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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Forceful yet lightweight A good read but quite slight. Although I did agree with most of the author's arguments it was mostly because I was familiar with them already. I can't imagine that this would likely convince anyone who believes in 'alternative' notions of reality as it doesn't really examine them with any real rigour. I'm still looking for the definitive book on all things 'woo' and though this is not it, it's still a decent primer into the world of 'Counter-Knowledge'. Where the subject of this book... more info
Terrific Stuff! If the last Diana inquest bored you to tears, or you are sick of listening to crap 9/11 conspiracies, get hold of this brilliant book now. Conspiracy theories, along with quack medicine, fake history and bogus science, all form "Counterknowledge" - that is, `misinformation masquerading as fact.' The problem is huge, and Thompson powerfully argues that the 21st century faces a `pandemic of credulous thinking' when, conversely, our ability to evaluate claims made about science or history is better... more info
An odd combination of sneering and alarmism, containing numerous misconceptions and errors. Young-earth creationists in the US have built a museum containing mechanised tableaux showing dinosaurs and humans in Flintstone-style coexistence. `Alternative' therapies of no more medical value than sugar pills are available on the British National Health Service, with homoeopathic hospitals well-established and degree courses available in one of the new universities. In US academia, some `Afro-centric' historians play fast and loose with facts in their attempt to construct a distinctively `black'... more info
Shooting fish in a barrel Generally I am with Mr R A Davies who gave the book two stars, but perhaps that is a little harsh. Thompson is quite selective in his choice of targets, and treats them largely the same (despite his repeated points about what is and is not "counterknowledge"). That is, he attempts not only to oppose their arguments and their evidence but also to undermine their motives, and to treat them as charlatans. In most cases that may be legitimate, but not always. The blurb says he has a PhD in the... more info
