num_pages: 272
description: Mike McRae – Australia's next-gen Dr Karl – argues that human didn't evolve to do science, but to get along in tribes. Survival depended more on social connections than understanding the universe, but somehow science – the quest for objective knowledge – developed anyway. Tribal Science looks at where science came from and why it works despite the quirks of our tribal minds.Mike shows how our tribal brains are driven by beliefs and biases and the need to belong, and how this social way of thinking meddles with our capacity to think critically. From here he charts an intriguing history of science, from the emergence of critical enquiry among early philosophers, to the development of the scientific method, major scientific discoveries and bizarre delusions, and our current dependence on modern medicine and technology. He looks at how our tribal brains manipulate science and why, in an age of evidence and enlightenment, we still cling to superstitions, beliefs and bad ideas – from 'clinically proven' cosmetics to bogus medical treatments and other miracles of pseudoscience. Finally, Mike considers the future of knowledge and the vital place of critical thinking in an information-saturated digital world.Fun, fascinating and original, Tribal Science will not only challenge your beliefs about science, but will get you thinking about what really makes you tick.
language: English
title: Tribal Science: Brains, Beliefs and Bad Ideas
publisher: University of Queensland Press