To try to answer the title’s question, rather than directly answer the post’s problem:
For the general problem of discerning pseudo-science from science, there’s Massimo Pigliucci’s Nonsense on Stilts. What I’ve read (and heard) by him seems like pretty sound stuff, but I haven’t read the book itself. Does anyone have strong opinions about this book?
I haven’t read the book, but I do have a strong negative opinion of Pigliucci. See, for instance, his intemperate, poorly argued critique of David Chalmers’s talk on the singularity (cf. Michael Anissimov’s analysis of that critique and Chalmers’s response to that analysis).
This is, of course, only limited evidence against the book, which might still be worth reading for all I know.
To try to answer the title’s question, rather than directly answer the post’s problem:
For the general problem of discerning pseudo-science from science, there’s Massimo Pigliucci’s Nonsense on Stilts. What I’ve read (and heard) by him seems like pretty sound stuff, but I haven’t read the book itself. Does anyone have strong opinions about this book?
Could you add a brief summary of his ideas to your comment? Something like the “baloney detector” mentioned on this review of the book.
I haven’t read the book, but I do have a strong negative opinion of Pigliucci. See, for instance, his intemperate, poorly argued critique of David Chalmers’s talk on the singularity (cf. Michael Anissimov’s analysis of that critique and Chalmers’s response to that analysis).
This is, of course, only limited evidence against the book, which might still be worth reading for all I know.