for chronic pain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Amazing
It's a great book about research on alternative medicine and how each branch in the area tries to forego the fact that it's science based, but has no better effect than placebo according to science.

Incongruous Title For a Deeply Informative Book
R. Barker Bausell is the Immanuel Kant of research methodologists, albeit with a considerably better sense of humor and lucidity of prose than Kant displayed in his writings.With the implacability of a Sherman tank, Bausell does an amazing, and possibly unparalleled, job of categorizing and describing the various treatments and theories that comprise complementary and alternative medicine, then relentlessly applies the highest methodological standards of research to examine the effectiveness of CAM therapies.Result?Many CAM therapies DO work, with no more and no less effectiveness than placebos.It's a fine but important distinction that Bausell makes in this somewhat dry, somewhat repetitive, and nonetheless highly informative book:he is NOT saying that CAM therapies don't work, he is saying that they work as well as, and probably because of, the placebo effect.And placebos do give relief of symptoms in often dramatic, but time-limited fashion.

Bausell, as an employee of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, notes that the insistence on funding only high quality scientifically rigorous controlled clinical trials of CAM therapies induced "a crisis that has occurred many times in the history of science:a collision between science and belief".This book tells that tale.

Snake Oil Science is superlative when respectfully discussing the many unconscious biases that distort the pursuit of verifiable medical knowledge.Contrary to the negative connotations of the title of his book, Bausell is quite respectful of the practitioners of CAM, and those who seek such treatments. His quest has nothing to do with the vilification of those who believe in CAM related arts, and everything to do with whether or not CAM offers anything beyond the placebo effect.A highly qualified juggernaut in his field of research methodology, Bausell's description of the history of the scientific method, and the excellent methods that have been developed to rate the quality of any given study that is published, is fascinating.Though I'm a family physician that reads studies by the bushel, I had never heard of the Jadad Quality Scale, or the CONSORT standards, both of which can be used as standards for the evaluation of the quality a given study.Though I do use the invaluable Cochrane reviews in attempts to separate valuable medical wheat from the profligate chaff of industry sponsored research, readers unfamiliar with the historical significance of the Cochrane Collaboration will get a warm and thorough introduction to it in Snake Oil Science.

Bausell's book is highly unusual, if not unique, in the gentility with which the powder keg subject of complementary and alternative medicine is approached.The author eschews sarcasm and condescension in his quest for the truth about CAM, though his frustration with demands that CAM be applied to a different (less rigorous) standard of evaluation than other areas of medicine is sometimes evident.

Weaknesses?I have to think that Bausell's editor was asleep at the switch, allowing the book to derail into a sometimes tiresome repetitiveness as well as a pacing that plods when the average reader has grasped the point and has sprinted onward.The title of the book belies its contents:the use of words "snake oil" strongly implies shysterism and fraud, while the contents of the book barely touch on this subject.Though the field of CAM certainly has its share of shysters, so does my own allopathic branch of medicine.Why is this important?Snake Oil Medicine, shortened and retitled, has the capacity to change the minds of many people that lack a scaffolding to use when evaluating the worth of any particular medical therapy. The ideal way to spread knowledge is not to preach to the choir, but to reach people where they intellectually live.This book has some unrealized potential in this respect.

It is probably fair to say that all humans seek some form of the truth.It is also without question that humans use very different standards when they apply the word "TRUE" to a hypothesis.Our everyday lives are filled with examples of the resulting confusion.Using one standard of verifiability allows authors to write many volumes (which happen to sell fairly well) about angels, without having to bother about the distinction between fiction and non-fiction.Using a more rigorous standard of verifiability, the only non-fiction thing one can say about angels is that there is no evidence for their existence that would conform to CONSORT standards, or any studies documenting the existence of angels that can get out of the basement on the Jadad Quality Scale.

Humans that seek truth with their metaphorical hearts, and then reason backward to a conclusion, best not bother with this book.Those who have sworn allegiance to scientific method, or are inclined to lean on scientific method to temper the yearnings of the heart, will find richness in this book despite its flaws.Health care providers that have felt shackled by the political incorrectness of asking whether CAM is pseudo-science will feel freed to speak again.Those that lack an agenda, but are simply seeking a reliable way of establishing efficacy of treatments will be deeply rewarded by the effort expended in reading this highly valuable book.

