"Those who seek peace must first seek justice," is an oft-quoted phrase that guides the team here at Reach And Teach. As a youngster, I did not like learning about math and science concepts, wondering how they would ever be used in the real world by every day people. As an adult, I've learned how critical they are to our safety and to creating that peaceful and just world we believe in. With today's "no child left behind" mentality of "drill and kill" where getting the "right" answer is all that matters, it is critical that we introduce critical thinking into the mix, which will also help children and adults fine-tune their pure math and science skills.

Edward Zaccaro has once again put together a powerful book that any teacher could bring into the classroom and not even get a sideways glance from the administration. But scratch just beneath the surface and it becomes clear that this is much more than a math or science book, it is a critical thinking manifesto for change! Great graphics, discussion questions, real world stories make this a must have for every classroom, household, and activist toolkit.

Chapters and Stories:

• Math and Science WIll Tell You the Truth
  
  • The Challenger Disaster
  • Mow Mathematicians Made Sure a Trial Was Fair
  • How Dr. Snow Used Statistics to Stop a Cholera Epidemic
  • The Tragic Death of Aaliyah
  • How the Unicerse Revealed its Truths through Mathematics
• Your Mind Can Be Fooled (Counterintuitive Thinking)
  
  • The Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel Disaster
  • The Game Show Dilemma
  • The Strange World of Average Speed
  • The Stranded Astronaut Problem
• Ocam's Razor
  
  • Clever Hans
  • Cold Fusion
  • Big Food
  • Crop Circles
• Mistakes and Frustration are a Part of Learning and a Part of Life
  
  • How Nature Deals with Mistakes
  • The Simple Mistake that Destroyed the Mars Climate Orbiter
  • The Overloaded Bridge
  • Apollo 13 -- Triumph from Tragedy
  • It is Important to Experience Failure and Frustration
  • The Three Mile Island Accident
  • The Hubble Telescope
• It is Important to Keep an Open Mind
  
  • Sister Elizabeth Kenny and Her Treatment for Polio
  • Dr. Semmelweis and Puerperal Fever
  • Dr. Goldberger and Pellagra
  • The Shocking Discovery about Ulcers
• It is Important to Maintain a Healthy Skepticism
  
  • Psychic Surgery
  • The Invention Company
  • Facilitated Communication
  • The Anti-Vaccination Movement
  • The Simple Lie-Detector test
• Don't be Fooled by Statistics
  
  • Painting Bull's Eyes Around Arrows
  • The Doctors Who Were Fooled
  • The Police Chief
  • The Deceptive Car Advertisement
• You Must Know the Difference Between Cause and Correlation
  
  • The Bendectin Nightmare
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • The Bermuda Triangle
  • Music and High Achievement
  • How Tobacco Companies Tired to Confuse Cause and Correlation
• Ethical Decision Making
  
  • The Exploding Gas Tank
  • Thalidomide and Birth Defects
  • The Unethical Stuttering Experiment
  • How Ethical Decision-Making Saved a Company
  • The Building That Almost Tipped Over
  • The Radium Girls
• Bias is Everywhere
  
  • Are Some Surgeries Useless?
  • How Biased Sampling Led to a Wrong Prediction
  • The Dramatic Discovery that Eliminated Bias

A Favorite Example:

To begin the chapter on Cause and Correlation, Zaccaro uses a "researcher" reporting stunning results. As a rapt cartoon audience watches the researcher, here's how his stunning report goes.

"My research has led me to a stunning discovery that felt I must bring to the world's attention immediately.

My research involved a study of where people are dying. I wanted to know the places that must be avoided to lesson one's chance of dying.

The results of my study are stunning! I found that 87% of the people who die, are in beds when they die.

Because so many deaths are associated with being in a bed, I sleep on the couch now. My research shows that it is far too dangerous to sleep in a bed."

The book is loaded with great tidbits like this, which get you thinking, and hopefully lead you towards a more critical approach to information.

From the Publisher:

Mathematicians and scientists have been closely tied to many famous disasters. The Challenger explosion, the failure of the Mars Orbiter, and the Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse all involved thinking errors. This book presents the ten things our future mathematicians and scientists must know to prevent these kinds of tragedies from occurring. Because science and mathematics instruction is often dominated by facts and calculation, children are rarely exposed to these important concepts. Over 50 stories are included that show children the strong connections between mathematics and science and the real world. (Grades 4th - 12th).

Details:

• Written by Edward Zaccaro
• Paperback - 243 Pages - BW Illustrations Throughout
• Grades 4th - 12th (and great for adults)