From Chris Newton, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK
Michael Marshall’s piece on non-fiction science books that aren’t fact-checked had me nodding faster than a windscreen nodding toy. I work as a writer and editor and have been a journalist, so I understand and value objective truth and the importance of fact-checking. If you read Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan (among many others), you should get sufficient grasp of the science to spot howlers, hyperboles and unjustified generalisations in works by untried authors (19 October, p 21).
I have learned not to spend time and money on a new book by someone who isn’t qualified in the science in question without a little test reading, if possible. Online booksellers make this possible, as do bookshops. The worst titles aren’t always returned after buying, having suffered too much damage in collision with the waste basket.
From Richard Brown, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, UK
A Hong Kong government department I worked with had to fact-check documents and certificates. Errors were common. Once, to our surprise, we received a document that was perfect. It came from Buckingham Palace. We later found that its documents had to cross three desks before issue.
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