. . . a wonderfully useful description of how science works. The examples are informative and effective. The exercises are imaginative, both thoughtful and thought-provoking. And the components of scientific method are clearly presented with enough detail to see not only how they work but both their strengths and limitations. All the tools are there. You probably knew what tools would be used, but with this book you will understand the variety and application with greater clarity and a better appreciation for the value of science. Recipes for Science will help you sharpen the tools and keep them sharp.
Peter Kosso, in Science & Education
More often than not students acquire content knowledge about science, deprived from any explicit reflection about the methods, the reasoning and the uncertainties that characterize it. Even laboratory activities can take the form of implementing a cookbook recipe, simply following predetermined steps towards a correct answer. But this is not how science is done. If there are recipes, they are open to creativity and they vary enormously. Recipes for Science excellently shows this and provides very useful materials for explicit reflection about the nature of science.
Kostas Kampourakis, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Recipes for Science is clear and very readable, providing students with a solid philosophical background in issues surrounding scientific reasoning and methodologies, fleshed out with well-chosen, compelling examples. Either on its own, or as a basis from which to build, this will be a welcome text in scientific reasoning and philosophy of science classes.
Jonathan Michael Kaplan, Oregon State University
. . . a wonderfully useful description of how science works. The examples are informative and effective. The exercises are imaginative, both thoughtful and thought-provoking. And the components of scientific method are clearly presented with enough detail to see not only how they work but both their strengths and limitations. All the tools are there. You probably knew what tools would be used, but with this book you will understand the variety and application with greater clarity and a better appreciation for the value of science. Recipes for Science will help you sharpen the tools and keep them sharp.
Peter Kosso, in Science & Education
More often than not students acquire content knowledge about science, deprived from any explicit reflection about the methods, the reasoning and the uncertainties that characterize it. Even laboratory activities can take the form of implementing a cookbook recipe, simply following predetermined steps towards a correct answer. But this is not how science is done. If there are recipes, they are open to creativity and they vary enormously. Recipes for Science excellently shows this and provides very useful materials for explicit reflection about the nature of science.
Kostas Kampourakis, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Recipes for Science is clear and very readable, providing students with a solid philosophical background in issues surrounding scientific reasoning and methodologies, fleshed out with well-chosen, compelling examples. Either on its own, or as a basis from which to build, this will be a welcome text in scientific reasoning and philosophy of science classes.
Jonathan Michael Kaplan, Oregon State University