Science friction

"In each of the essays in Science Friction, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores the barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the boundaries of the unknown. As Shermer puts it, the challenge we all face in distinguishing facts from fiction can be summed up with a twist on a well-worn bromide: "I wouldn't have seen it if I hadn't believed it." What do we know and what do we not know? How does science respond to controversy, attack, and uncertainty? Together, these fourteen essays probe the omnipresent clash between the…