Superfoods, right brain versus left brain, lungs of the planet—these and other commonly shared pop-science phrases are certainly catchy and all-to-quick to trend online. But they are also often wrong (or at least not quite right). These shorthand analogies, memes, and buzzwords distort the actual science and leave out key details, leading readers to develop a misunderstanding of the world around them.

In The Stickler’s Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation, R. Philip Bouchard takes a closer look at 13 pervasive scientific untruths—tackling a range of topics from gravity and radiation to global warming and pandemics—and humorously and accessibly shares the real science behind them. You’ll learn why trees do not “store” carbon dioxide, why DNA is not really the “blueprint of life”, and why a day is not actually 24 hours.

Philip Bouchard is a lifelong “natural science nerd” with a track record of creating successful educational media. As a software engineer and educator, he designed the famous 1985 computer game The Oregon Trail, which went on to sell 65 million copies. Smithsonian magazine called the game "a cultural landmark” and TIME named it as one of the best ten videogames of all time. Bouchard holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in botany from the University of Georgia and the University of Texas at Austin.