Voodoo Science

I chose to read Voodoo Science by Robert L. Park. The book was easy to read and easy to follow because the author explained many of the terms that he used. Voodoo Science is made of up of: pathological science, junk science, pseudoscience, and fraudulent science, all of which are discussed throughout the book. The main topics (many of which are repeated) are cold fusion, global warming, placebo affect, superstitions, abductions, hypnosis, space travel, and NASA. A lot of Voodoo Science coincides with our text book from class, basically stating that much of what the public sees from science is untrue or flawed.

The most interesting part of the book for me was chapter nine. It focuses on the Roswell "cover up" or what is thought to be by some as a cover up. Roswell was a town in New Mexico that reported having a UFO siting, crash, and possibly even aliens that lived after the the supposed crash. The illuminating lights could have been a few different things, as the author suggests, however a slip up to the press created mass hysteria. A few parts that could have been from a space ship turned into an entire disc being found. At that point, it was too late for the government to try to make a new statement that didn't look as though they were hiding information. This also relates to another topic in the book about beliefs and what people believe, even if there is facts. The author explains a time where he for a split second believed he was being almost chased by a UFO. He quickly realized it was a reflection from headlights. It shows how quickly someone can believe something to be true. Many people claim to have seen UFOs but just have never been quick enough to realize it was something else playing with their mind.

The video below is a man's apparent confession of what happened in Roswell.

I would recommend this book to other students who are learning about pseudoscience. It relates very well with the class text which makes it easy for students to understand the ideas presented. I also read this book on a Kindle, which I would suggest because you can go back to other topics and chapters easily.