Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science

Great book that so many people should read Ryan Servatius Great book that so many people should read. Delves into how we as a nation and globally are not trusting of scientific results due to politicians hands in studies and changing and manipulating for their own short term gains.A must read.. "This is an informative and entertaining read. As a" according to Amazon Customer. This is an informative and entertaining read. As a scientist and a teacher, I will be using this in my general education classes. Well-researched and well-written.. Angelina said Five Stars. Love this book. I want everyone to read it. I'm buying it for all my #scicomm friends.

Dave Levitan is a journalist whose work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Scientific American, Slate, and many other outlets. He lives near Philadelphia with his wife. 

With a taxonomer's eye, Levitan captures and categorizes these deceptions by chapter, assigning delightful names like "The Butter-Up and Undercut", "The Literal Nitpick", "The Straight-Up Fabrication", and many more. Just listen to Mike Huckabee dismiss climate change as "a sunburn", Donald Trump suggest that vaccines cause autism, or Todd Akin's infamous invention of "legitimate rape". His sharp-elbowed humor dismantles our leaders' deceptive arguments while illuminating the real science behind the worst soundbites from our elected non-scientists.. Yet, as science journalist Dave Levitan reveals, that line is just the tip of the melting iceberg when it comes to rhetorical tools wielded to attack scientific findings that don't cooperate with political agendas. In 1980, Ronald Reagan created one of the dumbest talking points of all time: "I'm not a scientist, but" Since then, politicians have repeatedly committed egregious transgressions against scientific knowledge prefaced by this seemingly innocuous phrase. An eye-opening tour of the political tricks that subvert scientific progress

A no-holds barred takedown of political idiocy and the terrifying reality of science denial.” - Kirkus Reviews. “This deliciously mordant critique is a key handbook for an era of “alternative facts” and pressures on research.” - Barbara Kiser, Nature“Levitan’s anecdotes range from the ridiculous to the terrifying If it were up to me, it would be required reading for all congressional staffers working on issues related to science, engineering, and technology.” - Sheril Kirshenbaum, Science“A clever, timely