© Columbia University Press
Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future
Paper, 248 pages, 46 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-13213-8
$22.50
/ £13.00
February, 2007
Cloth, 248 pages, 46 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-13212-1
$29.95
/ £17.50
"This book is a welcome antidote to the blind use of supposedly quantitative models." — Carl Wunsch, American Scientist
"This is an easy and persuasive read." — Fred Pearce, New Scientist
"Useless Arithmetic dispels many myths and is a 'must read' packing in case studies and insights on faulty thinking." — The Midwest Book Review
"[This] readily accessible book should be read by any activist who's ever had to face off against the opposition's engineers." — Earth Island Journal
"A concise, powerful, and readable book." — Steven R. Carpenter, Issues in Science and Technology
"This book should be in every library... Essential." — Choice
"Useless Arithmetic will surely excite any reader." — David Simberloff, BioScience
"Using concrete examples, the authors of Useless Arithmetic cut through the scientific jargon to show how and why many aspects of the environment are under threat because of the slavish adherence to misleading mathematical models by their technical and political advocates." — Victor R. Baker, University of Arizona
"In a complex, imperfect world quantitative models feed the delusion that society can predict its way out of its environmental dilemmas. The corrosive result is that politics and science have become inextricably interwoven to the considerable detriment of both. This engaging, wise, and far-reaching book diagnoses the causes and costs of our quantitative hubris, and in so doing points the difficult way toward a more productive relationship among science, democracy, and the vexing challenges of environmental stewardship." — Daniel Sarewitz, director, Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes, Arizona State University
"Useless Arithmetic is an important book for those of us who believe that environmental science and policy should be self-correcting on the basis of experience. Written for lay persons, it draws attention to a broad range of sobering experiences typically ignored in the over-promotion of quantitative models for predictive purposes." — Ron Brunner, Center for Public Policy Research, University of Colorado, Boulder
"Orrin H. Pilkey and Linda Pilkey-Jarvis argue that many models are worse than useless, providing a false sense of security and an unwarranted confidence in our scientific expertise. Regardless of how one responds to their views, they can't be ignored. A must-read for anyone seriously interested in the role of models in contemporary science and policy." — Naomi Oreskes, professor, Department of History, University of California, San Diego