An important book
Sadly, not enough people will read this outstanding book. The author takes a subject that can be very dry - statistics and research methods-and makes them both entertaining and illuminating.

In short: it's easy to fool yourself. It's also easy when you live in a time where the terrifying diseases of the past have largely been eradicated to pooh-pooh mainstream medicine - toforget and fail to appreciate what has brought us out of the dark ages. While we still haven't been able to "eradicate" cancer, depression or other challenging diseases, CAM certainly hasn't either.

As Carl Sagan once said, science delivers the goods. Of course, it's not perfect,- we sometimes look back on medicines or treatments that in hindsight may have hurt us- but the scientific method is really the best that we have. Over a reasonable length of time, science is self-correcting, unlike wishful thinking and delusion.

Great content, poor construction
This is an informative, easily accessible, and enjoyable book.My only complaint is directed toward the publisher (Oxford), the binding completely fell a part before I was even half way through the book (2nd day of use).I've never seen a book so poorly bound regardless of price.

Snake oil sciece:a review
This entertaining, well written, and informatiave little book basically asks two questions:Is there a placebo effect? and how do "complementary alternative medical" treatments compare to the placebo effect?He answers both questions very well and with a lot of humor.The author is a biostatistician with considerable experience in conducting and supervising clinical trials, yet this is not a dry statistical book.In fact it is an easy read that science naive readers will find useful as a tool to evaluate the myriad of "cams" being touted in the media and from friends.It should be required reading for anyone who opted out of science in high school.But it is also fun. ... Read more

Product Description
In this compelling tour through the world of anomalous research, Richard Milton makes clear what the scientific establishment takes pains to deny: plenty of hard experimental evidence already exists for such things as cold fusion, paranormal phenomena, bioenergy, and the effectiveness of alternative medicine. Because these subjects and those who dare to investigate them are continually denied legitimacy by what can only be called the "paradigm police," the public is led to believe that all claims made about such topics are completely groundless. With humor and an eye for the telling detail, the author describes many instances when the defenders of scientific orthodoxy acted with unscientific rigidity in the face of the evidence. Faraday, Roentgen, Edison, and even the Wright Brothers were thought to be charlatans by their contemporaries. Taking the broad view of the way science is done, Milton discusses the forces at work in the marginalization of unorthodox research, and makes the reader wonder if there is not something fundamentally wrong with the way that science is currently being practiced.  ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Not a Scientific book
I do think if I get bored enough to read the whole book I will get to all the facts
I do not (or hardly do) read Fiction, I am a scientific mind interested in alternate science and that is the reason I bought the book.
I am really not interested in the author's beef with the scientific community, nor in world politics, nor conspiracy theories, nor the life stories of some forgotten scientist - only science
I do accept that you will always find some personal garbage in a book, It was after all written by a human, but when that ratio is 98% waffle and 2% fact then it gets a bit much
I read the first few chapters, then skipped a bit forward, a few more pages, skipped a handful of pages, read a few more pages, had a look at some of the pictures in the back, read the index again to see if I could find the invention that was supposed to be in there, got irritated and put the book down
I am not saying it is a bad book, I am only saying it contains very little on Alternative Science

NOT an anti-science book!Update February 2010
Science is such a lovely thing. Dedicated men and women in starched white lab coats larboring over hot test tubes to make the World Of Tomorrow a virtual paradise for you and me. They labor at rational experimentation, following a strict guideline for research called The Scientific Method. These brave, industrious souls are the latest warriors in a long line who fight the battle against ignorance, superstition, religious nonsense, and Nature Herself in order to win the day for us common folk.

