Jerome Ravetz is author of the classic study Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems. He is a founder member of the Council for Science and Society and a pioneer in the area of science and safety. Now an independent scholar and consultant working on problems of management of uncertainty in risks and environmental issues.

Science is the great intellectual adventure, but can also be an instrument of profit, power, and privilege. Wrongly used, it might yet make the twenty-first century our last. To make sense of this, we need to let go of old ideas and assumptions.

This No-Nonsense Guide to Science introduces a new way of thinking about science, moving away from ideas of perfect certainty and objectivity. We must accept uncertainty and ignorance in the field, as well as the need for citizens' participation in the policies involving science.