Overview

This is a fascinating look at how scientific thinking evolved from traditional tribal thinking, and its lasting impact on human success. Human beings evolved in a tribal environment. Over the millennia, our brains have become adept at fostering social networks that are the basis of group cohesion - from the primary family unit to the extended association of clans, villages, cities, and even nations. ""Tribal Science"" examines the many ways in which our tribally oriented brains perceive and sometime distort reality. It also describes how our social nature led to the development of the cognitive tricks that have served us so well over the centuries - the most important of which, argues author Mike McRae, is undoubtedly science. Through the sharing of scientific ideas, our species has expanded the reach of the tribal community to a global scale.

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9781616145835

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Reviews

""""Science has never been more important, or more deeply misunderstood. Tribal Science explains what science gets right, with a light sense of humor and a keen sense of why so many--even scientists--get science wrong. McRae's sharp eye for historical detail and natural storyteller's art make for a joyous and entertaining tour of science's evolution and the ways that human evolution and biology have shaped what science became. Readers of all tribes will find much to enjoy in these pages."" -JOSHUA ROSENAU, Programs and policy director, National Center for Science Education ""Whether you're new to the shadowy intersection of science and belief or a seasoned traveler, Tribal Science will turn your assumptions on their heads. It invites you to marvel at still-stranger vistas and tempts you to walk the paths that others overlook."" -DANIEL LOXTON, Skeptic magazine ""Our modern, luxury-filled world is full of things we tend to take for granted. It is amazing how we as a human tribe have overcome our natural unscientific thinking. McRae has done a superb job of taking readers through a tale that gives insight into how we have gone from nothing but superstition and fallacy-filled understandings of the world to our present civilization built upon a legacy of scientific observations and evidence."" -DEREK COLANDUNO, Podcast co-host and producer at Skepticality.com

Science has never been more important, or more deeply misunderstood. Tribal Science explains what science gets right, with a light sense of humor and a keen sense of why so many--even scientists--get science wrong. McRae's sharp eye for historical detail and natural storyteller's art make for a joyous and entertaining tour of science's evolution and the ways that human evolution and biology have shaped what science became. Readers of all tribes will find much to enjoy in these pages. <br>-JOSHUA ROSENAU, Programs and policy director, National Center for Science Education <br><br> Whether you're new to the shadowy intersection of science and belief or a seasoned traveler, Tribal Science will turn your assumptions on their heads. It invites you to marvel at still-stranger vistas and tempts you to walk the paths that others overlook. <br>-DANIEL LOXTON, Skeptic magazine<br><br> Our modern, luxury-filled world is full of things we tend to take for granted. It is amazing how we as a human tribe have overcome our natural unscientific thinking. McRae has done a superb job of taking readers through a tale that gives insight into how we have gone from nothing but superstition and fallacy-filled understandings of the world to our present civilization built upon a legacy of scientific observations and evidence. <br>-DEREK COLANDUNO, Podcast co-host and producer at Skepticality.com

Science has never been more important, or more deeply misunderstood. Tribal Science explains what science gets right, with a light sense of humor and a keen sense of why so many--even scientists--get science wrong. McRae's sharp eye for historical detail and natural storyteller's art make for a joyous and entertaining tour of science's evolution and the ways that human evolution and biology have shaped what science became. Readers of all tribes will find much to enjoy in these pages. -JOSHUA ROSENAU, Programs and policy director, National Center for Science Education Whether you're new to the shadowy intersection of science and belief or a seasoned traveler, Tribal Science will turn your assumptions on their heads. It invites you to marvel at still-stranger vistas and tempts you to walk the paths that others overlook. -DANIEL LOXTON, Skeptic magazine Our modern, luxury-filled world is full of things we tend to take for granted. It is amazing how we as a human tribe have overcome our natural unscientific thinking. McRae has done a superb job of taking readers through a tale that gives insight into how we have gone from nothing but superstition and fallacy-filled understandings of the world to our present civilization built upon a legacy of scientific observations and evidence. -DEREK COLANDUNO, Podcast co-host and producer at Skepticality.com

Author Information

Mike McRae is a science writer for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and a touring science communicator for Australia's National Science and Technology Centre.

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