The Tobin Tax: Coping with Financial Volatility

Book Description

In his 1972 Janeway Lectures at Princeton, James Tobin, the 1981 Nobel Prize winner for economics, submitted a proposal for a levy on international currency transactions. The idea was not greeted with enthusiasm, as the 1970s were a period of optimism and confidence in floating exchange rages. Yet, whenever currency crises erupted during the past decades, the proposal for a levy on international currency transactions would once again arise. In the 1990s, two additional facts have sharpened interest in the Tobin tax proposal. First is the growing volume of foreign exchange trading. Second, interest is coming not only from policymakers and experts concerned with the smooth functioning of financial markets. It is shared by those concerned with public financing of development--the fiscal crisis of the state as well as the growing need for international cooperation on problems such as the environment, poverty, peace and security. This work makes a systematic analysis of the proposal for a foreign exchange transactions levy. Its chapters examine the economic desirability of such a levy, its technical and political feasibility, its revenue potential, the possible uses of that revenue, and related administrative and institutional aspects.

The Tobin Tax: Coping with Financial Volatility. (book reviews): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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The Tobin Tax: Coping with Financial Volatility. (book reviews): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Robert E. Prasch
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098BJBW
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1962 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Tobin Tax: Coping with Financial Volatility. (book reviews)
Author: Robert E. Prasch
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: v32 Issue: n3 Page: p881(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

All adventure, all action, for all ages! Join Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing for a wild ride of all-new, unforgettable exploits. Collects Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #5-8.

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How to Be a Faerie Grandmother: A New Image for the 21st Century
Gloria P. Marshall
Manufacturer: Acronym Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1878323008

Book Description

The history of cinema, and notably that of post-war Italian cinema, can only be understood adequately in the context of other contiguous cultural disciplines. World literature, including that of France, Germany, and Russia, played a key role in the development of post-war Italian film and the cinematic technique it has come to embody. Moving away from the usual modes of defining this period--a trajectory that begins with neorealism and ends with Bertolucci--author Carlo Testa offers proof that coming to terms with literary texts is an essential step toward understanding the motion pictures they influenced. The means of recreating literature for the screen has changed drastically over the last half-century, as has the impact of different national traditions on Italian cinema. Testa's work is the first to explicitly and deliberately link postwar Italian cinema to general intellectual concerns such as the relationship between literary authors and cinematic auteurs. Moreover, his analysis of the impact of French, German, and Russian cultures on Italy brings forth a new reading of Italian cinema, a new paradigm for exploring complex issues of authorship, culture, and art.

Book Description

Many works now considered classics were scorned by critics when they were first published. While some of these works received little attention when initially released, others were enormously popular. So too, there is a large body of popular American fiction that is only now beginning to receive critical attention. This book examines the growing respect given to American fiction that was scorned by cultural gatekeepers such as librarians and educators, though these works were widely read by the American public. The volume looks at such scorned literature as dime novels, comic books, juvenile fiction, romances novels, and pulp magazines. Expert contributors discuss what these works say about the mores and morals of the people who so avidly read them and the values of those who sought to censor them. The book covers the period from the 1830s to the 1950s and shows how popular literature reflected such concerns as feminism and anti-feminism, notions of the heroic and unheroic, and violence and racism. In doing so, the volume helps fill a gap in scholarship about literature that was clearly important to a large number of readers.

Scorned Literature: Essays on the History and Criticism of Popular Mass-Produced Fiction in America, Vol. 75

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Scorned Literature: Essays on the History and Criticism of Popular Mass-Produced Fiction in America, Vol. 75
Lydia Cushman Schurman
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTRJCE

Book Description

Drawing upon the success of the authors' market-leading book Dance a While, this book teaches the skills and techniques for most popular social dances in a comprehensive, affordable book. Social Dance from Dance a While, Second Edition introduces beginning and intermediate dancers to the exciting world of social dance and ballroom dance. Each chapter provides a brief overview of dance history and then focuses on the dance's ryhthm, style, and steps, providing readers with an understanding of and appreciation for social dance technique. This latest edition includes up-to-date information on the latest styles and changes in dance and features a new chapter on Swing dancing. For physical education instructors and dance instructors, or anyone interested in learning social dance.