That is more or less the Disney-esque fairy tale as it has been force fed to school children since World War II, if not earlier. The trouble is, this is a load of propaganda that bears very little resemblance to reality or historical fact. Science is a human endeavor, and as such, it is heir to all the foibles of any human endeavor; ego, power mongering, economic scheming, and so on. It has its noble patriots, but also its ignominious villians, and it is often difficult to tell the difference without a program. In the cold fusion witch hunt, MIT researchers falsified data and presented it to the world as factual. The U.S. Patent Office still uses this faked data to deny cold fusion patents despite its having been proven to be fraudulent. So much for our heroes in white lab coats.

The greatest threat to science and scientific progress is not religion, ignorance, or superstition, it is the mistaking of a model or paradigm for Reality, or "laws of Nature." It is the creation of a type of religious fundamentalism around a paradigm - a kind of black and white, authoritarian absolutism about the model. This was a problem in the Wright Brothers' time, and it has actually gotten worse in our day. (There is an Asian saying - the finger pointing at the Moon is not the Moon. Or, more current - the menu is not the meal.)

Milton's book is a very accessible, well done, up-to-date analysis of this situation in science. Like Kuhn, Feyerabend, and others, he looks at scientific intolerance and bureaucratic corruption, specifically through examples of suppressed, ignored, and dismissed research. He discusses historical cases such as the Wright Brothers, Edison's electric light, meteors, and many others to establish the pattern of dismissal and intolerance, then brings us into more comtemporary times for a look at cold fusion, alternative medicine, psychic phenomena and more. He shows how even wanting to investigate such areas will bring down incredible wrath and personal attacks from a supposedly rational scientific establishment. Stories of supposedly rational, intelligent people using their power to intimidate others and suppress research are so common now that they hardly bear mentioning among those in the know. They are a given.

This book is a quite thorough overview of the current state of scientific endeavor. It is well researched and cited, with chapter notes and bibliography at the end. The book is well organized and the information is presented in a clear, intelligent manner. This is NOT an anti-scientific book. It is very much pro-science, but good science, not fundamentalist bureaucratic puffery.

Science is not the ultimate arbiter of Reality, nor is it the seeking of "Truth." Honest science is an attempt to construct, through rational, repeatable experiments, a model of how the universe behaves in order that we may use it to our advantage. Our models can never exceed the level of our current knowledge, and must always change to reflect progress in that knowledge. Science is but one tool for understanding our world, and in order to use a tool properly, one must understand its limitations. This book is an excellent introduction to that understanding.

Another relevant Asian (Chinese, I believe) saying - One who says something is impossible should not interrupt one who is busy doing it. Something naysayers in the scientific establishment have not been been able to learn even after 100 years of hard evidence.


UPDATE February 2010:

As an early Christmas present last November, we were given a perfect example of what is being discussed in this book, and a good look at just how deeply corrupt the scientific community/process has become. This is not some easily-dismissed fringe crackpot, off in some dusty corner of the scientific community. This is the very highest international level of the scientific community, the media, and the policy and financial organizations which control them both.

Even though NASA has been busted numerous (4 or 5 at last count) times for "cooking" their climate data (literally), the recent leak of documents from East Anglia's CRU clearly prove, beyond ANY possible doubt, that the entire global warming scam is an intentional and ongoing fraud of massive proportions at the highest levels of the scientific and international community. The documents detail, in the conspirator's own words, the destruction and corruption of data, blatantly lying to the public, covering the tracks of the conspiracy, and ruining the careers of anyone who might dissent.

As we have watched the last few months, the warming alarmists have tried desperately to spin these revelations into some kind of positive thing for them, just as they have tried to convince people that cooling is really warming that we illiterate public just don't understand (you know the drill: less is more, war is peace, etc.). Of course, the media have downplayed the situation, even though it is a scientific crisis of gargantuan proportions. No surprise there, considering the corruption of the press.

Scientists are constantly crying and whining these days that the public doesn't understand science or trust them enough. I think the public sees corruption like this and knows NOT to trust these clowns at all. Listen, if you REFUSE to keep your colleagues honest, then don't complain that you get tarred with the same brush, because you deserve it every bit as much (aiding and abetting in legal terms). If you allow lies and corrupt data on this scale, don't expect people to accept science as an honest pursuit, because (guess what) it isn't.

