A good man with a good mind...
Bob Schadewald was a good man with a good mind. Worlds of Their Own reflects both aspects of this man whom his fellow anti-creationists respected and loved, and whom even the creationists whose deceptions he exposed viewed with affection and respect. Bob's essays reveal his keen understanding of both science and pseudoscience; the criticisms he lodged against "creation science" are equally applicable to today's creationism, "intelligent design." Lois Schadewald's posthumous publication of this book is a testimony to her esteem for her brother. But more than that, it is one more gift from Bob to the world of science and literature.
Barbara Forrest
Co-author with Paul R. Gross of
Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design
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Respect for genuine science over bogus science...
No science writer wrote about pseudoscience with greater accuracy and humor than Bob Schadewald. His slashing attacks on the know-nothing young-earth creationists, and on Velikovsky's crazy cosmology were devastating. It is high time that his great contributions to the growing literature of respect for genuine science over bogus science were finally recognized. His sister Lois has done a wonderful job of pulling it all together. The illustrations alone are worth the books price.
Martin Gardner
Science writer, mathemagician
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Human beings seeking answers to bigger questions...
Bob Schadewald was an insightful thinker who looked clear-eyed at the foolishness of perpetual motion machines, flat-earthism, creationism, and many other pseudosciences. But, though he cuts right to the core of why these ideas are pseudoscience, he recognizes the holders of these kooky ideas as very human beings seeking answers to bigger questions even if they are looking in the wrong places. This humanistic perspective on the holders of these views help us understand why these views persist, despite all the scientific evidence against them. We are indebted to his sister, Lois Schadewald, for collecting them all in one place.
Eugenie C. Scott, PhD
Author, Evolution vs Creationism: An Introduction,
Executive director, National Center for Science Education
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Scientific Creationism... the jig is up...
Bob Schadewald understood that one of the best ways of understanding true science is to understand pseudoscience, how it "works" and what motivates its propagandists. That is a lesson many need to learn in this time of "Intelligent Design" swindles. Once you realize that "Scientific Creationism" works exactly like Velikovskyism and Flat Earth "Science," the jig is up. Schadewalds good-natured but unsparing scrutiny of all these silly trends is both hilarious and infuriating. As mind-games they incite laughter. As strategies for keeping the human race in dogma-inspired darkness they deserve our scorn and our active opposition. And this book deserves a wide readership.
Dr. Robert M. Price
Editor, Journal of Higher Criticism
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Explored the fringes of science...
No one explored the fringes of science more enthusiastically and insightfully than the late Bob Schadewald. This welcome anthology of his essays will keep his spirit alive for years to come.
Ronald L. Numbers
Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine
Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin
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Buy the book. Worlds of Their Own is available from a wide number of sources.
worldsoftheirown.com and it's contents are copyright 2009 Lois Schadewald.
Background and planet images courtesy of
NASA.