Product Description

Packed with expert guidelines and advice, this is the advanced reference you need to customize common language runtime (CLR) applications now - and as you move to Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Microsoft program manager Ste

Customer Reviews:

Esoteric but valuable........2007-01-06

The topics covered by this book are so specialized that the vast majority of .Net programmers will have no need for this level of detail on these topics. However, if your application does require expertise on any of the topics covered in this book (I needed information on AppDomains), this book is excellent. It is very detailed, clearly presented and authoritative.

Customizing the Microsoft .NET Framework Common Language Runtime .......2006-10-28

This book does provide a great deal of valuable information for any .NET developer and is definitely a book worth reading. However, since the topic is a bit advance, it would certainly help if the example application used to illustrate extensible application architecture was more complete. The proposed example application 'Boat Race' started in chapter 5 provided a great beginning, but left the reader hanging even after reading chapter 6. The downloaded companion samples did not include any code sample for 'Boat Race', which was the main example used to explain the concept.

Disappointing, sorely lacking in details.......2006-09-28

After reading the positive reviews on this book, I hoped this book would tell me things MSDN did not. How wrong I was. There is more information on MSDN than can be found in this book. For example, in Chapter 1, the author lists the function ExecuteInDomain, referring to Chapter 7 for details. In Chapter 7, the ExecuteInDomain function is not even mentioned. Also, the author often leaves out crucial details that would allow you to actually understand the point he is trying to make.

Got Hosted CLR?.......2006-04-05

If you want to understand the intracies of how the 2.0 build of the CLR has been designed and implemented to support the hosting of it this book is it. I am a very curious person, I love technology and even more I love to understand how it works...

When I wanted a better understanding of how SQL Server Hosted the CLR than what BOL could give me I began searching. I was referred to this book by Microsoft Program Manager(s) (as in plural) and sure enough the book filled my void. If you are an expert Microsoft developer/architect this book had better be on your bookshelf.

Garnet.......2005-03-23

Brilliant - along with essential .net Volume 1 - the best .net books I've read to date.

Highly reccommended.

Book Description

More than 14,000 individual date-by-date entries in this single volume chronology of Canadian history This single-volume chronology of Canada from its prehistoric beginnings to the social, cultural, business and political happenings of the present age is the most comprehensive and up-to-date book of its kind in the market today. With more than 14,000 individual "date-by-date" entries and featuring both a detailed general index as well as a separate index of names, the book is an invaluable resource and reference work for students, teachers, and researchers. Equally important, it is a valuable treasure trove of Canadiana -- a volume, like a dictionary, atlas or encyclopedia, that should find its way onto the shelves of every home, office, media, public, university and school library. Under the general editorship of Richard Pound, more than 25 researchers, editors and contributors were assigned to research and validate important events and dates in the areas of women's issues, human rights, science and technology, transportation, medicine, communications, art and literature, education, sports, agriculture, music and at least a dozen other areas of national interest.

Book Description

The Spencers, like the Windsors, are a dynasty-one of the most successful families that England has produced. But how did a family of Tudor sheep farmers reach the ranks of the upper aristocracy by the time of the Restoration? The Spencers have quietly adapted from one generation to the next, sweeping up heiresses and magnificent estates, buying great libraries and art-then building London's most beautiful Palladian mansion to house them. The Spencers were also virtuosi of a particular art of prime importance to any aristocracy-the art of dynastic marriage. This is the story of how the Spencers attained their power, how they wielded it, and the bitter twist of fate by which they finally achieved their greatest dynastic marriage of all in 1981-the union of Diana Spencer with Charles Mountbatten Windsor.

Customer Reviews:

Fast Paced and Fun.......2002-04-22

My wife is addicted to all things Royal with a special sweet tooth for Diana books. Therefore, she went out and picked this up as soon as she heard it was out. She read it, loved it and then suggested I read it because it would give me a good history of the Spencer family. I didn't think I needed this education, but I gave it a go. I must say the book surprised me. Fist off it gave me a lot of history of the family but in doing so I learned a lot of the history of the UK, at least the last 400 years. The book was full of details and read well. It has an easy to read style that always comes through with a good bit of gossip here and there - like how did they spend all that money? Overall it is an interesting book and if you are into the Royals then my wife says it is a must read.

Quick overview of a family that helped to (un)make England.......2000-09-19

Not a quickie biography of the late Princess, this is a story spanning centuries and generations.

It covers the rise of the Spencers from prosperous sheep farmers in the 16th century through the years and the monarchs they served or betrayed. A light - gossipy style helps to make the generations fly by. The foibles of the modern aristocracy pale in comparison with the lifestyles of their predecessors.

