{"product_id":"it-could-be-otherwise-science-in-the-age-of-uncertainty","title":"It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A solid and even stirring defense of science.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eStuart Firestein\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of neuroscience at Columbia University and a member of the Santa Fe Institute. He has published over one hundred scientific papers in journals such as \n\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eScience\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eCell\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eNeuron\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a Guggenheim fellow, a member of the advisory committee for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Also author of the books \n\u003ci\u003eIgnorance\u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eFailure\u003c\/i\u003e, he lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"In this mind-bending book, Stuart Firestein provides compelling evidence that failure and uncertainty in science should be embraced, laying the foundation for active optimism and a far better future.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eEric Topol, New York Times bestselling author of Super Agers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"If you love science, you'll read this book with pleasure. And if you are still fairly new to science--still just getting acquainted--you may find yourself falling in love. That is the power of the special kind of sophisticated optimism that Stuart Firestein celebrates here.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eJonathan Weiner, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Beak of the Finch\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This wise book challenges everything we take for granted about thinking scientifically. Rather than seeing the unknown as a problem to be solved, Stuart Firestein instead invites us to embrace the possibility that dwells in uncertainty.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnnie Duke, bestselling author of Thinking in Bets\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eIt Could Be Otherwise\u003c\/i\u003e feels like a personal conversation with a deep thinker about what science is and how it works. Science, Stuart Firestein explains, is not about discovering universal truth--it's a process to master the inherent uncertainty of things, to build useful knowledge about the world. This and other counterintuitive ideas are made sensible in a sweeping discussion about the practice and value of science.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLisa Feldman Barrett, author of Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A smart treatise ... Making complex philosophical questions accessible, this is a persuasive defense of uncertainty as science's defining feature and greatest gift.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This exploration of uncertainty will resonate with readers interested in how science actually functions rather than what it definitively proves.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"This wise book challenges everything we take for granted about thinking scientifically.\" --Annie Duke, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThinking in Bets\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \n\u003ci\u003eIt Could Be Otherwise\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In our contemporary age, suspicion of science and its certainties runs deep. \n\u003ci\u003eIt Could Be Otherwise\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/18\/2026 (EAN 9781541606739, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 pg. 92 (EAN 9781541606739, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496156201238,"sku":"9781541606739","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781541606739.jpg?v=1783054322","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/it-could-be-otherwise-science-in-the-age-of-uncertainty","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}