#brilliant blunders

[zikaron]

My favorite physicist blowing Jon Stewart’ mind

[graceandthunder]

copernicus taught us that the earth is not at the center of the solar system, and all the subsequent findings in astronomy have only strengthened our realization that, from a physics perspective, humans play no special role in the cosmos. we live on a tiny planet that revolves around an ordinary star, in a galaxy that contains hundreds of billions of similar stars. our physical insignificance continues even further. not only are there about two hundred billion galaxies in our observable universe, but even ordinary matter—the stuff that we and all the stars and gas in all the galaxies are made of—constitutes only a little over 4 percent of the universe's energy budget. in other words, we are really nothing special.

brilliant blunders: from darwin to einstein - colossal mistakes by great scientists that changed our understanding of life and the universe by mario livio

[owldatime]

I'm reading two different books by two different guys named Mario and if you don't think that's cool, your coolness meter must be busted or something.

[simonbooks-blog]

The Music of the Galaxies by bestselling author of BRILLIANT BLUNDERS, Mario Livio.

[noisesoundsignal]

WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BELIEVE ///

"Livio quotes the psychologist Daniel Kahneman describing how theories are born: “We can’t live in a state of perpetual doubt, so we make up the best story possible and we live as if the story were true.” A theory that began as a wild guess ends as a firm belief. Humans need beliefs in order to live, and great scientists are no exception. Great scientists produce right theories and wrong theories, and believe in them with equal conviction."

'The Case for Blunders', by Freeman Dyson in the New York Review of Books

[skbooklist]

Not Now...

Brilliant Blunders, by Mario Livio

I thought this was going to be about famous scientists making discoveries accidentally. Not quite.

Yes, it talks about scientists making mistakes. Great scientists like Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein too. But, these mistakes are actually wrong. If it weren't for other scientists, we would be living in wrongness.

So, the book depressed me now that I know that we're only a slim margin away from making disastrous mistakes.

Also, the book is a bit too technical for me to get through at the moment. I wish I paid better attention in science classes.

[simonbooks-blog]

Author of BRILLIANT BLUNDERS, Mario Livio, finally receives finished books in the mail! However, the books have a mind of their own. Check it out.