Future Science
Essays from the Leading Edge
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- ¥1,800
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- ¥1,800
Publisher Description
In this fascinating collection of writings that introduce the very latest theories and discoveries in science, editor Max Brockman presents the work of some of today’s brightest and most innovative young researchers.
Future Science features eighteen young scientists, most of whom are presenting their work and ideas to a general audience for the first time. Included in this collection are
* William McEwan, a virologist, discussing his research into the biology of antiviral immunity
* Naomi Eisenberger, a neuroscientist, wondering how social rejection affects us physically
* Jon Kleinberg, a computer scientist, showing what massive datasets can teach us about society and ourselves
* Anthony Aguirre, a physicist, who gives readers a tantalizing glimpse of infinity
“Future Science shares with the world a delightful secret that we academics have been keeping—that despite all the hysteria about how electronic media are dumbing down the next generation, a tidal wave of talent has been flooding into science, making their elders feel like the dumb ones. . . . It has a wealth of new and exciting ideas, and will help shake up our notions regarding the age, sex, color, and topic clichés of the current public perception of science.”
—Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When someone "hurts our feelings," do we feel physical pain? Is altruism the challenge to evolutionary tenets that many have claimed? How will plants adapt to global warming? Young scientists tackle these subjects and 15 others in this collection of essays edited by literary agent Brockman (editor of What's Next?: Dispatches on the Future of Science). Readers looking for prognostications on the future of technology should look elsewhere, since the book skews towards the behavioral sciences. Exceptions include: a thought-provoking essay by planetary scientist and astrobiologist Kevin Hand on why exploration of oceans on the moons of the giant planets may finally uncover extraterrestrial organisms; MacArthur "genius" Kirsten Bomblies on how plants respond to diseases in a changing environment; and physicist Anthony Aguirre on why infinity challenges our intellectual capability to grasp it, either in the palm of your hand or on larger scales. Readers curious about new frontiers in science and why we do the things that we and other primates do will enjoy this engrossing collection.
