Scientific Thinking is a practical guide to inductive reasoning - the
sort of reasoning that is commonly used in scientific activity,
whether such activity is performed by a scientist, a political
pollster, or any one of us informally on a day-to-day basis. The book
provides comprehensive coverage in twenty-three chapters divided into
three parts: "Induction, Proportions and Correlations,"
"Explanations," and "Cause." Martin's text is wide-ranging but it is
also concise and extremely accessible. Indeed, the book confounds
those who would think that a discussion of such topics must be
dry-as-dust. Martin begins with an account of Galileo making a
telescope for himself and discovering the moons of Jupiter, and
subsequent topics include "Bathtubs and Dreams," "Correlations between
Snoring and Obesity" and "The Grue Emerald." If this text makes clear
that the topic need not be at all boring, it also underlines the real
importance of acquiring an understanding of habits of scientific
thinking. Many of the examples are given an extended discussion, and
many are descriptions of real-life cases of research into both the
pure sciences and the social sciences. Also included is an extremely
wide range of stimulating questions and exercises.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781460401637
Publisert
2013
Utgiver
Broadview Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter