About book Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy (1990)
Many adults are scientifically illiterate, and the aim of the writers of this book is to give people the basic information necessary to achieve a conversational knowledge of science. The editors believe that the basic ideas underlying the scientific edifice are simple, so they present 19 general principles, which are central concepts or pillars and, around which, they state simple subprinciples. Each principle is treated in separate chapters of approximately 20 pages in length. Here are the basic ideas: 1) Knowing: The universe is regular and predictable. 2) Energy: Energy is conserved and always goes from more useful to less useful forms. 3) Electricity and Magnetism: Electricity and magnetism are two aspects of the same force. 4) The Atom: All matter is made of atoms. 5) The World of the Quantum: Everything comes in discrete units, and you can’t measure anything without changing it. 6) Chemical Bonding: Atoms are bound by electron glue. 7) Atomic Architecture: The way a material behaves depends on how its atoms are arranged. 8) Nuclear Physics: Nuclear energy comes from the conversion of mass. 9) The Fundamental Structure of Matter: All matter is really made of quarks and leptons.10) Astronomy: Stars experience a cycle of birth and death. 11) The Cosmos: The universe was born at a specific time in the past, and it has been expanding ever since. 12) Relativity: Every observer sees the same laws of nature. 13) The Restless Earth: Earth’s surface is constantly changing, and no feature on Earth is permanent. 14) Earth Cycles: Earth operates in cycles. 15) The Ladder of Life: All living things are made from cells, the chemical factories of life. 16) The Code of Life: All life is based on the same genetic code. 17) Biotechnology: All life is based on the same chemistry and genetic code. 18) Evolution: All forms of life evolved by natural selection. 19) Ecosystems: All life is connected. This is an excellent book for the general reader who might need to understand what he never learned or a refresher on what he once learned in school but has forgotten. “Science Matters” does not contain jargon or mathematics. Specialists might quibble with the simplicity of the one-sentence summaries (such as “the universe is predictable”), but I believe that baby-steps are necessary toward teaching the general population. If you read this book, you will belong to a select group of individuals (only 7% in the USA) who can pass a test of scientific literacy. If you cannot pass that test, here is the place to start. January 1, 2013
If we can send this book several hundred years back in time, we'd be so scientifically advanced as a species, that we probably would be colonizing a couple more planets of the solar system and voyaging in interstellar space.The premise of the book is that US voters get to vote on policies that need some scientific background that they don't usually have (issues like stem cell research, climate change, evolution...etc). The book's goal is to help the reader become scientifically literate.To this end, the book contains 17 chapters that talk about all different scientific domains, it extract the absolutely essential core of these domains, and present them in a way that is clearly understandable.If you didn't study or read much about science, this is likely the perfect introduction that will make you cover most of your bases.If you did study science and do read about, this will introduce you to new domains you probably didn't know much about before, and will serve you a perfect revision for all the principles of the various domains.It talks about physics, biology, chemistry, and geology. Spanning topics like gravity, electromagnetism, radiation, thermodynamics, nuclear power, atomic interaction, nuclear interaction, subatomic particles, solar power, plate tectonics, cells, dna, evolution... and the list goes on.I give it 5/5 because I absolutely can't understand how they were able to squeeze the most central thoughts of each of those scientific domains and present it in such a clear manner. Just incredible.
Do You like book Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy (1990)?
I'm downrating this a little bit just because it wasn't exactly what I had expected. I thought it was going to be more about the problems of science literacy rather than a proposed solution to that problem. So basically if you don't have any background in science this book gives a general overview. There were a few things I didn't know before but really, I'm not the target audience. The tone is sort of a more general/broad Brian Greene with not quite as much personality as Bill Bryson. I did like how in the chapter on evolution they included mention of punctuated equilibrium, which isn't always discussed; however their critiques of creationism were critiques of very specific flavors thereof.Anyway if you feel like you want a basic idea of how the world works, then this is probably a good book but if you actually remember high school science there will be a lot of redundancy here.
—Scarlett Sims
To be clear, I do think this book has a slightly misleading subtitle, which seems to indicate a focus on scientific literacy on a societal level. However, even the most perfunctory glance though the table of contents or the text itself reveals that this is a book aimed at achieving scientific literacy in the reader. Indeed, it excels at this goal. The writing is simple enough to understand without background knowledge, yet complex enough that it tackles real issues in a non-patronizing way. I especially enjoyed the "Frontiers" section at the end of each chapter that outlines ways that the science from that chapter is being used, challenged, and changed today. I would encourage potential readers to seek out the expanded and updated edition; though the authors claim that little has changed, some of the things I found most fascinating cited research that has happened since the printing of the first edition, not to mention that it seems negligent to claim scientific literacy without the basics of biotechnology.
—Alice
Easy refresher for those more familiar with scientific ideas, and works well as a general introduction for the curious individual who wants to gain a better understanding. As a science teacher, I like the case laid out by the authors on science literacy. I also like how the focus was on holistic concept-based instruction, teaching the core concepts of science, rather than spoon-feeding trivia. The chapters were broken down into select principles of science everyone should be familiar with. The explanations were easy, authentic, and I came away with new ideas on how to approach difficult concepts with students.
—Cheska
