It Could Be Otherwise
Science in the Age of Uncertainty
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 4 Aug 2026
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- $43.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $43.99
Publisher Description
A profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future.
“This wise book challenges everything we take for granted about thinking scientifically.” —Annie Duke, bestselling author of Thinking in Bets
The search for certainty is embedded deep in the mythos of science. Science is expected to provide definitive answers based on immutable and universal laws. In It Could Be Otherwise, however, neuroscientist Stuart Firestein challenges this idea, extending the reach of science beyond merely discerning what must be to encompassing what may yet be possible.
The classic view of science, Firestein argues, reduces the world to bland predictability and us to our fates. Instead, modern discoveries of deep uncertainty, even unknowability, in evolution, complexity, physics, and all sciences, show that our actions are not strictly governed—and that science is an agent of freedom.
In our contemporary age, suspicion of science and its certainties runs deep. It Could Be Otherwise argues that science isn’t about deciphering what the universe has already determined—instead, science offers possibilities. It invites us not to be prisoners of destiny but navigators of our own futures.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this smart treatise, Columbia neuroscience professor Firestein (Failure) argues that science is best understood not as a search for certainty but as an engine for possibility. Despite the common perception that science seeks single, definitive answers, Firestein contends that its true strength is its ability to uncover the range of outcomes possible in a chaotic world. Central to his argument is a rejection of determinism, the notion that the universe operates like clockwork, leaving no room for free will. Rather than breeding indifference, uncertainty invites creativity and agency, allowing humanity to imagine and shape alternative futures. He draws on examples from biology to demonstrate how uncertainty persists in the world: species, for instance, evolve as a result of random genetic mutations and unpredictable changes in the environment. Elsewhere, Firestein proposes reforms to science education that promote the core values of skepticism toward authority, reliance on experimentation, acceptance of provisional truths, and openness to counterintuitive ideas. He also posits that understanding scientific uncertainty can help people distinguish between misinformation and reliable science—phony science purports to have settled answers, while real science leaves room for revision. Making complex philosophical questions accessible, this is a persuasive defense of uncertainty as science's defining feature and greatest gift.
