Cargo Cult Science, by Richard Feynman (1974)

I'm just finishing "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" - what a damn good book.<p>For a few years, I'd read references and anecdotes and cool snippets and meant to read it, but I never got around to it. And now I'm kicking myself that I didn't earlier, because it's wonderful and illuminating and my worldview is greatly expanded.<p>You, yes YOU, if you haven't read it yet, get your copy and read it. You'll be happy you did. It reads fast, and you'll learn a lot about society and love and engineering and science and mixing with people very different than you. Just an amazing read. It's worth taking a 30 minute break from Hacker News each day for a month to read it, it's like the essence of Hacker News distilled into witty, insightful, gorgeous easy-yet-deep reading.<p>Amazon, no affiliate link (really, add it to your cart and get it with your next order - no excuse not to, <i>anyone</i> who likes this site will love this book):<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Character/dp/0393316041" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Char...</a>

&#62; The next experiment, and the one after that, never referred to Mr. Young.<p>I read this years ago, and it left me with the impression that most science is cargo cult science (90% of everything?). It's a delight to read people with ridiculous levels of integrity - like Chomsky or Feynman. It's a shame that integrity seems to require Socratic heroism.

&#60;quote&#62; One time I sat down in a bath where there was a beautiful girl sitting with a guy who didn’t seem to know her. Right away I began thinking, “Gee! How am I gonna get started talking to this beautiful nude babe?”<p>I’m trying to figure out what to say, when the guy says to her, I’m, uh, studying massage. Could I practice on you? &#60;/quote&#62; :)

"Another example is the ESP experiments of Mr. Rhine, and other people. As various people have made criticisms--and they themselves have made criticisms of their own experiments--they improve the techniques so that the effects are smaller, and smaller, and smaller until they gradually disappear. All the parapsychologists are looking for some experiment that can be repeated--that you can do again and get the same effect--statistically, even. They run a million rats no, it’s people this time they do a lot of things and get a certain statistical effect. Next time they try it they don’t get it any more. And now you find a man saying that it is an irrelevant demand to expect a repeatable experiment. This is science?"<p>Feynman noticed the scientific procedure problems in parapsychology "research," and later investigators responded to his suggestion to be better research by carefully debunking claims about ESP research.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Alpha" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Alpha</a>