Kicking the Sacred Cow: Questioning the Unquestionable and Thinking the Impermissible

James P. Hogan makes no claims to knowing the "Truth", he just points out that perhaps nobody knows the whole truth. I've heard a lot of scientists proclaim that we (as a society) are close to knowing everything worth knowing, we only have to fill in a few more decimal points. This has been the cry of idiots down through the millenia; usually just before the world of science is overthrown by new facts, discoveries, concepts, and paradigms. Hogan points out in his book that there are valid alternate explanations for a lot of things scientists (not science) have proclaimed; often without adequate proof of what they are saying. Our society seems to demand that scientists produce answers, when they should be producing questions; so to get funding and make their reputations they proclaim they have answers. Refusal to face possibilities is not science at all, but a form of religion; as is mentioned in this book. This book demonstrates that, in many cases, they have just grabbed AN answer and proclaimed it king, when there are many other legitimate claimants to the throne. I like the exploration of alternative theories in this book and think it represents the best of modern scientific practice. While some of the alternatives seem far-fetched, there is nothing that I've ever seen that proves them wrong. And I have seen problems with several of the "mainstream" explanations discussed in this book. In fact, where some of the topics are concerned, there really isn't a "mainstream", just the perception of one.

This is a great book for anyone who has an open mind. Hogan exposes the politics and dogma that is prevalent in much of scientific research and goes on to offer alternate (and often simpler) theories to explain some of the conundrums that the main-stream theorems have difficulty with. What's great about the way Hogan presents these alternate theories is that he never says they are "correct", or even more likely "correct", only that they account for observed evidence.

I've enjoyed Hogan's novels since the first one well over a decade ago. The first couple of them - and a few later ones - brought my sense of wonder alive, not because the science he was using in his novels was necessarily good, but because it sounded like it might work. "Kicking the Sacred Cow" was, for me, a return to those early novels. Others have commented on the specifics of this book - the various areas he questions - so I'll limit my comments to what I felt about Hogan's outlooks, why I enjoyed reading about them, and why I feel you will, too. One of the pillars of the scientific method is that theories must be subject to some form or proof, and that proofs must be verifiable to any person using appropriate methods of verification. Laws of nature are conclusions drawn from, or hypotheses confirmed by scientific experiments; they describe rather than explain. A law describes a natural phenomenon that has been proven to occur invariably whenever certain conditions are met. A theory is an explanation supported by many tests and accepted by a general consensus of scientists. It may not be subject to the type of testing a law requires. Thus, the theory of relativity and the theory of evolution cannot yet be called laws. But, they represent the best thinking of scientists trying to describe the universe in objective terms. Aha! Scientists, like the rest of us, often have trouble remaining objective. There are cliques, in-fights, jealousies, and other emotions between scientists and scientific groups just as there among non-scientists. Perhaps because it is so conservative, science often clings to theories long after they have grown long in tooth, and new advances are accepted only after the old school dies off. In "Kicking the Sacred Cow" Hogan looks at several widely accepted scientific truths - at least as the current establishment sees them. He offers alternatives, some of which, frankly, I'd expect to see in supermarket tabloids. But, he does so reasonably, rationally, and in a non-argumentative manner. It is mind-expanding, not because all the theories for which he offers alternatives are incorrect, but because he is pointing out that there may be other explanations that produce the same scientific outcome as currently accepted theories. I don't know that Hogan convinced me to change any of my ideas (which are normally scientifically orthodox). Knowledge has long passed my poor ability to encompass, so I must rely on what the best scientific opinion is in my understanding of the universe in which I live. But now I wonder... Perhaps I am accepting orthodoxy too readily. "Think," Hogan seems to be saying. "Think, don't just believe." TV, movies, novels, music - they all tell me not to think, but to just accept. What a radical idea Hogan has presented: We should not take the concensus as the truth, but just as the starting point for it. If you read this book carefully, and you're conversant with current scientific thought in the ar

I promise you Mr. Hogan will cause you to reconsider some of your most closely held beliefs. Beliefs that until now were so obvious there was little need to even think about the rationale behind them. From AIDS to global warming to evolution to the history of the solar system to the ozone layer to relativity and the big bang, Mr. Hogan asks whether existing data might be just as well (or better) be explained by alternatives other than the conventional wisdom. While the author clearly has his own beliefs, he does not shove them down the throat of the reader, but offers alternatives to the common wisdom and challenges the reader to think more clearly about their long-held assumptions and how they got them. This is done in the spirit that scientific inquiry is not afraid of facts, but strives to reach conclusions consistent with the facts. I don't believe anyone can come through a careful reading of this book without beginning to question at least some beliefs and assumptions that they previously accepted without a second thought.Some parts of sections two and three about cosmology and relativity get a little complicated, so if you find yourself beginning to get bogged down, skip ahead to the later sections, and come back to these sections at your leisure rather than quitting.This book is a marvelous read.