If all that you want is to read about the young girl who was 'hired' to prop up a tottering throne - then I suggest that you look elsewhere. If however you want an interesting light history of the rise of one of England's great noble families, this is a fine place to start.

Camelot was never like this.......2000-03-31

Ok for all you royalty junkies out there, I know, I know, toothy Camilla and her breeches just don't do it for you, or Fergie now that she've given up toes and taken up Weight watchers. But here is a book for you all! If you are into ancestor worship, it covers the earliest Spencers from a penny pinching arriviste, to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (formerly Ms Jenkins, a frisky lady in waiting to King Charles II, my all time favorite royal, the current ones gene pool is so sullied, those ears!). In fact the premise of the book is that Sarah's turbulent blood heritage has washed on down to the current Spencers, the late lamented Diana, her sons, and that Champagne Charlie of a brother of hers. The middle Spencers are not too interesting, mainly obsessed with acquiring goodies for Althorp (the stately home), but as I said it warms up really nicely by Diana's regime.I enjoyed it greatly, particularly the parts of how pained Queen Elizabeth II was by the gossip and infighting. Poor dear. Barbara Cartland's tacky daughter Raine deserves 2 chapters just for how she redecorated a beautiful estate, I'm surprised she didn't roll out the black velvet Elvis paintings. Thumbs up all the way!

Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals

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Blood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals
John Pearson
Manufacturer: Harpercollins Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8RGK0

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Tina Turner sang it so well, "Simply the best"

Taking inventory in the crackpottery

Another skeptical masterpiece from Gardner

More cataloging than debunking

Martin Gardner is a National Treasure

Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books
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Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries?: Discourses on Godel, Magic Hexagrams, Little Red Riding Hood, and Other Mathematical and Pseudoscientific Topics

ASIN: 0393322386

Book Description

Martin Gardner is perhaps the wittiest, most devastating unmasker of scientific fraud and intellectual chicanery of our time. Here he muses on topics as diverse as numerology, New Age anthropology, and the late Senator Claiborne Pell's obsession with UFOs, as he mines Americans' seemingly inexhaustible appetite for bad science. Gardner's funny, brilliantly unsettling exposés of reflexology and urine therapy should be required reading for anyone interested in "alternative" medicine. In a world increasingly tilted toward superstition, Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? will give those of us who prize logic and common sense immense solace and inspiration.

Customer Reviews:

Tina Turner sang it so well, "Simply the best".......2007-08-10

In addition to his unparalleled record as a promoter of mathematics, Martin Gardner has also applied his considerable writing and intellectual skills to the never-ending crusade against pseudoscience. This book is a collection of some of his more memorable entries in the "Notes of a Fringe Watcher" column that appeared in "The Skeptical Inquirer." As is always the case with Gardner, the writing and his arguments are so crisp that it is difficult to believe that anyone could read them and be unconvinced as to the correctness of his position. Unfortunately, the pendulum always seems to be skewed towards a belief in the bunk rather than the intellectual reality. Therefore, no matter how much the evidence is in favor of a position, there will always be people who will dismiss that evidence out of hand.
There are 28 different chapters in this book, covering all areas where pseudoscience rears its' empty cranium. From creationism to the therapeutic properties of drinking ones own urine, I cannot think of an area of pseudoscience that Gardner does not address. However, I am sure that some do exist, after all, not even Gardner is perfect and there are so many of them. This is a book that should be read by every thinking, intelligent person.

Taking inventory in the crackpottery.......2007-03-10

After romping through 27 essays (many really extended book reviews) about subjects as various as the End of the World in 2000, intelligent design (the antievolutionary version), conjurors, ufology, Freudianism, crazy congressmen and more, the inimitable Martin Gardner sort of spoils things by getting serious in his 28th and concluding essay on the limits, if any, of knowledge.

Come now. The kinds of nitwits who believe that, say, Carlos Casteneda really knew a shapeshifting shaman are never going to change their minds because they are exposed to a critical takedown, even by as skilled a wrestler with the nutty as Gardner. To treat these exposes as serious grappling with the ignorant enemy misses the point.

Their only genuine purpose is to give us smart people a good laugh. And laugh we do. Our motives are not any purer than our ancestors who visited Bedlam to laugh at the lunatics or Barnum & Bailey's sideshow to marvel at the freaks.

