 | |
| Author | Anthony Standen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | E. P. Dutton |
Publication date | 1950 |
Science is a Sacred Cow is a book written by the chemist Anthony Standen. It was first published in 1950 by E. P. Dutton. It was in print for 40 years. [1] The book argues that some scientists and many teachers of science have "inflated egos" [1] or, in the words of Standen, "a fabulous collective ego, as inflated as a skillfully blown piece of bubble gum". [2] The book was widely reviewed. [3]
Part of the book's thesis is that the general public and students of science hold the words of scientists in awe even when these are merely "latinized nonsense". [1] According to a March 1950 issue of Time , Standen's concerns are that scientists can be and have been "overbearing," "overpraised," and "overindulged". [4] The book was once praised by one of the great scientists: Albert Einstein. [1] An editorial note in the March 27, 1950, issue of Life magazine introducing several pages [5] of excerpts and a half dozen editorial cartoons from Sacred Cow states "With tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, [Standen] suggests that a group that takes itself so seriously deserves some serious skepticism. Life—without taking all Mr. Standen's funmaking too seriously—thinks he deserves a happy hearing". [6]
The book is 221 pages and has eight chapters:
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Anthony Standen was an American chemist and entomologist who wrote the popular book Science is a Sacred Cow (1950). He was born in 1906 to an American mother and a British father. He was educated at Oxford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of New Hampshire.
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