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100 hoaxů a omylů, které napálily vědce
I vědci dostanou občas kopačky – a často od jiných vědců nebo odborníků. Některé hoaxy jsou pouze dobře míněnými žerty, zatímco jiné jsou závažnými podvody těch, co touží po slávě a penězích. V této publikaci shromáždili odborníci časopisu Popular Science ty největší vědecké hoaxy všech dob. Objevte pravdu o 100 nejskandálnějších vědeckých pochybeních a lžích.
- GenresNonfictionScienceHistory
184 pages, Hardcover
Published October 22, 2018
77 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 30, 2022
Less a collection of instances that "fooled science," this is more a collection of myths people believe that have no scientific basis. Most of these my 10-year-old already knew had been debunked (Piltdown Man, the "faking" of the moon landing, flat earth, alien autopsy, etc.)
I think a more interesting book would be ACTUAL instances where scientists were fooled or stumped for some time, but this was an entertaining book.
I think a more interesting book would be ACTUAL instances where scientists were fooled or stumped for some time, but this was an entertaining book.
July 17, 2025
We often think of science as this pristine, lab-coated pursuit of truth—logical, peer-reviewed, immaculately linear.
But this book? It threw a wrench straight into that fantasy.
100 Hoaxes & Mistakes That Fooled Science, compiled by the editors of Popular Science, is a fascinating, sometimes sobering, sometimes hilarious anthology of moments when science got punked—by fraudsters, by faulty instruments, and most deliciously, by its own assumptions.
I picked up this book in 2019, almost on a dare. I was going through a phase where I’d become too reverent of the scientific method. It was my secular scripture. This book smacked that idol out of my hand, gently but firmly.
Each of the 100 entries in the book is a self-contained narrative—short, crisp, and free from jargon, which makes it feel like a dinner party of science’s most embarrassing moments. There’s the infamous Piltdown Man fraud, where a fake fossil head bamboozled the best minds in anthropology for four decades.
There’s the Cardiff Giant, a ten-foot “petrified man” cooked up by a cigar-smoking trickster and believed to be real by several American scholars. And who could forget the Cold Fusion frenzy of 1989, where dreams of limitless energy vaporized under peer-reviewed scrutiny?
But the book doesn’t only delight in deception. It devotes considerable attention to honest mistakes too. Some are heartbreakingly human—scientists fooled by faulty instruments, optical illusions, or the sheer eagerness to see something that simply isn’t there.
I still remember blinking in disbelief at the entry about Vulcan, the hypothetical planet that many astronomers swore existed because Mercury's orbit didn’t make sense at the time. Spoiler: it wasn’t Vulcan—it was relativity waiting to be discovered.
Reading this made me realize that science, for all its equations and experiments, is deeply emotional. The book doesn't shy away from showing how ego, nationalism, and confirmation bias sneak into the lab. Whether it’s 19th-century European paleontologists desperate to “find” the missing link (and conveniently placing it in their own country), or physicists prematurely declaring breakthroughs due to Cold War rivalry, these stories show how the need to be first, or right, often trumps the need to be careful.
But what redeems science—and this is the book’s quiet triumph—is its corrective mechanism. Unlike dogma, science allows for its own undoing. Piltdown Man was eventually exposed. Cold fusion couldn’t replicate. The Martian canals turned out to be optical illusions. Time and again, peer review, replication, and independent inquiry come to the rescue. The snake bites its tail, but eventually realizes, “Ow.”
One of the more profound takeaways for me was this: error is not the opposite of science; it is part of its DNA. That realization hit me hard, not just as a reader, but as a teacher. I remember turning a few of these stories into classroom discussions. We talked not just about the mistakes, but about how easy it is to fool oneself in the name of reason. The conversations were electric—students loved that science, too, had its facepalm moments.
This book isn’t an attack on science—it’s an ode to its resilience. It’s a reminder that the process of discovery is messy, often embarrassing, but gloriously human. You leave the book not disillusioned, but oddly comforted. If Newton, Pasteur, and a parade of Nobel laureates can get things wrong, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
100 Hoaxes & Mistakes That Fooled Science is great for science buffs, skeptics, students, or anyone who enjoys watching authority trip over its own shoelaces.
And the best part? It reminds us that being wrong isn’t a failure. It’s just the next step in getting it right.
But this book? It threw a wrench straight into that fantasy.
100 Hoaxes & Mistakes That Fooled Science, compiled by the editors of Popular Science, is a fascinating, sometimes sobering, sometimes hilarious anthology of moments when science got punked—by fraudsters, by faulty instruments, and most deliciously, by its own assumptions.
I picked up this book in 2019, almost on a dare. I was going through a phase where I’d become too reverent of the scientific method. It was my secular scripture. This book smacked that idol out of my hand, gently but firmly.
Each of the 100 entries in the book is a self-contained narrative—short, crisp, and free from jargon, which makes it feel like a dinner party of science’s most embarrassing moments. There’s the infamous Piltdown Man fraud, where a fake fossil head bamboozled the best minds in anthropology for four decades.
There’s the Cardiff Giant, a ten-foot “petrified man” cooked up by a cigar-smoking trickster and believed to be real by several American scholars. And who could forget the Cold Fusion frenzy of 1989, where dreams of limitless energy vaporized under peer-reviewed scrutiny?
