To Know a Fly

Book excerpt: First published in 1962, this book by esteemed American physiologist and entomologist Vincent Dethier provides an array of helpful examples of how ingeniously controlled experiments are designed and used. Other processes of scientific inquiry are also explained, such as observation, correlation, cause and effect, gathering and interpreting data, hypothesizing, and theory building. Recommended to scientists of all ages! “...This is a superb natural history book and is highly recommended for anyone twelve or older.”—Scientific American “The author never ‘talks down’ to his readers but preserves such delightful and sparkling informal style throughout that we tend to overlook the professional skill with which he attacks his problems, the beauty of the experiments he describes. The book is such pleasant reading that we may not realize that this all represents biological research of a very high order. Among the many excellent features we may note the author’s commentaries on scientific method, which are extremely acute, informative, and provocative.”—Journal of the American Medical Association “Highly recommended enrichment reading for biology teachers and secondary students in general science or biology.—The Science Teacher