Nibbling on Einstein's Brain: The Good, the Bad and the Bogus in Science
This book teaches middle-grade readers to question what they read and hear about scientific discoveries and findings. Sometimes there are faulty methods being used to reach the results and the author provides a "Baloney Buster Checklist" to use to check the thinking behind the results.
"Nibbling on Einstein's Brain" presents a view of science not often covered in titles for this age group: don't believe everything you read and hear about scientific research results. This idea will be an eye-opener for this age group, used to being spoon-fed accepted scientific theories in their school textbooks.
The author is a prolific writer of natural history and science books, and she wants kids to learn how to evaluate what they learn about these concepts and gives them the tools to do so. First she presents an overview of the well-respected Scientific Method used by researchers the world over. Then she outlines a "Baloney Buster Checklist" to use when judging scientific research and results, using many good examples of how the wrong conclusions can be drawn from the available (or lack of) facts through faulty interpretation. Swanson ends with applying her thinking and tools to the media, who can misrepresent information in the press, TV, etc., and the "mind traps" that can go on in your thinking. In the end, she hopes the reader will be able to think more clearly for themselves as they evaluate product or other kinds of information as consumers or students.
