{"product_id":"the-attack-of-the-science-dan-hooper-9780674299924","title":"The Attack of the Science Populists: In Defense of Fundamental Physics","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA bracing rebuttal of the science populists who've built huge audiences on the basis of misleading critiques of fundamental physics, set against a sweeping tour of the deepest unanswered questions facing researchers today.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA growing number of critics insist that fundamental physics is in crisis. In their view, our leading theories have produced only stagnation: Blinded by bias and intellectual error, diverted by misaligned incentives, physicists cling to outdated orthodoxies and unverifiable hypotheses. These salvos are not in the pages of scientific journals. Rather, detractors churn out popular books and find a huge reception on social media, podcasts, and YouTube. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Attack of the Science Populists\u003c\/i\u003e shows that this influencer-driven crisis narrative is mistaken and deliberately misleading. Theoretical physicist Dan Hooper scrutinizes the underlying claims and the polemical voices behind them, situating their story within the broader trend toward science populism. Subtler than purveyors of pseudoscience, science populists--including some climate-change deniers and anti-vaccine activists--appeal to the chimera of \"common sense.\" Their arguments are rarely obvious nonsense, which makes them all the more insidious. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHooper invites readers to take seriously the puzzles of fundamental physics, including dark matter, dark energy, cosmic inflation, and quantum gravity. He explains why, contrary to the populists' claims, multiple lines of evidence support the existence of dark matter, and why theories such as string theory are more than mere mathematical speculation, representing some of the most promising research avenues in theoretical physics. He also makes the case that the Large Hadron Collider has been a magnificent success and that it should ultimately be succeeded by even larger particle accelerators. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoth an incisive rebuttal and an approachable introduction to the mysteries facing researchers today, \u003ci\u003eThe Attack of the Science Populists\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates the achievements of scientific inquiry, without shying away from the inevitable perplexities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Dan Hooper\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674299922\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674299924\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/05\/2027\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Dan Hooper","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":49084207694079,"sku":"9780674299924","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-attack-of-the-science-dan-hooper-9780674299924","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}