About the Book
The bestselling editor of This Explains Everything brings together 175 of the world’s most brilliant minds to tackle Edge.org’s 2014 question: What scientific idea has become a relic blocking human progress?
Each year, John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org—”The world’s smartest website” (The Guardian)—challenges some of the world’s greatest scientists, artists, and philosophers to answer a provocative question crucial to our time. In 2014 he asked 175 brilliant minds to ponder: What scientific idea needs to be put aside in order to make room for new ideas to advance? The answers are as surprising as they are illuminating. In :
- Steven Pinker dismantles the working theory of human behavior
- Richard Dawkins renounces essentialism
- Sherry Turkle reevaluates our expectations of artificial intelligence
- Geoffrey West challenges the concept of a “Theory of Everything”
- Andrei Linde suggests that our universe and its laws may not be as unique as we think
- Martin Rees explains why scientific understanding is a limitless goal
- Nina Jablonski argues to rid ourselves of the concept of race
- Alan Guth rethinks the origins of the universe
- Hans Ulrich Obrist warns against glorifying unlimited economic growth
- and much more.
Profound, engaging, thoughtful, and groundbreaking, This Idea Must Die will change your perceptions and understanding of our world today . . . and tomorrow.
Critical Praise
Praise for This Idea Must Die:“Take a look. No matter who you are, you are bound to find something that will drive you crazy.” — New York Times
“Garrulous and argumentative. ... Brockman’s formula is tried and tested. Better still, it shows no sign of getting old.” — New Scientist
“This Idea Must Die is an excellent gathering of thoughts, rants and lamentations to add to your book list.” — Forbes
“Discern[s] the zeitgeist of ideas with which some of our era’s greatest minds are tussling. ... Profound. ... Provocative. ... Mind-stretching.” — Brain Pickings
“Fascinating. ... Thought-provoking.” — Science News
“A fascinating smorgasbord of 175 short essays about every field and facet of research.” — Science News
“Brockman succeeds in presenting scientific work that will appeal to a variety of readers, no matter their background.” — Publishers Weekly
Praise for Edge:“Physics, statistics, robotics, linguistics, medicine-all are zestfully scrutinized in this exuberant, mind-blowing gathering of innovative thinkers.” — Booklist
“An epicenter of bleeding-edge insight across science, technology, and beyond.” — Atlantic Monthly
“The brightest minds in the known universe.” — Vanity Fair
“A forum for the world’s most brilliant minds.” — The Observer (UK)
“A provocative and informative compilation.” — Library Journal
Product Details
- ISBN: 9780062374349
- ISBN 10: 0062374346
- Imprint: Harper Perennial
- On Sale: 02/17/2015
- Trimsize: 5.313 in (w) x 8 in (h) x 0.946 in (d)
- Pages: 592
- List Price: 15.99 USD
- BISAC1: SCIENCE / Cognitive Science
- BISAC2: PSYCHOLOGY / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
- BISAC3: SCIENCE / General