It may make the more sensitive uncomfortable, but the zanies and morons Gardner skewers so deftly were asking for it. Nobody made them sit down and write 900-page books predicting New York would be destroyed in 1994.

I thoroughly enjoyed these essays when they came out in Skeptical Inquirer over the years and was additionally amused by the Addenda Gardner apends about the reactions to his jibes.

But despite Gardner's 60 years of exposing crackpots, the density of crackpottery has not diminished one bit.

Another skeptical masterpiece from Gardner.......2005-12-26

This book will delight almost anyone who sees the value
of skepticism, but some of the essays (e.g. the one on
cannibalism) will perhaps even move "minds set in concrete".

Arthur C Clarke sums it up rightly: This should be a
must read in schools and in the Congress.

More cataloging than debunking.......2005-09-30

I read the intelligent design chapter of this book in a bookstore and was interested enough to buy it and read the rest. Based on the marketing of the book (bearing the subtitle "Debunking Pseudoscience"), I expected to read a set of discussions explaining the flaws in the reasoning of purveyors of popular but incorrect science. This was certainly the model for the chapter on intelligent design, which addresses the common arguments for this "theory" and points out their problems.

However, upon reading the rest of the book I was dismayed to find that the majority of the chapters spend precious little time debunking flawed science, and mainly give an exhausting list of the instances of a particular misconception. For example, the chapter on urine therapy spends vastly more time on various incarnations of this technique than on medical evidence showing that urine has no therapeutic benefit. Gardner addresses this point briefly in one chapter, in which he states that he wouldn't waste print space trying to have an intelligent argument over whether a certain topic is right or wrong. The implication being that it is beneath his intelligence to do so. And to be fair, this thinking is true for a great many of the topics in the book, including remote viewing, second coming prophecies, and UFO cults.

I therefore feel somewhat mislead that a book subtitled "Debunking Pseudoscience" focuses less on the inaccuracies of scientific misconceptions and more on completely and obviously ridiculous crackpot ideas. Expanding on Gardner's comment, this is not "pseudoscience", "science" doesn't belong anywhere near the label of many of these subjects. Also problematic is that some of the more science-oriented chapters, such as the discussion of the existence of cannibalism, also don't debunk but instead present arguments over what is apparently a valid, ongoing scientific debate.

In summary, the book does contain a number of interesting discussions of misguided ideologies, but its appeal is from a historical perspective. Anyone expecting in depth scientific analysis should look elsewhere.

Martin Gardner is a National Treasure.......2003-12-09

At the age of 89, Martin Gardner is still debunking pseudoscience. The essays I found most enjoyable and enlightening are the two on Freudianism and the one on Alan Sokal's Hilarious Hoax. Perpretrated on the scientific ignoramuses of an indecipherable academic journal, physicist Sokal's hoax claimed, among many other absurdities, that "the axiom that two sets are identical if they have the same elements is a product of 'nineteenth-century liberalism.'"

Although it's hard to agree with Gardner on everything--I, most certainly, do not--I find it hard to imagine a thinking person who would not respect him and his work. He seems to have something interesting to say about almost everything. He may be a member of a vanishing breed, but I sincerely hope not.

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Questioning those who say they have Answers

Fighting the quacks

Gross Misquote and Falsehood

Gives Debunkers a Bad Name

Extremely disappointing, worse than a waste of time.

Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Amazon.com

Scientific gadfly Martin Gardner asks the questions that make believers of all types cringe. Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? is one such example and is the title and lead essay from this collection of his columns from Skeptical Inquirer. While many scientifically minded people find the fundamentalist skepticism of Gardner, the Amazing Randi, and their ilk to be a bit straining, the skeptics' voices are relatively quiet compared with the hordes of pseudo- and anti-scientific hucksters scoring political points and big bucks by exploiting ignorance and credulity.

