Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong

Shtulman (psychology & cognitive science, Occidental Coll., CA) argues that the common theories people have are usually wrong. These intuitive ideas, as psychologists call them, are based on behavior rather than science. He argues for these misconceptions to be changed by transforming them from their foundation. Shtulman organizes intuitive theories by the physical and biological world. For the physical, he devotes a chapter each to matter, energy, earth, cosmos, motion, and gravity. Shtulman discusses topics such as what the universe is made of, what makes objects move, and what causes continents to drift. For the biological, he dedicates a section each to adaptation, ancestry, growth, inheritance, life, and illness. He examines the reasons people look like their parents, how species are related, and how illness spreads. He argues that intuitive theories are developed as children, and that people must change the concepts behind these beliefs when they become adults. Although this book is thoroughly researched with a wealth of scholarly sources cited, Shtulman reaches a broad audience by investigating topics that everyone can understand.