The alarmist's behavior is monstrously immoral, unethical, and pathetically antisocial, in addition to being in direct opposition to the stated ideals of science, democracy, and a free society. It is certainly criminal as well, given the large dollars involved in carbon trading scams, and the increased number of people (some say 3 to 4 million or more) who have starved to death because of the diversion of food crops to biodiesel.

The whole global warming community should be investigated for ethical and criminal transgressions of the highest order (and indeed some are, but nothing will come of it because there is too much money behind them). They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and with the same fervor with which they attack those who dissent from their lying and criminal activities. This also goes for the news media who blindly parrot the lies without recourse to proper investigation and balance in the public interest.

I won't even get into the investigations over the latest swine flu swindle. More of the same.

Yeah, we should trust scientists blindly. Right. Now, where was that bridge you wanted to sell me......

A Fantastic Book That Every Scientist Should Read
"Alternative Science" by Richard Milton is a fantastic book that every scientist should read.I read the book thinking it would discuss some of the bias of social sciences; however, it mostly dealt with the "hard" sciences, to my surprise.For example, it is very taboo to question Darwinism in biology.

The book discusses bias of science that may be surprising.It may be expected that the bias would be research that excluded women as participants, and therefore a gender bias, as is the politically correct bias in science to expose.Yet, this is not where this book leads.The bias of science includes topical bias, such as ridiculing parapsychology experiments and the widespread avoidance of the topic.There is compelling evidence in support of parapsychology, yet this are ignored by scientists and they generally discourage the further investigation of the topic.

Furthermore, the book discusses how scientists are not always so scientific.They name-call and deride what they so not know, all the while wearing the pompous cloak of Authority.Keeping in mind, these are some of the most well know scientists in their fields, not a few on the fringe.

If you are truly a critical thinker, this book is for you.It will make you think again about how our knowledge base arrived at where it is and how it will truly progress in the future.

Scientists are only Human!Shock! Horror!

A dangerous myth has grown up over the last hundred years or so that only scientists have *real* intelligence and knowledge - because the rest of us are just too thick to understand anything more complicated than a TV remote control.

Dangerous, because *some* scientists have used this myth to support a second myth - that they should be allowed to do just about anything they like: Because they are scientists, and the rest of us are too ignorant and stupid to understand how essential this right is.

Dangerous, also, because it is used to divert all criticism on the grounds that no-one else is smart enough or sufficiently unbiased to offer valid criticism of anything that "scientists" do.
Like the review from earlier this year, where Milton is accused of being a "stealth creationist" (what, he's big, and virtually invisible to radar?) because he dares to look at evidence that conflicts with traditional evolutionist dogma.

Well, Milton isn't *any* kind of creationist.He's a qualified electrical engineer and a science writer of over 20 years standing.And I mean a *mainstream* scienctific journalist.

Part of what he is doing in this book is bring us back to the simple recognition that science is a useful *part* of modern life - but not the be all and end all.
To this end he presents us with numerous examples of situations where the "establishment", far from pushing the boundaries of science, has fought tooth and nail to repress anything that threatens the status quo.

Like the Johns Hopkins professor who produced mathematics which proved, beyond doubt, that man-powered flight was impossible - just a week or two before the Wright brothers conducted their first flight.
Like the English scientist who described Edison's attempts to produce a light bulb as a waste of time.
Etc., etc., etc.

But what probably annoys the "scientists" most is Milton's suggestion that it is seldom if ever the scientific establishment which produces new discoveries. On the contrary, Milton indicates, the mainstream scientists, professors, etc. are far too busy hanging on to their positions and power to ever risk rocking the boat.

Thus it was Darwin, a strictly amateur naturalist, who produced the evolutionary hypothesis; it was the Odone's who, against all the medical "knowledge" of the time, produced "Lorenzo's Oil" for the relief of their son's adrenoleukodystrophy (ADD); and so on and so on.

The overwhelming message I got from this book had nothing to do with belittling science.On the contrary, I thought it was an encouragement to see scientists as human beings, with human strengths - as well as human weaknesses.