Gardner's charm and dry wit aid his cause significantly. His essay on urine therapy is so amusing that only upon reflection does the reader realize that his evidence against it seems not much stronger than the evidence in favor of it; perhaps he felt it too silly to pursue with his usual vigor. This is not the case for his other topics, including "intelligent design" creationism, dream theory, numerology, and reflexology, which he debunks clearly and carefully, while retaining his good-natured humor. Readers new to Gardner's work will find it engaging; old friends will delight that the grand old man of popular science is still at it. Whatever your beliefs, though, try not to think about the title question too hard. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

A hilariously skeptical work that ranks with Harold Bloom's Omens of the Millennium and Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. Martin Gardner--"one of the most brilliant men and gracious writers I have ever known," according to Stephen Jay Gould--is perhaps the wittiest, most devastating dissembler of scientific fraud and intellectual chicanery of our time. In Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?, Gardner muses on topics as diverse as numerology, the late Senator Claiborne Pell's paranormal passions, Freud's flawed dream theory, the Heaven's Gate suicides, William F. Buckley's Nearer, My God, and the seemingly inexhaustible American appetite for third-rate science. Indeed, no one has ever written so witheringly of New Age nostrums than Gardner does here. His funny, brilliantly unsettling exposes of reflexology and urine therapy alone should be required reading for anyone interested in "alternative" medicine. In a world increasingly tilted toward superstition, Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? will give those of us who prize logic and common sense immense solace and inspiration.

Customer Reviews:

Questioning those who say they have Answers.......2003-09-29

The major problem most people have with science is that assumption that it is just a replacement for religion. It is not a replacement of religion. It is a way of finding out things about the universe we live in. Martin Gardner tries to explain this with every essay he writes. He then contrasts the scientific approach with the religious approach to questions: basically accepting everything your teacher's tell you as totally true based only on faith. Religious belief does not really allow for the concept that the people who tell you these things might very well be - in any way, wrong. Science openly says, "This might be wrong" as an underlying assumption to all inquiry. This makes the scientific method, in the long run, inherently self-correcting.

The title of the book addresses the question: did Adam and Eve have navels? This is one of the big questions the inquiry into which religious followers have dealt... wasting a lot of time and thought on something that really doesn't allow for questioning in the first place. There is no real way to collect evidence on the question. It forces the questioner to almost make up an answer and then attempt to justify it one way or another... especially when you consider that many "believers" won't accept that the answer might be "I don't know".

He then goes on to examine other new religions, like the UFO cultists, quack medicine, and various fringe quasi-scientific and religious beliefs from a multitude of places around the world. All of them have the same basic response to those who question them: you have to have faith for you to see the righteous of our belief... while at the same time maintaining that their beliefs are entirely logical supported by externally verifiable evidence. How they can say both these things at the same time and not understand they are contradicting themselves requires fits of mental gymnastics worthy only of those suffering under heavy self-delusion.

Gardner explores lots of these belief systems and responds to them in a truly logical way. He doesn't always reach a conclusion, because sometimes the evidence does not allow for one, and Gardner doesn't then just decide to make one up.

Religion wants clear and succinct answers to all questions, where as the scientific method does not require them. Which is the appeal of the new fringe quasi-scientific religious cultists. It is also they're weakness... as the answers they offer are really nothing more than mind candy to those of low intellectual ability.

Fighting the quacks.......2002-10-09

Martin Gardner is the ultimate advocate of common sense. He wields Occam's razor as a deadly weapon (quite possibly it is not my metaphor, I might have read it on the dustjacket of one of his books; but it's very appropriate anyway). All sorts of quacks and cranks are mercilessly analyzed and dethroned in his numerous books. This collection is one in a series of many similar attacks on fringe and crank science - or, rather, on cranks and wackos posing as scientists, sometimes with some success.

The necessity, indeed the very existence of books such as this, is a lamentable fact. Gardner himself deplores it, inviting the reader to compare the size of a New Age section with the Science section in any bookshop. If we move eastwards, to Russia, for example, the contrast would be even more striking. Sorcerers and gnomes are given ample air time on radio and TV, run sindicated columns in newspapers, attract audiences of thousands and brainwash people with irresponsible and unintelligible jargon. And "intellectuals" are often the first to fall for these traps.

There is a curious pattern here, which Gardner, in my opinion, fails to stress enough. Quite often the most powerful crazy ideas emerge from the minds of real, reputable scientists - but these ideas have little or nothing to do with the field where they excel. It is natural for an inquisitive mind to probe other areas of knowledge. But if you lack the training and the set of mind necessary for a totally different domain - well, it's your responsibility. Such prophets are among the most harmful, because - hey, look, the guy's got a Ph.D.! Surely he must know what he's talking about!

