Audiobook8 hours
The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science
Written by Michael Strevens
Narrated by Julian Elfer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A paradigm-shifting work that revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.
Captivatingly written, interwoven with historical vignettes ranging from Newton's alchemy to quantum mechanics to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy, Michael Strevens's wholly original investigation of science asks two fundamental questions: Why is science so powerful? And why did it take so long, two thousand years after the invention of philosophy and mathematics, for the human race to start using science to learn the secrets of nature? The Knowledge Machine's radical answer is that science calls on its practitioners to do something irrational: by willfully ignoring religion, theoretical beauty, and, especially, philosophy-essentially stripping away all previous knowledge-scientists embrace an unnaturally narrow method of inquiry, channeling unprecedented energy into observation and experimentation.
Like Yuval Harari's Sapiens or Thomas Kuhn's 1962 classic, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The Knowledge Machine overturns much of what we thought we knew about the origins of the modern world.
Captivatingly written, interwoven with historical vignettes ranging from Newton's alchemy to quantum mechanics to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy, Michael Strevens's wholly original investigation of science asks two fundamental questions: Why is science so powerful? And why did it take so long, two thousand years after the invention of philosophy and mathematics, for the human race to start using science to learn the secrets of nature? The Knowledge Machine's radical answer is that science calls on its practitioners to do something irrational: by willfully ignoring religion, theoretical beauty, and, especially, philosophy-essentially stripping away all previous knowledge-scientists embrace an unnaturally narrow method of inquiry, channeling unprecedented energy into observation and experimentation.
Like Yuval Harari's Sapiens or Thomas Kuhn's 1962 classic, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The Knowledge Machine overturns much of what we thought we knew about the origins of the modern world.
Related to The Knowledge Machine
Related audiobooks
To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Idea is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of a Theory of Everything: The Philosophy Behind Physics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bedeviled: A Shadow History of Demons in Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The History of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lightness Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Idea Must Die: Scientific Theories That Are Blocking Progress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evolution: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magicians: Great Minds and the Central Miracle of Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire: The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Demon in the Machine: How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Origins of Creativity Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exact Thinking in Demented Times: The Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Failure: Why Science Is So Successful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enigma of Reason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Journey to the Edge of Reason: The Life of Kurt Gödel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Meme Machine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Trust Science? Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Science & Mathematics For You
Thinking in Systems: A Primer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Rules (Updated and Expanded): 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gene: An Intimate History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Knowledge Machine
Rating: 4.333333333333333 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
15 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very good topic for the book, i come to conclusion that scientific community is a "faction" on our planet that position themselves as smart go to people for every solution, however its corrupt, overvalued and money hungry beast that has too much power. Most institutes are only making appearance of scientific activity to get funding.
They suppress any science that does not conform to limitation of their dogmatic teachings.3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very good guidelines hh gg gg gg. Gg gg gg