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Beim Kaffeetrinken mit der Familie wird Ihnen energetisiertes Wasser angeboten. Auf Twitter diskutieren Sie mit Impfgegnern. Die WhatsApp-Kitagruppe diskutiert Sternzeichen, die Apotheke verkauft Ihnen Globuli, die Nachbarin missioniert für ihren Guru und die Nachrichten beschäftigen sich schon wieder mit Demonstrationen von Rechtsextremen.Überall begegnen Ihnen Verschwörungsmythen, Aberglaube, Esoterik, Pseudowissenschaften und Co. und Sie möchten darauf reagieren – dabei möglichst sachlich bleiben, Ihren Standpunkt klarstellen, Fakten liefern, aber auch nicht unnötig provozieren oder überladen. Außerdem möchten Sie Ihr Gegenüber nicht verletzen, aber zum Umdenken anregen. Doch wie gelingt das?Wenn Sie sich diese Frage stellen, lesen Sie „Fakt und Vorurteil“. Verstehen Sie, warum wir von Emotionen gesteuert sind und die meisten Informationen an uns abprallen. Lesen Sie Erfahrungen und Tipps aus Interviews mit professionellen (Wissenschafts-)Kommunikatoren. Verfolgen Sie dann unterschiedliche Personen durch ihre eigenen Umdenkprozesse: Was überzeugt einen Alternativmediziner davon, nichtevidenzbasierte Medizin hinter sich zu lassen? Was war ausschlaggebend für eine ehemalige Impfgegnerin, ihre Kinder doch impfen zu lassen? Was hilft Mitgliedern von vereinnahmenden Organisationen beim Ausstieg? Was bewegt ein gefeiertes Medium, sich aus der Esoterik zu lösen? Dieses Buch richtet sich an alle, die sich um Personen mit irrationalen Weltsichten sorgen oder nicht wissen, wie sie mit ihnen kommunizieren sollen – sei es in der Familie, im Freundeskreis, anonym im Internet oder bei der Arbeit. Die Autoren geben konkrete Tipps zu Diskussionen und Situationen und helfen auch dabei zu entscheiden, wann es wichtig ist sich zu engagieren und wann man sich lieber zurückzieht.

This book provides a richly documented account of the historical, cultural, philosophical and practical dimensions of feng shui. It argues that where feng shui is entrenched educational systems have a responsibility to examine its claims, and that this examination provides opportunities for students to better learn about the key features of the nature of science, the demarcation of science and non-science, the characteristics of pseudoscience, and the engagement of science with culture and worldviews. The arguments presented for feng shui being a pseudoscience can be marshalled when considering a whole range of comparable beliefs and the educational benefit of their appraisal.Feng shui is a deeply-entrenched, three-millennia-old system of Asian beliefs and practices about nature, architecture, health, and divination that has garnered a growing presence outside of Asia. It is part of a comprehensive and ancient worldview built around belief in chi (qi) the putative universal energy or life-force that animates all existence, the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and human bodies. Harmonious living requires building in accord with local chi streams; good health requires replenishment and manipulation of internal chi flow; and a beneficent afterlife is enhanced when buried in conformity with chi directions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the proper manipulation of internal chi by acupuncture, tai-chi and qigong exercise, and herbal dietary supplements. Matthews has produced another tour de force that will repay close study by students, scientists, and all those concerned to understand science, culture, and the science/culture nexus.Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami, USA With great erudition and even greater fluidity of style, Matthews introduces us to this now-world-wide belief system.Michael Ruse, Philosophy, Florida State University, USA The book is one of the best research works published on Feng Shui. Wang Youjun, Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University, China The history is fascinating. The analysis makes an important contribution to science literature.James Alcock, Psychology, York University, Canada This book provides an in-depth study of Feng Shui in different periods, considering its philosophical, historical and educational dimensions; especially from a perspective of the ‘demarcation problem'between science and pseudoscience. Yao Dazhi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

This is the story of the author's life as a doctor and a scientist. Despite a youthful ambition to become a jazz musician, he studied medicine and eventually became a medical research scientist, taking up appointments in Germany, Austria and finally in England. His reverence for the pursuit of truth through the application of scientific methods, coupled with a growing interest in the history of medicine during the Nazi era, did not always endear him to others. At the time he was appointed to the world's first chair in alternative medicine, this was an area of health care that had rarely been studied systematically, and was almost entirely dominated by outspokenly evangelic promoters and enthusiasts - among them, famously, HRH Prince Charles - many of whom exhibited an overtly hostile, anti-scientific attitude towards the objective study of their favoured therapies. Clashes were inevitable, but the sheer ferocity with which advocates of alternative medicine would operate in order to protect their field from scrutiny came as a profound surprise. This memoir provides a unique insight into the cutthroat politics of academic life and offers a sobering reflection on the damage already done by pseudoscience in health care.