Should Gardner be aware of the Russian pseudo-science scene, he would have certainly included in his collection an essay on Nikolai Fomenko, a mathematician of the highest rank (and an interesting graphical artist). Years ago, Fomenko developed an unhealthy interest in history and decided that all existing chronology was rubbish. Not a new idea; it has long been thought by conspiracy buffs that the whole classical civilization was an invention of the Renaissance. But coupled with astronomical calculations and the "discovery" of mysterious cycles in world history, and endorsed by Fomenko's otherwise good reputation in his own field, it exploded. Gullible humanities students could not verify Fomenko's maths, and had to take his word for it. Budding science students could not see any major flaws in his calculations, and believed the impossible abracadabra he wrote about history. His stretches of imagination were so far-fetched that even to expose them would seem ridiculous. Just one example: "pharaoh" and "Frenchman" are the same word, denoting the same object, don't you see - F-R. It would have been very nice, in case the ancient Egyptians used Latin (or Cyrillic, for that matter) alphabet. They didn't.

Books - whole books! - were published, defending history from Fomenko's killing spree. Mathematicians and astronomers pointed out evident, freshman mistakes in his calculations. The tide seems to have abated somewhat, but there are other examples. One particular (late) ethnographer is extremely popular in the circles of technical intelligentsia and among scientits - because they fail to see his wild conjectures. His initial idea, that the landscape forms the mindset of a nation, is sound enough, if not quite original; but everything that follows is an extravaganza of twisted facts and non-facts.

What I am trying to say is that any Gardners out there are vastly outnumbered by believers in alien abductions and Freudian analysis. (It was a relief for me to learn that serious psychologists in the West have long stopped seeing Freud as a scientist. I am not trying to say that he was not a genius.) Being a science jounalist is unpopular and unglamourous. (Unless you are Gardner, with his impressive list of books on every possible subject.) That's a shame.

In this collection, Gardner sometimes fails to make his point. When he describes two opposing theories, it is often unclear which one he favors. Some of the articles seem more like advertising for dubious practices (such as urine therapy), because they discuss them at length, give relevant names, addresses and websites, and very little to oppose it. Some others seem like pieces of narration ripped out of context. But it's the big picture that matters: sharp mind and common sense can and should fight the bizarre, the crazy and the misguided.

Gross Misquote and Falsehood.......2002-05-21

Half Truths (Suppressed Evidence): Any statement usually intended to deceive that omits some of the facts necessary for an accurate description.

I agree it is good to debunk bogus pseudo-science. At the same time, I think most people would agree that in any critique being factually accurate, fair, and honest to context is important; and therefore, when quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing from an original source one should do so accurately, fairly, and in context to assure one does not distort the original sources meaning in any way by adding or subtracting from it.

In Did Adam and Eve Have Navels on page 42 Gardner states (my emphasis):

"On page 1352 of the Urantia Book we learn that the Jupiter-Saturn encounter of May 29, 7 B.C., gave the appearance of a single star, which we know it didn't, and this accounts for what the supermortals call the "beautiful legend" that grew up about the "Star.""

Later Gardner refers to the Star of Bethlehem as a legend or beautiful myth, and states on page 44:

"In my not-so-humble opinion, the story of the Star is pure myth, similar to many ancient legends about the miraculous appearance of a star to herald a great event, such as the birth of Caesar, Pythagoras, Krishna (the Hindu savior), and other famous persons and deities."

As the full quotation of the paragraph below shows, this is essentially what the paragraph in question in the Urantia Book is saying; that there was no Star of Bethlehem, it was only a myth, a legend, albeit a beautiful one, and that ancient man was "continually spinning such beautiful myths about the lives of their religious leaders and political heroes."

The actual and complete paragraph in the Urantia Book states:

"These wise men saw no star to guide them to Bethlehem. The beautiful legend of the star of Bethlehem originated in this way: Jesus was born August 21 at noon, 7 B.C. On May 29, 7 B.C., there occurred an extraordinary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. And it is a remarkable astronomic fact that similar conjunctions occurred on September 29 and December 5 of the same year. Upon the basis of these extraordinary but wholly natural events the well-meaning zealots of the succeeding generation constructed the appealing legend of the star of Bethlehem and the adoring Magi led thereby to the manger, where they beheld and worshiped the newborn babe. Oriental and near-Oriental minds delight in fairy stories, and they are continually spinning such beautiful myths about the lives of their religious leaders and political heroes. In the absence of printing, when most human knowledge was passed by word of mouth from one generation to another, it was very easy for myths to become traditions and for traditions eventually to become accepted as facts." (Urantia Book 1352)

