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Sacred bovines : the ironies of misplaced assumptions in biology / Douglas Allchin.

By: Language: English Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, 2017Description: viii, 249 pages illustrations 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780190490362
  • 0190490365
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 570.72 23
LOC classification:
  • QH324
Other classification:
  • Ue:b
Contents:
Prologue: The Ironies of Misplaced Assumptions -- Part 1. The Way of Science. Monsters and Marvels ; Ahead of the Curve ; Marxism and Cell Biology ; The Messy Story behind the Most Beautiful Experiment in Biology ; The Dogma of "the" Scientific Method -- Part 2. Darwin, Evolution, and Society. Was Darwin a Social Darwinist? ; Social Un-Darwinism ; A More Fitting Analogy ; The Domesticated Gene -- Part 3. Making Mistakes. A Comedy of Scientific Errors ; Nobel Ideals and Noble Errors ; Celebrating Darwin's Errors -- Part 4. What Counts as Science. Science beyond Scientists ; Skepticism and the Architecture of Trust ; Science Con Artists -- Part 5. Naturalizing Cultural Values. Male, Female, and/or -? ; Monsters and the Tyranny of Normality ; To Be Human ; Genes R Us ; The Peppered Moths, A Study in Black and White -- Part 6. Myth-Conceptions. Alexander Fleming's "Eureka" Moment ; Round versus Wrinkled: Gregor Mendel as Icon ; William Harvey and Capillaries ; The Tragic Hero of Childbed Fever -- Part 7. Values and Biology Education. Respect for Life ; Hands-Off Dissection? ; Organisms, Modified, Genetically ; Close to Nature -- Epilogue: Challenging Sacred Bovines, Fostering Creativity -- Afterword for Educators: Sacred Bovines in the Classroom.
Summary: This book is a collection of short essays, each challenging a commonplace assumption about biology - playfully dubbed ""Sacred Bovines.""
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Biblioteket HKR Biblioteket 570 Allchin Available 11156000189298
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book is a collection of short essays, each challenging a commonplace assumption about biology - playfully dubbed "Sacred Bovines." The essays aim to be both provocative and entertaining. They highlight amusing ironies and fascinating details, such as organisms that blur the distinction of male and female, tool use and language among non-humans, errors made by Charles Darwin or Nobel Prize winners, and how research on cells was enriched by a Marxist perspective. As an ensemble, the essays aim to deepen an understanding of how science works, including its cultural contexts. The 28 pieces are arranged in 7 thematic sections, focusing on such topics as error in science, "myth-conceptions" of scientists, cultural bias in scientific concepts, the challenge of expertise and "what counts as science" in society, and science and values. While all the essays focus on cases in biology, most of the lessons are more general, and valuable for any citizen who reflects on science in society. A final Epilogue profiles the value of the style of thinking exemplified throughout the book - namely, the light-hearted challenging of assumptions as a source of creative insight. An additional "Afterword for Teachers" highlights how the essays can foster learning about the nature of science and describes some practical classroom strategies.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-244) and index.

Prologue: The Ironies of Misplaced Assumptions -- Part 1. The Way of Science. Monsters and Marvels ; Ahead of the Curve ; Marxism and Cell Biology ; The Messy Story behind the Most Beautiful Experiment in Biology ; The Dogma of "the" Scientific Method -- Part 2. Darwin, Evolution, and Society. Was Darwin a Social Darwinist? ; Social Un-Darwinism ; A More Fitting Analogy ; The Domesticated Gene -- Part 3. Making Mistakes. A Comedy of Scientific Errors ; Nobel Ideals and Noble Errors ; Celebrating Darwin's Errors -- Part 4. What Counts as Science. Science beyond Scientists ; Skepticism and the Architecture of Trust ; Science Con Artists -- Part 5. Naturalizing Cultural Values. Male, Female, and/or -? ; Monsters and the Tyranny of Normality ; To Be Human ; Genes R Us ; The Peppered Moths, A Study in Black and White -- Part 6. Myth-Conceptions. Alexander Fleming's "Eureka" Moment ; Round versus Wrinkled: Gregor Mendel as Icon ; William Harvey and Capillaries ; The Tragic Hero of Childbed Fever -- Part 7. Values and Biology Education. Respect for Life ; Hands-Off Dissection? ; Organisms, Modified, Genetically ; Close to Nature -- Epilogue: Challenging Sacred Bovines, Fostering Creativity -- Afterword for Educators: Sacred Bovines in the Classroom.

This book is a collection of short essays, each challenging a commonplace assumption about biology - playfully dubbed ""Sacred Bovines.""

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