What We Believe but Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty - Couverture souple

Brockman, John

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0060841818 ISBN 13 : 9780060841812

Editeur : Harper Perennial, 2006

Synopsis

What We Believe But Cannot Prove More than one hundred of the world's leading thinkers write about things they believe in, despite the absence of concrete proofScientific theory, more often than not, is born of bold assumption, disparate bits of unconnected evidence, and educated leaps of faith. Some of the most potent beliefs among brilliant minds are based on supposition alone -- yet that is enough to push those minds toward ma... Full description

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

‘Enjoyable in a moreish sort of way: bite-sized chunks of cleverness’
FINANCIAL TIMES
'He started a website, Edge, where he invited fellow-thin kers to answer the question, ‘What do you believe is true, even though you cannot prove it?’ The response, says Brockman, was sensational; a speaker of BBC Radio 4 called his question ‘fantastically stimulating...the crack cocaine of the thinking world’
SPECTATOR
‘This stimulating salon of speculation’
FOCUS
'Beliefs of the most brilliant minds alive' FOCUS
'Clever chaps ponder the absence of an afterlife, the origins of intelligence, but not whether David Walliams is gay.' ARENA
'Thought-provoking . . . This volume is a one-way ticket out of the shadows of science' IRISH EXAMINER
'Compelling' OBSERVER
‘Deftly introduced by Ian McEwan, we find Richard Dawkins musing on a universal principle of evolution, Martin Rees postulating on the existence of aliens, and Jared Diamond discussing when humans first discovered the Americas ... strangely addictive.’ Daily Telegraph
'Scientific pipedreams at their very best' - GUARDIAN 19/8
‘There is a strangely addictive quality to the clipped essay format. Intriguing and unexpected, this compilation enables us to look beyond the frontiers of knowledge into the exhilarating domain of the possible’
Telegraph

Quatrième de couverture :

'What do you believe to be true even though you cannot prove it?' This was the question posed to a group of leading scientists and thinkers by the eminent science writer and agent John Brockman. The subsequent responses created a media storm and prompted a fiery debate about all aspects of science, technology and even the nature of 'proof'.
What We Believe But Cannot Prove brings together the very best answers from the most eminent contributors. Here is Ian McEwan on the absence of an afterlife; Richard Dawkins on the relationship between design and evolution; and Jared Diamond on when humans first reached the Americas. Other contributions from luminaries like Steven Pinker, John Horgan and Martin Rees span the whole range of scientific endeavour and human experience, from the future of computing to the origins of intelligence; from insights into childhood behaviour to cutting-edge cosmology.
Thought-provoking and hugely compelling, this collection of bite-size thought experiments is a fascinating insight into the instinctive beliefs of some of the most brilliant minds alive today.
'A fascinating exercise . . . Compelling' Observer
'A stimulating salon of speculation' Focus
Pocket Books
POPULAR SCIENCE
£7.99

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Harper Perennial
• Date d'édition: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060841818
• ISBN 13: 9780060841812
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 272