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Science is a Sacred Cow

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Science is a Sacred Cow
AuthorAnthony Standen
PublisherE. P. Dutton
Publication date
1950

Science is a Sacred Cow is a book written by the chemist Anthony Standen. It was first published in 1950 by E. P. Dutton. It was in print for 40 years.[1] The book argues that some scientists and many teachers of science have "inflated egos"[1] or, in the words of Standen, "a fabulous collective ego, as inflated as a skillfully blown piece of bubble gum".[2] The book was widely reviewed.[3]

Reception

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Part of the book's thesis is that the general public and students of science hold the words of scientists in awe even when these are merely "latinized nonsense".[1] According to a March 1950 issue of Time, Standen's concerns are that scientists can be and have been "overbearing," "overpraised," and "overindulged".[4] The book was once praised by one of the great scientists: Albert Einstein.[1] An editorial note in the March 27, 1950, issue of Life magazine introducing several pages[5] of excerpts and a half dozen editorial cartoons from Sacred Cow states "With tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, [Standen] suggests that a group that takes itself so seriously deserves some serious skepticism. Life—without taking all Mr. Standen's funmaking too seriously—thinks he deserves a happy hearing".[6]

Contents

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The book is 221 pages and has eight chapters:

  1. "They Say It's Wonderful."
  2. "How They Dish It Out."
  3. "Science at Its Best: Physics."
  4. "Biology, or Know Thyself"
  5. "The Proper Study: Psychology."
  6. "The Social Animal."
  7. "True Science: Mathematics."
  8. "Watch Those Scientists."

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Obit of Anthony Standen, June 25, 1993, The New York Times
  2. ^ Life, March 27, 1950, page 104
  3. ^ List of review citations
    • Chemical and Engineering News, R. L. Kenyon, volume 28 (June 19, 1950), page 2122
    • Chicago Sunday Tribune, Fritz Leiber (March 12, 1950), page 14
    • The Christian Science Monitor, Karl Willenbrock (March 31, 1950), page 18
    • Commentary, Nathan Glazer (August 1950), "Science Is a Sacred Cow, by Anthony Standen" (abstract of review)
    • New York Herald Tribune, Stuart Chase (April 23, 1950), page 12
    • The New Yorker, volume 26 (March 11, 1950), page 104
    • The Quarterly Review of Biology, Volume 25, Issue 3 (September 1950), pages 317-318
    • Saturday Review of Literature, E. DeGolyer, volume 33 (April 8, 1950), page 29
    • Science, Morrison, P., Volume 111, Issue 2893 (June 1950), page 636
    • Time, "Is vs. Ought", (March 27, 1950)
  4. ^ Time, "Is vs. Ought", (March 27, 1950)
  5. ^ Life, March 27, 1950, pages 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 112, and 114
  6. ^ Life, March 27, 1950, page 103
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