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]
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]