Gardner's statement above implies that the Urantia Book claims "the Jupiter-Saturn encounter of May 29, 7 B.C., gave the appearance of a single star..." This is false and a distortion of the actual paragraph's meaning. The first sentence in the paragraph states clearly "These wise men saw no star to guide them to Bethlehem." Nowhere in the paragraph in question is it stated that the Jupiter-Saturn encounter gave the appearance of a single star. I searched the online version of the Urantia Book and could find no statement that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction "gave the appearance of a single star." This appears to indicate that Gardner has misquoted the Urantia Book by adding information that was not in the original source and omitting information, the first sentence of the paragraph in question, which contradicts his own fallacious statement. Gardner then goes on to use his own false statement as a basis upon which to criticize the Urantia Book, by stating "which we know it didn't." I fail to see how this erroneous quotation, which falls short of even minimal accuracy and fairness, furthers the cause of good science.

In Gardner's "not-so-humble opinion" the story of the Star of Bethlehem is only a myth similar to many ancient legends about famous persons and deities. This is essentially what the Urantia Book is saying in the paragraph in question, which leads me to ask, why would Gardner overlook this and instead distort the paragraph's meaning by misquoting it and then go on to make the same point? Did he simply repeat the story of some over zealous reader without checking the facts? Whatever the reason, perhaps Gardner should exercise a little more caution by actually reading the source he is quoting, and at a minimum attempt to quote it fairly, accurately, and in context.

Gives Debunkers a Bad Name.......2002-01-17

Why does Gardner think of himself as a debunker of pseudoscience if he never debunks anything? He takes the attitude that it is beneath him to actually explain why these ufologists, New Age therapists, et al, are nuts. Consequently: (1) The layman will learn very little practical science (other than an interesting chapter about dreams); and (2) this book will appeal only to those who are already inclined to agree with him--and maybe not even them, as I found him to be self-righteous and not terribly instructive.

Compare Gardner's work to the infinitely superior work of Carl Sagan, esp. The Demon-Haunted World. Sagan fights stupidity with FACTS and SCIENCE, not simply labeling people as kooky. (We KNOW they're kooky already--explain WHY!) I give this book 3 stars because I don't want to suggest it's bad, as much as it is a missed opportunity.

Extremely disappointing, worse than a waste of time........2001-09-27

I have enjoyed Gardner's mathematical puzzles in Scientific American and therefore expected informative discussions of interesting topics. Therefore, I had thought that the book's title was an editor's confection, meant to be cute (too cute, to be sure, but that's what editors do), but Gardner actually spends a long chapter discussing whether Adam and Eve had navels. No serious person over the age of 12, religious or atheist, cares if Adam and Eve had navels.
But far more serious, consider the following. On p. 83, in a chapter on reflexology, Gardner writes: "It would be good if we had some statistical evidence about the frequency of deaths following reliance on pseudomedicines." Surely Gardner knows that virtually all Americans - 99% at least - die following reliance on conventional medicine. After all, 100% of people die. That is not meant as criticism of conventional medicine, or advocacy of alternative medicine, but a simple fact of which Gardner cannot be unaware. In other words, who will debunk the debunker?

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Did Adam and Eve Have Navels

Manufacturer: W W Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQHTYS

Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects.(Review) (book review): An article from: New Criterion

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Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects.(Review) (book review): An article from: New Criterion
John Derbyshire
Manufacturer: Foundation for Cultural Review
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1222 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects.(Review) (book review)
Author: John Derbyshire
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 19 Issue: 5 Page: 71

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: W.W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000PGT28U

Product Description

5-1/4" x 8" Paperback. Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects.

Book Description

This is the first book to explore the varied, and often conflicting, interests involved in the formulation of international policies on pesticide manufacture and use. The use of pesticides involves questions of environmental pollution, trade, development, public health, food security, biotechnology and industrial safety. This readable and comprehensive volume examines international policies in each of these areas, and explains why some aspects of pesticide use are subject to strict international guidelines whilst others are not.
The text breaks new ground in objectively examining competing perspectives on pesticides, highlighting the viewpoints of food producers and other pesticide users, pesticide producers, health officials, traders and the public. The author also considers how international rules systems emerge from such a divergent set of viewpoints. Finally, the April 1998 International Negotiating Committee's conference is analysed, making this the most up-to-date book available on the subject. This will be essential reading for students and researchers in systems sciences, international relations, politics and environment, as well as policy makers.

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