R. Philip Bouchard
Author of
The Stickler's Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation (Timber Press, 2021)
R. Philip Bouchard is a lifelong “natural science nerd” with a track record of creating successful educational media. As a software engineer and educator, he designed the famous 1985 computer game The Oregon Trail, which went on to sell 65 million copies. Bouchard holds a bachelor’s degree in Botany from the University of Georgia, and a master’s degree in Botany from the University of Texas at Austin. In recent years he has specialized in the creation of fun, insightful educational essays, principally in the natural sciences. Many of these essays can be seen in The Philipendium on medium.com.
BOOKS By PHILIP
The Stickler's Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation (Timber Press, 2021)
Phrases like “superfoods,” “right and left brained people," and “lungs of the planet” may be snappy and memorable, but lifelong educator Philip Bouchard is worried that they are often wrong (or at least not quite right). Shorthand analogies, memes, and buzzwords distort the actual science and often leave us more confused than enlightened. These popular phrases omit key details, leading readers to develop a misunderstanding of the world around them. In The Stickler’s Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation, Bouchard takes a closer look at pervasive scientific illiteracy and reveals the real science behind today’s hot topics in the news and social media.
Bouchard unpacks the many ways we misuse scientific terms and shows readers what these vital concepts really mean. Readers will learn why trees do not “store” carbon dioxide; why DNA is not really the “blueprint of life”; and why a day is not actually 24 hours. Readers will also learn the true meanings of popular but misunderstood words such as energy, radiation, and toxins. The better we understand these issues, the more we can do as citizens in an era of half-truths, misinformation, and outright lies. The Stickler’s Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation makes well-researched science easy to understand, providing satisfying answers while sparking our curiosity to learn more.