science

Gordon Stein

Gordon Stein is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gordon Stein rather than just read about it. In short: Gordon Stein (April 30, 1941 – August 27, 1996) was an American author, physiologist, and activist for atheism and religious skepticism. Biography Stein was born in New York to Jewish parents, and from an early age took an interest in science.

Key takeaways

Gordon Stein belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gordon Stein to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gordon Stein from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gordon Stein (April 30, 1941 – August 27, 1996) was an American author, physiologist, and activist for atheism and religious skepticism.

Biography Stein was born in New York to Jewish parents, and from an early age took an interest in science. He earned degrees in psychology and zoology, a doctorate in physiology from Ohio State University and master's degrees in Management and Library Science from University of Rochester, Adelphi College, and the University of California at Los Angeles. He was an author of books for secular humanist and rationalist publications, he also was a critic of claims of paranormal phenomena. Stein was an outspoken atheist and publicly debated Christian apologists such as Greg Bahnsen. He served as editor of the American Rationalist and was the librarian of the Center for Inquiry, which houses both the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH). Stein died of lung cancer in Buffalo General Hospital.

Paranormal He published articles critical of the paranormal in the Skeptical Inquirer. His book The Sorcerer of Kings: The Case of Daniel Dunglas Home and William Crookes (1993) is a debunking of the mediumship of Daniel Douglas Home and the spiritualist claims of William Crookes. Stein suspected that Crookes was too ashamed to admit he had been duped by the medium Florence Cook, or that he had conspired with her for sexual favors. He also suggested that Crookes had conspired with Anna Eva Fay. He noted that contrary to popular belief, Home had been exposed as a fraud on several occasions. Stein concluded that all the feats of Home were conjuring tricks. In a review, biographer William Hodson Brock wrote that Stein made his "case against Crookes and Home clearly and logically." He also edited the Encyclopedia of the Paranormal (1996), which received positive reviews. Stein had documented the tricks of fraudulent mediums. He discovered that a levitation photograph of Carmine Mirabelli had been chemically retouched.

Debate In 1985, Gordon Stein debated Dr. Greg Bahnsen at the University of California (Irvine), on the topic, "The Great Debate: Does God Exist?" The Bahnsen Institute maintains the audio files of the debate in mp3 format, and several video versions are available on YouTube.

Publications Robert Ingersoll: A Checklist (1969) Free Thought in the United States: A Descriptive Bibliography (1978) Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism (Editor, with Marshall Brown, 1980) Freethought in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth: A Descriptive Bibliography (1981) Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Editor, 1985) A Second Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism (Editor, 1987) God Pro and Con: A Bibliography of Atheism (Editor, 1990) The Sorcerer of Kings: The Case of Daniel Dunglas Home and William Crookes (1993) Encyclopedia of Hoaxes (Editor, 1993) Hoaxes! Dupes, Dodges & Other Dastardly Deceptions (1995) Encyclopedia of the Paranormal (Editor, 1996)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gordon Stein

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gordon Stein claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gordon Stein before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gordon Stein ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gordon Stein

In research: Gordon Stein appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gordon Stein in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gordon Stein is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, 1996 deaths, 20th-century American Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gordon Stein outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gordon Stein in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gordon Stein means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gordon Stein out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gordon Stein in simple terms?

Gordon Stein (April 30, 1941 – August 27, 1996) was an American author, physiologist, and activist for atheism and religious skepticism. Biography Stein was born in New York to Jewish parents, and from an early age took an interest in science.

Why does Gordon Stein matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gordon Stein?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gordon Stein.