On one side this may be interpreted as a warning to beware of scientists' very human shortcomings.
I prefer to see it as a collection of examples of how progress has occurred, despite all odds - an encouragement to every maverick to push even harder at the boundaries of 'conventional' wisdom.

How sad it will be if we ever come to a time when we feel that we do not have the right to ask certain questions just because *some* scientists don't like them.

Astonishing
A paradigm shattering eye opener for the scientist and layman alike. The author goes to great lengths to be fair in his analysis of the politics afoot in the world of scientific academia. One comes away from the book with the notion that some rather highly placed and scientists are more interested in maintaining the status quo than true scientific objectivity and inquiry. In a word the book is simply astonishing. ... Read more

Product Description
The historical record of scientific inquiry, Stanford suggests, is characterized by what he calls the problem of unconceived alternatives. Past scientists have routinely failed even to conceive of alternatives to their own theories and lines of theoretical investigation, alternatives that were both well-confirmed by the evidence available at the time and sufficiently serious as to be ultimately accepted by later scientific communities. Stanford supports this claim with a detailed investigation of the mid-to-late 19th century theories of inheritance and generation proposed in turn by Charles Darwin, Francis Galton, and August Weismann. He goes on to argue that this historical pattern strongly suggests that there are equally well-confirmed and scientifically serious alternatives to our own best theories that remain currently unconceived. Moreover, this challenge is more serious than those rooted in either the so-called pessimistic induction or the underdetermination of theories by evidence, in part because existing realist responses to these latter challenges offer no relief from the problem of unconceived alternatives itself.

Stanford concludes by investigating what positive account of the spectacularly successful edifice of modern theoretical science remains open to us if we accept that our best scientific theories are powerful conceptual tools for accomplishing our practical goals, but abandon the view that the descriptions of the world around us that they offer are therefore even probably or approximately true.

"Stanford has genuinely advanced the philosophical discussion about scientific realism with his careful articulation of the problem of unconceived alternatives."-- The Review of Metaphysics

"Stanford's book deserves to be widely read. Its central argument is clearly stated, its conclusion is radical, it engages in a productive fashion with detailed case studies, and it lays down several substantial challenges to scientific realism. Lastly, it is consistently thought-provoking."-Science ... Read more

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Product Description
This work is a biographical sketch of the lives of two celebrated Indian scientists, J.C. Bose, the plant physiologist, and Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the greatest untrained mathematical geniuses the world has ever known. Nandy discusses the extent to which the colonial context within which these two men worked impinged on the calibre and nature of their research. ... Read more

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Initially proposed as rivals of classical logic, alternative logics have become increasingly important in sciences such as quantum physics, computer science, and artificial intelligence. The contributions collected here address the question whether the usage of logic in the sciences, especially in modern physics, requires a deviation from classical mathematical logic. The articles in the first part of the book set the scene by describing the context and the dilemma when applying logic in science. In Part II the authors offer several logics that deviate in different ways. The twelve papers in Part III investigate in detail specific aspects such as quantum logic, quantum computation, computer-science considerations, praxic logic, and quantum probability. The monograph provides a succinct picture of recent research in alternative logics as they have been developed for applications in the sciences.

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Product Description
Making science more accessible than ever before!

The Essential Science series makes the difficult and fascinating world of cutting-edge science accessible to everyone with a stimulating mix of lively illustrations and jargon-free text. Important scientific theories are explained clearly in these authoritative guides that feature cross-references, glossaries, and thorough indexes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

alternative energy?
I purchased this book in hopes of using it in a course I am teaching on alternative energies. If I could rip out the first 30 pages and cross off a few sentences in the remaining pages the book would be a good resource for students to understand alternative energy. However, with the first 30 pages in the book it is nothing more than a book written by Al Gore and all the left wing agendas that go with that. Chapters titled "Energy Addicts" and "Nuclear Power A Failed Promise" do not belong in a book that is supposed to be introducing the subject of alternative energy. Don't waste your money like I did on this book

If only everybody would read this book -
- transition to a more sustainable energy production would be much easier. I bought this book(let) because it had nice graphics and was cheap. Maybe because of that I was thrilled to find such goldmine of explanation about energy technology. The text is very introductory, yet covers all the basic topics. As someone with a degree in energy technology and quite a bit of knowledge about alternative energy, I would say the book strikes a perfect balance between being correct and easy to read.

