Science is a Sacred Cow

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]

First edition

Reception

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]

Contents

The book is 221 pages and has eight chapters:

  1. "They Say It's Wonderful."
  2. "How They Dish It Out."
  3. "Science at Its Best: Physics."
  4. "Biology, or Know Thyself"
  5. "The Proper Study: Psychology."
  6. "The Social Animal."
  7. "True Science: Mathematics."
  8. "Watch Those Scientists."

References
  1. Obit of Anthony Standen, June 25, 1993, The New York Times
  2. Life, March 27, 1950, page 104
  3. List of review citations
    • Chemical and Engineering News, R. L. Kenyon, volume 28 (June 19, 1950), page 2122
    • Chicago Sunday Tribune, Fritz Leiber (March 12, 1950), page 14
    • The Christian Science Monitor, Karl Willenbrock (March 31, 1950), page 18
    • Commentary, Nathan Glazer (August 1950), "Science Is a Sacred Cow, by Anthony Standen" (abstract of review)
    • New York Herald Tribune, Stuart Chase (April 23, 1950), page 12
    • The New Yorker, volume 26 (March 11, 1950), page 104
    • The Quarterly Review of Biology, Volume 25, Issue 3 (September 1950), pages 317-318
    • Saturday Review of Literature, E. DeGolyer, volume 33 (April 8, 1950), page 29
    • Science, Morrison, P., Volume 111, Issue 2893 (June 1950), page 636
    • Time, "Is vs. Ought", (March 27, 1950)
  4. Time, "Is vs. Ought", (March 27, 1950)
  5. Life, March 27, 1950, pages 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 112, and 114
  6. Life, March 27, 1950, page 103
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