Synopsis
WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?
This book uses reason as a vehicle for an exciting intellectual adventure. At the outset, this book identifies 14 common beliefs among the public that
are actually false. These are fundamentally important beliefs, not trivial facts, thus making the book like a back door to some philosophical
concepts. These beliefs cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including science, government, religion and economics. The book explains why these
common beliefs are false, in one chapter per topic, with carefully reasoned but concise and easily read discussions. Summaries of all 14 chapter
discussions are conveniently located in one separate chapter.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BOOK'S HIGHLIGHTS?
This book includes:
IS THIS BOOK FOR YOU?
This book is for you if you are: intellectually honest, curious about this universe in which we live, able to understand the importance of grasping basic
truths or aware of the pleasure derived from the "Now I understand!" moment. Virtually all readers who can relate to at least one of these
descriptions will easily follow and readily appreciate -- and likely be fascinated by -- these arguments and discussions. Knowledge of mathematics,
though useful, is unnecessary. The book is intended for a worldwide audience, although it focuses at times on certain United States government
issues. This book should enthrall both those who acquire knowledge patiently and those who feed their intellect rich fare within a limited-time
budget. This book should interest both those who look for a wide breadth of subjects and those who look for just a few special subjects.
THE CONTENTS: DIVERSITY AND UNITY
Are you willing to sample diverse subjects to see how you like the taste? The model for the intended reader is Thomas Jefferson (third president of
the United States and a key member of the Age of Enlightenment), not so much because of his eventual knowledge and wisdom, or because of his
achievements, but because of his initial desire to understand a wide breadth of subjects -- and because of the intellectual excitement he derived
from the search for, and the acquisition of, the understanding that came with that knowledge. The reader of this book will similarly be presented with
a wide breadth of subjects, and is encouraged to join in a Jeffersonian type of intellectual adventure.
Of what use is well-directed reason? It is useful to ensure that aircraft do not fall out of the sky. It is useful to ensure that skyscrapers do not
collapse on their occupants. And it is useful to answer a child's question about the nature of a rainbow. Reason may also be useful as art is useful:
Well-directed reason can generate intellectual pleasure when it discovers a new truth. One purpose of this book is to show that the same well-
directed reasoning process can and should be used to design a passenger jet, design a tall building, design a government's constitution, and
answer an adult's question about the nature of matter. That is the unifying theme of the book. And the knowledge that you, the reader, can apply
such well-directed reason to all these, and many other, subjects -- many widely perceived as only the realm of opinion -- should itself induce
intellectual pleasure.
WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?
This book uses reason as a vehicle for an exciting intellectual adventure. At the outset, this book identifies 14 common beliefs among the public that
are actually false. These are fundamentally important beliefs, not trivial facts, thus making the book like a back door to some philosophical
concepts. These beliefs cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including science, government, religion and economics. The book explains why these
common beliefs are false, in one chapter per topic, with carefully reasoned but concise and easily read discussions. Summaries of all 14 chapter
discussions are conveniently located in one separate chapter.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BOOK'S HIGHLIGHTS?
This book includes:
- a unique simple description of a way to visualize why objects cannot go faster than the speed of light (not just the non-explanation: "because
the object becomes too massive"); - concise definitions of the concepts: reality, matter, rights, civil rights, justice, freedom, and political trials;
- a simple non-mathematical explanation of (much of) "the unified field theory" physics concept that does not rely on impossible-to-visualize
many-dimensional space; - an answer to the question of the inevitability of monetary inflation;
- an answer to the question of a country's optimum tariff policy;
- an answer to the interesting question of whether some (physics, math, or philosophy) subjects might be too hard to understand, and
- a resolution of the Evolution versus Bible controversy that denigrates neither science nor the historical accuracy of the Bible.
IS THIS BOOK FOR YOU?
This book is for you if you are: intellectually honest, curious about this universe in which we live, able to understand the importance of grasping basic
truths or aware of the pleasure derived from the "Now I understand!" moment. Virtually all readers who can relate to at least one of these
descriptions will easily follow and readily appreciate -- and likely be fascinated by -- these arguments and discussions. Knowledge of mathematics,
though useful, is unnecessary. The book is intended for a worldwide audience, although it focuses at times on certain United States government
issues. This book should enthrall both those who acquire knowledge patiently and those who feed their intellect rich fare within a limited-time
budget. This book should interest both those who look for a wide breadth of subjects and those who look for just a few special subjects.
THE CONTENTS: DIVERSITY AND UNITY
Are you willing to sample diverse subjects to see how you like the taste? The model for the intended reader is Thomas Jefferson (third president of
the United States and a key member of the Age of Enlightenment), not so much because of his eventual knowledge and wisdom, or because of his
achievements, but because of his initial desire to understand a wide breadth of subjects -- and because of the intellectual excitement he derived
from the search for, and the acquisition of, the understanding that came with that knowledge. The reader of this book will similarly be presented with
a wide breadth of subjects, and is encouraged to join in a Jeffersonian type of intellectual adventure.
Of what use is well-directed reason? It is useful to ensure that aircraft do not fall out of the sky. It is useful to ensure that skyscrapers do not
collapse on their occupants. And it is useful to answer a child's question about the nature of a rainbow. Reason may also be useful as art is useful:
Well-directed reason can generate intellectual pleasure when it discovers a new truth. One purpose of this book is to show that the same well-
directed reasoning process can and should be used to design a passenger jet, design a tall building, design a government's constitution, and
answer an adult's question about the nature of matter. That is the unifying theme of the book. And the knowledge that you, the reader, can apply
such well-directed reason to all these, and many other, subjects -- many widely perceived as only the realm of opinion -- should itself induce
intellectual pleasure.
Shattering Illusions
The Exciting Search for Reality
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Start your search for reality today...
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