{"product_id":"the-blind-spot-william-byers-9780691146843","title":"The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy absolute certainty is impossible in science\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn today's unpredictable and chaotic world, we look to science to provide certainty and answers--and often blame it when things go wrong. \u003ci\u003eThe Blind Spot\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCrackling 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Blind Spot\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William Byers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691146845\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691146843\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/17\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.87lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.26h x 6.46w x 0.78d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2011 pg. 282\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/14\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eQuill \u0026amp; Quire\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2011 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2011","brand":"William Byers","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46070238511359,"sku":"9780691146843","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_04c3b009-0c28-4e8c-8f60-57adfc786972.jpg?v=1724242669","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-blind-spot-william-byers-9780691146843","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}