Dear All,
This is a bit off the metric track as this book, Don't get fooled
again – A Sceptic's Handbook by Richard Wilson, is directed toward
politics in the UK. However that said, I think that you might find it
interesting and quite relevant to you as you form your metrication
plans for 2010.
As I read this book over the last few days I was fascinated by the
writer's setting out of the forces that we face when we try to produce
any sort positive changes in the world around us. As I read I was
constantly reminded of the forces that tend toward resisting
metrication.
Here is the Product Description
Why is it that, time and again, intelligent, educated people end up
falling for ideas that turn out on closer examination to be nonsense?
We live in a supposedly rational age, yet crazy notions seem
increasingly mainstream. New Age peddlers claim to cure Aids with
vitamin tablets. Media gatekeepers stoke panic and regurgitate
corporate press releases in the name of 'balance'. Wild-eyed men in
sandwich boards blame it all on the CIA. But while it may be easier
than ever for nonsense to spread, it's never been simpler to fight
back ..."Don't Get Fooled Again" offers practical tools for cutting
through the claptrap and unravelling the spin - tackling propaganda,
the psychology of deception, pseudo-news, bogus science, the weird
cult of 'Aids reappraisal', numerous conspiracy theories, and much
more. Richard Wilson's book is user-friendly, enjoyable, shot through
with polemic - and argues forcefully for a positive solution. Don't be
acynic - be a sceptic!
As you can see, this is not too far removed from the anti-metric
forces that resist metrication.
Here is the Amazon reference for the UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Get-Fooled-Again-Sceptics/dp/1848310528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261795810&sr=8-1
Here is the Amazon reference for the USA:
http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1261798230/ref=a9_sc_1?ie=UTF8&search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=don%27t%20get%20fooled%20again%20richard%20wilson
Here is a statement from the author, Richard Wilson:
`This is a book about expensive delusions, and how to avoid them. It
looks at the myriad ways in which we can deceive ourselves - and be
deceived by others. We've all been fooled at one time or another - be
it in love or in business, by the media or by the promise of
politicians. There are no solid guarantees that can protect us in the
future. But by learning more about the human weakness for wishful
thinking, the mechanisms of psychological manipulation, and the tools
that we can use to separate fact from fantasy, we can at least go some
way towards inoculating ourselves.'
And here are some reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1848310528/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
where one reviewer writes:
In his concluding chapter, Richard Wilson lists the common threads
which run through false and illusory belief systems: fundamentalism,
relativism, conspiracy theories, pseudo-scholarship, pseudo-news,
wishful thinking, over-idealisation, demonisation of perceived
enemies, groupthink. While many of the ideas in this book are nothing
new in themselves, Wilson has gathered them together, with many
fascinating examples from recent history, to provide a very useful
handbook for people who know that things they read in the paper or
hear on the television are "not quite right" and need to be challenged.
Again, in my view, all of these apply to the metric system and to its
rapid and final acceptance by the public in the UK and in the USA.
Best wishes for what will be a great metrication year in 2010.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected]
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
to subscribe.
