Ignorance : how it drives science / Stuart Firestein.
2012
Q175.32.K45 F57 2012 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Ignorance : how it drives science / Stuart Firestein.
Author
Firestein, Stuart.
ISBN
9780199828074
0199828075
0199828075
Imprint
New York : Oxford University Press, c2012.
Language
English
Description
viii, 195 p. ; 19 cm.
Call Number
Q175.32.K45 F57 2012
Dewey Decimal Classification
501/.9
Summary
"Knowledge is a big subject, says Stuart Firestein, but ignorance is a bigger one. And it is ignorance--not knowledge--that is the true engine of science. Most of us have a false impression of science as a surefire, deliberate, step-by-step method for finding things out and getting things done. In fact, says Firestein, more often than not, science is like looking for a black cat in a dark room, and there may not be a cat in the room. The process is more hit-or-miss than you might imagine, with much stumbling and groping after phantoms. But it is exactly this "not knowing," this puzzling over thorny questions or inexplicable data, that gets researchers into the lab early and keeps them there late, the thing that propels them, the very driving force of science. Firestein shows how scientists use ignorance to program their work, to identify what should be done, what the next steps are, and where they should concentrate their energies. And he includes a catalog of how scientists use ignorance, consciously or unconsciously--a remarkable range of approaches that includes looking for connections to other research, revisiting apparently settled questions, using small questions to get at big ones, and tackling a problem simply out of curiosity. The book concludes with four case histories--in cognitive psychology, theoretical physics, astronomy, and neuroscience--that provide a feel for the nuts and bolts of ignorance, the day-to-day battle that goes on in scientific laboratories and in scientific minds with questions that range from the quotidian to the profound. Turning the conventional idea about science on its head, Ignorance opens a new window on the true nature of research. It is a must-read for anyone curious about science"-- Provided by publisher.
"Contrary to the popular view of science as a mountainous accumulation of facts and data, Firestein takes the novel perspective that Ignorance is the main product and driving force of science, and that this is the best way to understand the process of scientific discovery"-- Provided by publisher.
"Contrary to the popular view of science as a mountainous accumulation of facts and data, Firestein takes the novel perspective that Ignorance is the main product and driving force of science, and that this is the best way to understand the process of scientific discovery"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Table of Contents
A short view of ignorance
Finding out
Limits, uncertainty, impossibility, and other minor problems
Unpredicting
The quality of ignorance
You and ignorance
Case histories.
Finding out
Limits, uncertainty, impossibility, and other minor problems
Unpredicting
The quality of ignorance
You and ignorance
Case histories.