This thin, accessible volume should be required reading in every high school and college course that introduces science. In an age where so-called Intelligent Design is being seriously considered for inclusion in the science curriculum, this book also ought to be on the reading list of every parent, school-board member, and politician.

This book was required reading for a philosophy of science course at McGill that I had to drop because of a scheduling conflict, and I've often regretted not taking it (It was taught by Mario Bunge, a quite famous philosophy professor with a PhD in physics, who held engineers in higher regard than scientists!). Getting back to the book... The central premise of this book is that science does not come naturally to human beings. We did not evolve to do science, but rather to survive in a hostile environment. Our brains contain a number of assumptions that are useful for survival, but turn out not to be true. Because of this, science is hard, and it requires a change in mindset to be able to do it properly. ( )