Lies, damned lies, and science : how to sort through the noise around global warming, the latest health claims, and other scientific controversies / Sherry Seethaler.

Preface xvii Introduction xix Chapter 1:Understand How Science Progresses and Why Scientists Sometimes Disagree 1 Chapter 2: Who's Who?: Identify Those Who Hold Stake in an Issue and What Their Positions Are 29 Chapter 3: Decisions, Decisions: Elucidate All the Pros and Cons of a Decision 43 Chapter 4: Compare and Contrast: Place Alternatives in an Appropriate Context to Evaluate Tradeoffs 59 Chapter 5: What Happens If!?: Distinguish Between Cause and Coincidence 73 Chapter 6: Specific or General: Recognize How Broadly the Conclusions from a Study May Be Applied 89 Chapter 7: Fun Figures: See Through the Number Jumble 99 Chapter 8: Society's Say: Discern the Relationships Between Science and Policy 113 Chapter 9: All the Tricks in the Book: Get Past the Ploys Designed to Simply Bypass Logic 139 Chapter 10: Fitting The Pieces Together: Know How to Seek Information to Gain a Balanced Perspective 161 Conclusions: Twenty Essential Applications of the Tools 177 Acknowledgments 183 About the Author 184 Index 185 / Potions, Plot, Personalities.