Once I read it, what I thought was nice graphics turned out to be stunning! The best I have ever seen in a book. All illustrations look very similar which elevates the overall impression of this little gem.

If you want to know a little about everything in energy technology, I cannot think of a better book than this one. I would highly recommend everyone with any amount of interest in energy technology to read this book.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the books in this series :-) ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent visionary view into the future!
Philip Dick's collection of "android-oid" short stories is an excellent collection of the demons that haunted not just his mind, but the collective consciousness. Each story delves into intriguing ways that robots will run amok in the future. There are some precious gems in this collection which represent Dick at his best. Many of the stories are infused with his fascination of what makes a human human and a robot not. Two eloquent stories are "The Little Movement" (my personal favorite), and the short story that the awful "Screamers" was based on which I believe is called "New Model". If you love SciFi and have a Bradbury bent towards alternate futures, this is a must read! If you have never read Philip Dick, this is an excellent introduction! Bon Apetite! ... Read more

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Winner, 2009 Robert K. Merton Book Award given by the American Sociological Association Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology.

In Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry, David Hess examines how social movements and other forms of activism affect innovation in science, technology, and industry. Synthesizing and extending work in social studies of science and technology, social movements, and globalization, Hess explores the interaction of grassroots environmental action and mainstream industry and offers a conceptual framework for understanding it.

Hess proposes a theory of scientific and technological change that considers the roles of both industry and grassroots consumers in setting the research agenda in science and technology and he identifies alternative pathways by which social movements can influence scientific and technological innovation. He analyzes four of these pathways: industrial opposition movements organized against targeted technologies (as in the campaign against nuclear energy); technology- and product-oriented movements, which press for alternatives (as does the organic food movement); localism, which promotes local ownership (as in "buy local" campaigns); and access pathways, which support a more equitable distribution of resources. Within each pathway, Hess examines reforms in five areas: agriculture, energy, waste and manufacturing, infrastructure, and finance. Hess's theoretical argument and the empirical evidence he presents demonstrate the complex pattern of incorporation (of grassroots innovations) and transformation (of alternative ownership structures and alternative products) that has characterized the relationship of industry and activism. Hess's analysis of alternative pathways to change suggests how economic organizations could shift to a more just and sustainable course. ... Read more

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This comprehensive resource compiles the latest scientific information relating to complementary and alternative therapies and the treatment of HIV/AIDS. It presents the latest research in the areas of homeopathy, therapeutic touch, manual medicine, nutrition, and movement therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS. The special research challenges that are involved in the scientific evaluation of complementary and alternative medicines are discussed, and the authors offer new insights into the complex pathogenesis of AIDS. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent work !
This book is an analogy of various articles on a number of important topics, including the medical profession in america, global weather, nutrition, and other scientific

I found this book to be well worth reading, full of insights and ideas that you will not read about in the mainstream media. While the topics are sometimes only loosely grouped in this work, the themes are thoughtful, pertinent, and alarming.

My highest recommendation for this book. ... Read more

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The ONLY Science Fiction Stories of Arthur Conan Doyle (With a lot of Filler)
What this collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's best science fiction reveals is that he was a heck of a mystery writer... science fiction writer?Not so much.Frankly very few of these stories truly meet even the looser 19th Century standard of what is SF.George E. Slusser admits as much in the first sentence of his introduction... then spends 13 pages trying to walk this admission back.

Only the surprise ending of "The American's Tale" (1879) brings any "science" into its fiction and that of the ludicrous man-eating plant variety.

"The Los Amigos Fiasco" (1892) is a comic tale about the arrogance of science that is about as "scientific" as the original "Frankenstein".

"The Great Keinplatz Experiment" (1894) is an early tale of body switching, but calling it SF makes about as much sense as calling the alleged method, mesmerism, "science".

"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" (1897) and "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" (1903) are a couple of Sherlock Holmes mysteries with some pseudoscientific overtones.

