science

Science Friction (book)

Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book) rather than just read about it. In short: Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown is a 2004 book by Michael Shermer, a historian of science and founder of The Skeptics Society. It contains thirteen essays about "personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the unknown.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown is a 2004 book by Michael Shermer, a historian of science and founder of The Skeptics Society. It contains thirteen essays about "personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the unknown. What do we know, and what do we not know?" These include an essay relating the author's experience of a day spent learning cold reading techniques well enough to be accepted as a psychic. As well as covering skepticism and pseudoscience, Shermer discusses other topics touching on the subject of encouraging scientific thought, such as sport psychology and the writings of Stephen Jay Gould. Shermer attributes the founding of the skeptical movement to Martin Gardner's 1950 article "The Hermit Scientist" in the Antioch Review.

References

External links Science Friction from MichaelShermer.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Science Friction (book)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book)

In research: Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book) 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: Science Friction (book) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2004 English-language non-fiction books, 2004 non-fiction books, Books about the paranormal, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Science Friction (book) 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Science Friction (book)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Science Friction (book) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Science Friction (book) in simple terms?

Why does Science Friction (book) 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 Science Friction (book)?

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 Science Friction (book).