What We Believe But Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty.WHAT WE BELIEVE BUT CANNOT PROVE: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty JOHN BROCKMAN Biographical pages for John Brockman:
Science is the incremental process of making hypotheses and then testing and retesting them until they're disproved or adequately accepted to be the foundation of further hypotheses. However, a lot of what is deemed certain about the universe and our place in it has its origin in leaps of faith, sudden intuitive connections, and even prophetic dreams, writes Brockman, who is president of a science-advocacy organization called the Edge Foundation. Guesswork and scientific revelation often go hand in hand, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the editor. This book asks more than 100 leading scientists, "What do you believe but cannot prove?" Answers come from such luminaries as physicist and Nobel laureate Noun 1. Nobel Laureate - winner of a Nobel prize Nobelist laureate - someone honored for great achievements; figuratively someone crowned with a laurel wreath Leon Lederman, evolutionary biologist and author Jared Diamond Jared Mason Diamond (b. 10 September, 1937-) is an American evolutionary biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and nonfiction author. Diamond works as a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA. , physics professor Freeman Dyson, and psychologist Steven Pinker. The thought-provoking responses to Brockman's question offer a tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. glimpse into the future of human inquiry. Harper-Collins, 2006, 252 p., paperback, $13.95. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion