Ignorance

March 5, 2012
Scientists do not sit in the light looking for facts they know exist, waiting to be discovered, says Firestein, chair of the biological sciences departments at Columbia University. Rather, the scientist is in a dark room, bumbling around till she finds the light switch, turns on the light, and then runs into another dark room to repeat the process. In other words, science is based on ignorance, not knowledge. A corollary to the ignorance principle is that the results of research are not predictable. An experiment can prove fruitless because the facts don’t exist. Firestein uses case studies in cognitive science, theoretical physics, astronomy, and neuroscience to demonstrate how ignorance is foundational to science. But with experience, according to Firestein, scientists can learn to frame their ignorance into specific questions that are solvable. One neuroscientist began to approach what she didn’t know about the human brain by doing a small experiment with a talking parrot, hoping the results would allow her to frame larger questions. Firestein challenges our culture’s pat view of science as a simple process of placing one brick of knowledge on top of another in a simple progression toward greater knowledge.

April 15, 2012

Who would've guessed that Einstein and Darwin were really just more ignorant than their peers? Firestein (biological science, Columbia Univ.) teaches a college course called Ignorance, and he here argues that science advances not through the accumulation of knowledge but by its ongoing (and sometimes circuitous) struggles against the unknown. Every new discovery presents new questions, and our collective ignorance grows at a pace exceeding our knowledge. The first six chapters examine ways this principle has worked historically and in the work of current researchers. The remaining half of the book is devoted to case studies that, however interesting, do not add much to the book's central thesis. VERDICT Ignorance, it turns out, is really quite profound, and this is a good introduction to the subject. For a book the author states is intended to be read in one or two sittings, it raises issues worthy of much more thought. Prospective readers include students considering careers in science, fans of popular science, practicing scientists, and readers interested in the sociology and philosophy of science.--Gregg Sapp, Olympia, WA

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