But the book doesn’t only delight in deception. It devotes considerable attention to honest mistakes too. Some are heartbreakingly human—scientists fooled by faulty instruments, optical illusions, or the sheer eagerness to see something that simply isn’t there.
I still remember blinking in disbelief at the entry about Vulcan, the hypothetical planet that many astronomers swore existed because Mercury's orbit didn’t make sense at the time. Spoiler: it wasn’t Vulcan—it was relativity waiting to be discovered.
Reading this made me realize that science, for all its equations and experiments, is deeply emotional. The book doesn't shy away from showing how ego, nationalism, and confirmation bias sneak into the lab. Whether it’s 19th-century European paleontologists desperate to “find” the missing link (and conveniently placing it in their own country), or physicists prematurely declaring breakthroughs due to Cold War rivalry, these stories show how the need to be first, or right, often trumps the need to be careful.
But what redeems science—and this is the book’s quiet triumph—is its corrective mechanism. Unlike dogma, science allows for its own undoing. Piltdown Man was eventually exposed. Cold fusion couldn’t replicate. The Martian canals turned out to be optical illusions. Time and again, peer review, replication, and independent inquiry come to the rescue. The snake bites its tail, but eventually realizes, “Ow.”
One of the more profound takeaways for me was this: error is not the opposite of science; it is part of its DNA. That realization hit me hard, not just as a reader, but as a teacher. I remember turning a few of these stories into classroom discussions. We talked not just about the mistakes, but about how easy it is to fool oneself in the name of reason. The conversations were electric—students loved that science, too, had its facepalm moments.
This book isn’t an attack on science—it’s an ode to its resilience. It’s a reminder that the process of discovery is messy, often embarrassing, but gloriously human. You leave the book not disillusioned, but oddly comforted. If Newton, Pasteur, and a parade of Nobel laureates can get things wrong, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
100 Hoaxes & Mistakes That Fooled Science is great for science buffs, skeptics, students, or anyone who enjoys watching authority trip over its own shoelaces.
And the best part? It reminds us that being wrong isn’t a failure. It’s just the next step in getting it right.
December 20, 2018
Mýty oficiálne zničené! :D
Táto kniha je písaná jednoduchým štýlom, číta sa ľahko a rýchlo a hlavne spĺňa účel - jasne a vecne je napísané prečo je daná vec blbosť a prečo danej veci mnohí veria.
Rozoberajú rôzne témy ako mimozemský život, vesmír, historické udalosti, prírodne (ne)vysvetliteľné javy ... Tiež je tu časť pre medicínu, kde zmienia i očkovanie, za čo som ja osobne veľmi vďačná, pretože čím viac sa o tom bude písať, tým viac hádam dostanú ľudia rozum a pochopia, že očkovanie je správne.
Za mňa fajn počteníčko - akurát ma vždy prekvapí, koľkým blbostiam ľudia aj dnes veria ... Toľké roky štúdia, čo mnohí pre poznanie obetovali život a aj napriek tomu ešte aj dnes sa najdú blbci, čo budú tvrdiť, že zem je plochá ... no hrôza.
Táto kniha je písaná jednoduchým štýlom, číta sa ľahko a rýchlo a hlavne spĺňa účel - jasne a vecne je napísané prečo je daná vec blbosť a prečo danej veci mnohí veria.
Rozoberajú rôzne témy ako mimozemský život, vesmír, historické udalosti, prírodne (ne)vysvetliteľné javy ... Tiež je tu časť pre medicínu, kde zmienia i očkovanie, za čo som ja osobne veľmi vďačná, pretože čím viac sa o tom bude písať, tým viac hádam dostanú ľudia rozum a pochopia, že očkovanie je správne.
Za mňa fajn počteníčko - akurát ma vždy prekvapí, koľkým blbostiam ľudia aj dnes veria ... Toľké roky štúdia, čo mnohí pre poznanie obetovali život a aj napriek tomu ešte aj dnes sa najdú blbci, čo budú tvrdiť, že zem je plochá ... no hrôza.
July 10, 2025
Poor Structure & Manyare just Opinions & Contemporary Dogma
How much of this is Really Really Real, & how much of it is getting children to buy into ( Literally ) The PreEstablished Dogma that we’re currently endowed into from Professors & Doctors with White LabCoats that are protecting their Tenure & Publishing Domains ( ? )
( ? )
How much of this is Really Really Real, & how much of it is getting children to buy into ( Literally ) The PreEstablished Dogma that we’re currently endowed into from Professors & Doctors with White LabCoats that are protecting their Tenure & Publishing Domains ( ? )
( ? )
Read
February 9, 2022A superb collection of everyday thoughts
Easy to read collection of popular misconceptions.
Great fun book.
Read the complete book I. Three sessions.
Very enjoyable o gable read.
Easy to read collection of popular misconceptions.
Great fun book.
Read the complete book I. Three sessions.
Very enjoyable o gable read.
May 5, 2017
Interesting and informatve
Above says it all. Win your arguments, astound your friends, amaze your enemies. Great book from Pop Science. Have fun!
Above says it all. Win your arguments, astound your friends, amaze your enemies. Great book from Pop Science. Have fun!
August 15, 2020
odpočinkové čtení, kdy lze číst stránku dvě za den
August 30, 2022
My non-fiction pick of the month was much too lightweight.
February 9, 2018
Reading about a hoax here and there can be fun, but this was too much. It just became nonsense.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews