The Debunking Handbook 2020


Book Description




In the Know


Book Description

Emotional intelligence is an important trait for success at work. IQ tests are biased against minorities. Every child is gifted. Preschool makes children smarter. Western understandings of intelligence are inappropriate for other cultures. These are some of the statements about intelligence that are common in the media and in popular culture. But none of them are true. In the Know is a tour of the most common incorrect beliefs about intelligence and IQ. Written in a fantastically engaging way, each chapter is dedicated to correcting a misconception and explains the real science behind intelligence. Controversies related to IQ will wither away in the face of the facts, leaving readers with a clear understanding about the truth of intelligence.




Apocalypse Never


Book Description

Now a National Bestseller! Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem. Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions. But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions. What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.




Marijuana Debunked


Book Description

Marijuana subtly damages the teenage brain, causing lifelong problems. Yet four million teens in Canada and the United States use the drug, a half million of them daily. For those who have heard only the pro-legalization side, this book presents the case against marijuana on an equal footing. In it, you will learn: - The scientific research refuting all the pro-marijuana talking points - Why marijuana is not safe for adolescents, especially those behind the wheel - How the news media helped to create an epidemic of teenage use - Why the promise of tax revenue is a mirage - Why legalization would be an economic burden on society - The misleading language used by pro-legalization partisans - Why marijuana laws that prohibit use are good for the public health Ed Gogek, MD, an addiction psychiatrist for 30 years, has treated more than 10,000 addicts and alcoholics in jails, prisons, homeless clinics, mental health centers and substance abuse treatment programs. His opinion pieces on addiction and mental health have appeared in the New York Times and over a dozen major U.S. newspapers. He received his medical training in Canada and the United States. "Dr. Gogek has a unique ability to master the complex and hotly contested material to make it understandable. His book has a strong message that our nation, including both Left and Right, needs today when most discussions of drug policy are filled with dangerous misinformation." Robert L. DuPont, MD First Director of National Institute of Drug Abuse Second White House Drug Chief "This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about accuracy and fairness in news coverage." Christine Tatum, Former National President, Society of Professional Journalists "Gogek lists all the pro-legalization arguments in detail, and refutes them exceptionally well." Library Journal




Merchants of Doubt


Book Description

The U.S. scientific community has long led the world in research on such areas as public health, environmental science, and issues affecting quality of life. These scientists have produced landmark studies on the dangers of DDT, tobacco smoke, acid rain, and global warming. But at the same time, a small yet potent subset of this community leads the world in vehement denial of these dangers. Merchants of Doubt tells the story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. Remarkably, the same individuals surface repeatedly-some of the same figures who have claimed that the science of global warming is "not settled" denied the truth of studies linking smoking to lung cancer, coal smoke to acid rain, and CFCs to the ozone hole. "Doubt is our product," wrote one tobacco executive. These "experts" supplied it. Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, historians of science, roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how ideology and corporate interests, aided by a too-compliant media, have skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era.




Plotkin's Vaccines,E-Book


Book Description

From the latest vaccination evidence, recommendations, and protocols . . . to new vaccine development and the use of vaccines in reducing disease, Plotkin's Vaccines, 8th Edition, covers every aspect of vaccination. Now completely revised and updated from cover to cover, this award-winning text continues to provide reliable information from global authorities, offering a complete understanding of each disease, as well as the latest knowledge of both existing vaccines and those currently in research and development. Described by Bill Gates as "an indispensable guide to the enhancement of the well-being of our world," Plotkin's Vaccines is a must-have reference for current, authoritative information in this fast-moving field. - Contains all-new chapters on COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy, and non-specific effects of vaccines, as well as significantly revised content on new vaccine technologies such as mRNA vaccines, emerging vaccines, and technologies to improve immunization. - Presents exciting new data on evolution of adjuvants across the centuries, dengue vaccines, human papillomavirus vaccines, respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, tuberculosis vaccines, and zoster vaccines. - Provides up-to-date, authoritative information on vaccine production, available preparations, efficacy and safety, and recommendations for vaccine use, with rationales and data on the impact of vaccination programs on morbidity and mortality. - Provides complete coverage of each disease, including clinical characteristics, microbiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as epidemiology and public health and regulatory issues. - Keeps you up to date with information on each vaccine, including its stability, immunogenicity, efficacy, duration of immunity, adverse events, indications, contraindications, precautions, administration with other vaccines, and disease-control strategies. - Covers vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine science, and licensed vaccine products, as well as product technologies and global regulatory and public health issues. - Analyzes the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness of different vaccine options. - Helps you clearly visualize concepts and objective data through an abundance of tables and figures. - Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.




In Reckless Hands


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Routledge Handbook of Non-Violent Extremism


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This Handbook provides the first in-depth analysis of non-violent extremism across different ideologies and geographic centres, a topic overshadowed until now by the political and academic focus on violent and jihadi extremism in the Global North. Whilst acknowledging the potentiality of non-violent extremism as a precursor to terrorism, this Handbook argues that non-violent extremism ought to be considered a stand-alone area of study. Focusing on Islamist, Buddhist, Hindu, far-right, far-left, environmentalist and feminist manifestations, the Handbook discusses the ideological foundation of their ‘war on ideas’ against the prevailing socio-political and cultural systems in which they operate, and provides an empirical examination of their main claims and perspectives. This is supplemented by a truly global overview of non-violent extremist groups not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. The Handbook thus answers a call to decolonise knowledge that is especially prescient given both the complicity of non-violent extremists with authoritarian states and the dynamic of oppression towards more progressive groups in the Global South. The Handbook will appeal to those studying extremism, radicalisation and terrorism. It intersects several relevant disciplines, including social movement studies, political science, criminology, Islamic studies and anthropology.




Social Media and Democracy


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A state-of-the-art account of what we know and do not know about the effects of digital technology on democracy.




The Climate Action Handbook


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“What can I do, personally, about the climate crisis? . . . Ask yourself, what are you passionate about? Using this passion may motivate you to help shape the future of your community.” —The New York Times Climate Forward newsletter This must-have book shows us WHY we need to take action now to combat climate change and then, critically, HOW, through easy-to-understand language and fascinating infographics that offer each of us varied and doable solutions to the many challenges facing our planet. As more focus is put on climate science, there is a need for each of us to learn how we can change our habits in our home, communities, and government to save our planet. Enter The Climate Action Handbook. A visually stunning guide, it does what no other climate change book manages to do: it's approachable, digestible, and offers the average person ideas, options, and a roadmap for action. It also offers hope—often overlooked in climate change conversations. Climate actions can create near-instantaneous improvements in air quality and can offer ways to address societal inequities, green our communities, save money, and build local economies. From food and fashion choices, rethinking travel, greening up our homes and gardens, to civic engagement and championing community climate planning, Dr. Heidi Roop shares 100 wide-ranging ways that readers from all walks of life can help move the needle in the right direction. Actions include: • Cutting down on food waste • Reducing your driving speed • Voting in every election • Using the cold-water cycle on your washing machine • Supporting healthy soils in your gardens and community green spaces • Engaging in local climate action planning • Preparing an emergency kit for your home • Deleting unused emails and online accounts • Swapping out milk for nondairy alternatives like oat milk • Opting for slower shipping whenever possible • Regularly maintaining and clean your heating and cooling systems • Engaging in climate conversations at work and at home And many more! Return to this invaluable resource again and again to discover a roadmap for action and much-needed hope. What will your climate journey look like?