Why absolute certainty is impossible in science In today's unpredictable and chaotic world, we look to science to provide certainty and answers--and often blame it when things go wrong. The Blind Spot reveals why our faith in scientific certainty is a dangerous illusion, and how only by embracing science's inherent ambiguities and paradoxes can we truly appreciate its beauty and harness its potential. Crackling with insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas, from climate change to the global financial ...
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Why absolute certainty is impossible in science In today's unpredictable and chaotic world, we look to science to provide certainty and answers--and often blame it when things go wrong. The Blind Spot reveals why our faith in scientific certainty is a dangerous illusion, and how only by embracing science's inherent ambiguities and paradoxes can we truly appreciate its beauty and harness its potential. Crackling with insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas, from climate change to the global financial meltdown, this book challenges our most sacredly held beliefs about science, technology, and progress. At the same time, it shows how the secret to better science can be found where we least expect it--in the uncertain, the ambiguous, and the inevitably unpredictable. William Byers explains why the subjective element in scientific inquiry is in fact what makes it so dynamic, and deftly balances the need for certainty and rigor in science with the equally important need for creativity, freedom, and downright wonder. Drawing on an array of fascinating examples--from Wall Street's overreliance on algorithms to provide certainty in uncertain markets, to undecidable problems in mathematics and computer science, to Georg Cantor's paradoxical but true assertion about infinity--Byers demonstrates how we can and must learn from the existence of blind spots in our scientific and mathematical understanding. The Blind Spot offers an entirely new way of thinking about science, one that highlights its strengths and limitations, its unrealized promise, and, above all, its unavoidable ambiguity. It also points to a more sophisticated approach to the most intractable problems of our time.
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Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $13.22, good condition, Sold by Friends of the Johnson Co Lib rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lenexa, KS, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
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Good. Ex-library hardcover with stickers and labels but otherwise appears only lightly used. The dust jacket is protected with a mylar covering. All items ship Monday-Saturday-Fast Shipping in a secure package. Your purchase will help support the programs and collections of the Johnson County (Kansas) Library.
Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $29.00, very good condition, Sold by Library Market rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waynesville, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $38.26, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $41.92, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
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New. Reveals why our faith in scientific certainty is a dangerous illusion, and how only by embracing science's inherent ambiguities and paradoxes can we truly appreciate its beauty and harness its potential. This book challenges our most sacredly held beliefs about science, technology, and progress. Num Pages: 240 pages, 2 halftones. 3 line illus. BIC Classification: PDA; PDX; PDZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade); (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 233 x 164 x 20. Weight in Grams: 462. 2011. Hardcover.....We ship daily from our Bookshop.
Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $76.66, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty to cart. $85.29, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Princeton University Press.