"The Terror of Blue John Gap" (1910) is really a horror tale about an ancient monster accidentally unleashed.

"Through the Veil" (1911) is a tale about reincarnation and remembering past lives.

"The Last Galley" (1911) is a historical tale with perhaps some intended warnings for Britain but only "FUTURE war" tales can properly be considered SF.

"The Great Brown-Pericord Motor" (1911) uses the title invention simply to provide a motive for the crime and a clever way to dispose of the body.

Now with "The Horror of the Heights" (1913) the editors are on firmer ground.Though basically a gothic horror tale, there is enough science in the concept of his "air-jungles" to justify the SF classification.

With "Danger!" (1914) there is no question.This classic of "future war" SF that correctly predicted the danger of submarine warfare but utterly missed the military counters to it unquestionably belongs.

But with "The Lift" (1922) we are back to material chosen to fill space.This tale about a maniac sabotaging an elevator is not SF under any possible definition.

The presence of the two Professor Challenger stories that round out the book: "The Disintegration Machine" and "When the World Screamed" are also not in question.

The trouble is that while Sir Arthur obviously wrote a number of things that can legitimately be labeled SF, outside of the Professor Challenger novels and stories they consist entirely of "The Horror of the Heights" and "Danger!"The rest vary from very good to only so-so, but SF they are NOT. ... Read more

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This volume brings together three significant works of Ashis Nandy - Alternative Sciences, The Illegitimacy of Nationalism, and The Savage Freud. It is essential reading for social and political scientists, and all those interested in the complexities of Indian politics and culture. ... Read more

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Commercial radio and television, the Internet, and thevast majority of print media have spawned a promotion bonanza forherbal remedies and alternative therapies -- e.g., acupuncture,homeopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, aroma therapy, therapeutic touch, andmany others.These therapies claim to do what scientific,evidence-based medicine sometimes cannot -- provide cures for a widevariety of diseases and physical ailments.How can the averageconsumer find objective, scientific information evaluating theseproducts and treatments?Without reliable data from scientificallyqualified sources, consumers run the risk of wasting their money, orworse, endangering their health.

This authoritative collection of research articles by reputablescientists is dedicated exclusively to the careful scrutiny of theclaims of alternative medicine.Using scientific and rationalcriteria, well-respected scientists and physicians review availableevidence for therapeutic claims, critique published studies, anddiscuss the methods and principles of valid research.Among thetopics covered are the origins of alternative medicine and currenttrends; the theories and therapies of Andrew Weil, naturopathy,therapeutic touch, and colloidal silver treatment; the psychologicaldimensions of belief in unvconventional treatments; and the ethics ofpromoting unproven treatments.

This informative volume is a must for healthcare providers, consumers,and anyone considering alternative therapies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Used as text in pharmacy college course
I teach a course on Complementary and Alternative Medicine to 4th and 5th year pharmacy students.
There are two assigned texts. One is on alternative medicine and the second is this book.
The book givesthe student a broad range of articles from different authors. It presents it's arguments using a science based route of inquiry. It has made my students think about a subject that most of their future patients believe in.

I will use this book again.

Misleading Title
The title should be something like, "I Hate Alternative Medicine: Why You're a Moron if You Disagree with Me." The author goes out of his way to argue against every type of alternative or complementary medicine he can think of with sketchy-at-best "scientific statistics" to back up his claims. I found the book to be an enormous waste of my time, which is sad since I was excited to read what I thought would be some much needed guidance on how to decide which alternative therapies to buy into and which to avoid. It's not that the author is necessarily wrong, it's just that he presents his case in a way that's almost as hysterical and paranoid as the case by alternative practitioners against conventional medicine. I couldn't even get through the whole thing...I made it about 80% of the way through before I gave up because my eyes hurt from rolling them so frequently.

"Must" reading alternative medical therapies and trends.
How can consumers find objective, scientific information for evaluatingnew treatments and products? This provides an anthology of researcharticles by scientists, and is devoted to examining the claims ofalternative medicines. From therapies to trends and the psychologicalramifications of belief, this packs in many fine tip for understandingalternative medicine's claims. ... Read more