Ignorance Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus Ignorance

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Zusammenfassung von Ignorance

Name: Ignorance
Rating: 3.9 (12 reviews)
Author: Stuart Firestein

Stuart Firestein

How It Drives Science

3.9 (12 Bewertungen)

19 Min.

Themen

Naturwissenschaft Mathematik Physik

Inhaltsübersicht

Ignorance
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Kernaussage 1 von 8

What’s in it for me? Learn the importance of asking the right questions.

In a world where the answer to any question is just a mouse-click away, it is now more important than ever to know what we don’t know.

If we can identify gaps in our knowledge – our ignorance – then we can gain a better understanding of what remains undiscovered. And this can only happen by asking the right questions.

In these blinks, you will learn how scientific discovery works, and how it is driven by our ignorance. Not only will you gain insight into the workings of scientific inquiry, but also you will learn about the limits of the scientific method and why it’s important to understand those limits.

By providing concrete examples from the near and distant past, this book shows you exactly how some of the world’s greatest scientists were able to use gaps in our collective knowledge to make unique and elegant theories and discoveries that have helped to shape our world for the better.

Finally, you’ll learn what scientists can do to help the public embrace their own ignorance and use it as a tool for discovery.

In these blinks, you’ll also discover

why some grouchy dolphins put one scientist on “time-out”;
why scientists get paid for their lack of knowledge; and
why you can’t always trust a counting horse.

Although we think of it as objective truth, science is always a product of imperfect humanity.

What exactly is a “scientific fact?”

You might think a scientific fact represents an absolute truth, that is, the correct explanation for a certain phenomenon. However, this isn’t true: scientific facts are the products of imperfect human beings, and therefore fall short of being completely objective.

While scientists attempt to design experiments to be as unbiased as possible, a scientist – as a human – is never unbiased. Consider a researcher who has spent years working on a particular hypothesis; she is of course eager to prove it correct. This desire to be right could easily affect how she draws her conclusions from her studies.

Many scientists as well follow the tradition of positivism, the idea that everything can be explained by empirical observation and through logic. This view of the world is mechanistic, that is, it assumes that everything has strong causal relationships. For example: if you don’t sleep (cause), you’ll be tired and unproductive (effect).

However, cause and effect are not always discernable, as one thing doesn’t necessarily lead to another. Is a sleepy person always unproductive? No. Some may be, and others not. From this relationship, we couldn’t draw a concrete rule, as it would be incorrect.

What is key here is that we can’t always know what we don’t know. While scientists may try to discover and describe everything that exists, they’re limited by their own faculties in doing so.

Consider the human eye. While it is a sophisticated organ, there are still things it cannot do. For example, it can’t detect ultraviolet light. As a result, we simply had no idea that ultraviolet light even existed until very recently.

Now consider the human mind. Applying this same example, we have to stop and think how we could possibly expect to understand everything in our world when some things may simply be incomprehensible, considering the limitations of our own minds.

Because of these limitations, a scientific discovery should never be considered as an end in itself.

Scientists’ desire to make predictions of the future can sometimes lead to faulty forecasts.

Making predictions is an important part of a scientist’s work. While scientists can’t see the future, there are certain types of predictions that work reasonably well when using the scientific method.

For example, chemists run experiments to observe how different elements will behave under certain conditions. With enough observations, they are able to then develop a general rule about the types of reactions that resulted from their experiments. Using this rule, scientists can then accurately predict the outcomes of the same or similar experiments.

Scientific discoveries arise when we ask questions to overcome our ignorance.

Many people believe that knowledge is the starting point for scientific inquiry. However, scientific research actually starts with ignorance, or the absence of knowledge.

There are two different types of ignorance.

Specific, smaller questions help to answer the big research questions, step by step.

When running a race, you can’t reach the finish line in one stride, but progress one step at a time. This is especially true in science.

For scientists, one of the first steps on the way to new discoveries is mundane: writing a grant proposal. These proposals take a lot of time, but they are critical in securing funding for research.

Exploring ignorance led scientists toward a “glimpse” into how animals think.

Clever Hans was once thought to be the smartest horse in the world, as he could count. When his owner asked a simple arithmetic question, such as “What’s four plus five,” Hans would use his hoof to stomp out the answer.

Actually Clever Hans wasn’t that clever. Psychologist Oskar Pfungst eventually demonstrated that, when Hans was “counting,” he was merely following cues from his owner’s body language.

Ignorance in physics led to the creation of “string theory.”

Physics can explain some of the deepest mysteries of our world: from how the universe was created to how the minute particles that make up matter interact with each other.

However, right in the center of this scientific discipline is a huge knowledge gap.

A knowledge gap in neuroscience led to new insights into how memory works.

Our brains are remarkably good at remembering things. But just how good?

Consider this study, in which participants were shown 10,000 images in rapid succession. Afterwards, they were shown a second set of images, some of which were included in the first 10,000 images.

Scientists should encourage teachers and students to embrace ignorance and ask questions.

As we’ve seen, ignorance can be a valuable asset. This understanding shouldn’t be kept secret! Scientists need to talk about the research process and thus about the value of ignorance.

Indeed, making scientific projects more visible to the public could have far-reaching positive consequences.

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Worum geht es in Ignorance?

Ignorance investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the scientific method and reveals the importance of asking the right questions over the discovery of simple facts. Using real-life examples from history, Ignorance shows that it is our awareness of what we don’t know that drives scientific discovery.

Bestes Zitat aus Ignorance

It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. – Niels Bohr

—Stuart Firestein

Wer Ignorance lesen sollte

Anyone considering working in a laboratory or research facility
Anyone who wants to know how a scientist’s mind works
Anyone interested in the history of knowledge

Über den Autor

Stuart Firestein is the head of the Department of Biology at Columbia University, where his laboratory is investigating the mammalian olfactory system. In addition, Firestein was the recipient in 2011 of the Lenfest Distinguished Columbia Faculty Award for excellence in scholarship and teaching.

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