Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud - Book Report/Review Example

He has the approach of a rationalist, resents alternative medicine and pseudoscience, defends legitimate science, and criticizes the unfair approach of some scientists, media and the policy advocates. Voodoo Science discusses and comments about all such issues. Park hails from a lawyer-cum-farmer family. He desires to pursue law. He joins Air Force in 1951 at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico, and serves there until 1956. In the radar school of the Air Force, he develops a passion for physics and finally takes his Ph.D. in physics at Brown University in 1964.

He has authored more than a hundred technical papers on the structure and properties of single-crystal surfaces. He has been the guide to many Ph.D. students. He is an atheist. Science searches what already exists, which it terms as research; it cannot create anything and as such it has no right to condemn the creator, which in general parlance is called the practice of atheism. Spirituality is the science of all sciences. Summary of book The book under review was published in 2000. He deals with topics like telepathy, alternative medicine and homeopathy, and criticizes them.

In turn, he faces bitter criticism, and on the other side his book is hailed for its bold attempt to question the supposedly scientific claims, that are in fact awkward. In 2008, his book, “Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science,” sees the light of the day. The book again receives mixed response. The author proclaims that "science is the only way of knowing," which confirms that Park is an atheist. He provides simple and thought-provoking scientific lessons and condemns alleged fraudulent science that engulfs humankind.

He takes a dig at the fear of imaginary dangers, dependence on magical cures, and the faulty view of how the world works. He comes down heavily on democratic institutions like the media, courts, bureaucracy and the politicians and advocates for raise in general scientific literacy. He maintains that universe is governed by natural laws that cannot be dodged or outwitted. Content of book Park does not claim to address other scientists. His target audience is a common man, the non-specialist reader and he writes with appropriate skill needed for that level.

He is a die-hard scientist. He criticizes bad science reporting, that has led to a faulty interface between science and public policy. The chapter titles indicate the different compartments of his atheist mind. Some of them are: “It’s not news; it is entertainment (science coverage in the media …How strange is the universe? (Ancient superstitions reappear as pseudoscience)” There are ten chapters in all. While criticizing all these, Park does not miss the sense of humor.

The examples of landing on the Moon and the Roswell incident reveal some new information and Park mentions about the cover-up and its relation to Cold War politics. He argues about the futility of the experiment of human landing on the moon, except for the sensational part of it. Park mentions that it is a pointless exercise, as through robotic devices, more knowledge about the universe is already available. Evaluation of book From the viewpoint of literature this is a credible book. His command over the language is perfect and he has the literary flair, mixed with witticisms.