Summary of Joe Schwarcz's Is That a Fact?

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 We are constantly being bombarded with information, and it is up to us to separate sense from nonsense. We must learn how to scrutinize that information in the light of what we already know.

#2 Scientific knowledge is gained through a distillation of the relevant peer-reviewed literature. And that literature is the altar at which scientists worship. But there is faith involved, and that faith cannot be blind. It must be tempered with a dose of skepticism.

#3 The peer-review process is not perfect. It is possible for humans to be lazy, and results that do not seem to fit the curve may be deemed erroneous and ignored.

#4 Peer review is not the end all, but it is the final stage in a scientific investigation that began with an observation that prompted a comment along the lines of that’s funny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822547575

IRB Media

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Insights on Joe Schwarcz's Is That a Fact?

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We are constantly being bombarded with information, and it is up to us to separate sense from nonsense. We must learn how to scrutinize that information in the light of what we already know.

#2

Scientific knowledge is gained through a distillation of the relevant peer-reviewed literature. And that literature is the altar at which scientists worship. But there is faith involved, and that faith cannot be blind. It must be tempered with a dose of skepticism.

#3

The peer-review process is not perfect. It is possible for humans to be lazy, and results that do not seem to fit the curve may be deemed erroneous and ignored.

#4

peer review is not the end all, but it is the final stage in a scientific investigation that began with an observation that prompted a comment along the lines of that’s funny.

#5

The word serendipity was introduced into the English language in the eighteenth century by writer Horace Walpole, who was taken by the ancient Persian tale of the Three Princes of Serendip. They had come on some strange animal tracks by accident, and when they learned from a merchant that he had lost a camel, they gave him a remarkable description of the animal.

#6

The story of the three princes of Serendip illustrates the power of serendipity. They were able to capitalize on their chance observation when they heard about the lost camel. The little blue pill was first developed by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company as a possible treatment for angina.

#7

Everything in the universe is made up of chemicals, including us. The human body is a large bag of chemicals that are constantly engaged in all sorts of reactions, which together constitute life.

#8

We live in a chemically complex world. We are exposed to thousands of compounds every day, some of which are pleasant, others not so much. The one substance that is said to cause all these problems, bisphenol A, chemically resembles many of the compounds we are exposed