JD Stemwedel

In The Evolution of Everything: How Selection Shapes Culture, Commerce, and Nature, Mark Sumner prefaces his exploration of Darwin’s theory of evolution – and of the power of selection to explain phenomena as diverse as the economic downturn, the “success” of patent medicines that don’t do much to cure what ails you, and the shape of the new TV season – with the reminder that what you think you know could well be wrong. Sumner argues that the set of erroneous beliefs to which most of us cling includes our sense of what Darwin’s own Darwinism actually asserts.

In Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum explore the American public’s disengagement from science and scientists. They explore the historical developments and cultural forces that brought the U.S. from a society that, in the post World War II era, prioritized scientific research and education and viewed science as an important tool for defense and prosperity, to its present state, where citizens seem supremely able to tune out scientific information that bears on the health of their bodies or of the planet, ready to challenge aspects of science education or scientific research that clash with their non-scientific commitments, and inclined to see science as just one interest group among many. Special attention is paid to the influence of the declining fortunes of newspapers and other news media, Hollywood portrayals of science and scientists, the rise of conservative religious movements, and the ways that visible scientific engagement has become a political third-rail for office seekers. Mooney and Kirshenbaum argue that the consequences of public disengagement with science may be catastrophic. And, they try to suggest ways to overcome this alienation and help the public make its peace with both science and scientists.