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Wants to read The Paradox of Democracy: Free Speech, Open Media, and Perilous Persuasion

Finished reading Mirage

Rated The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science 6/10

3.5/5 stars. This book presents an interesting overview of two giants of 20th Century Philosophy of Science — Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn — and of the shortcomings in their overarching views of science. Like those two, Strevens subscribes to the idea that science is characterised by a unique method of looking at the world, but roots this method in the "iron rule": the idea that scientific arguments are not settled through the full arsenal of rationality, but only by resorting to empirical claims. This image of science shows it as an irrational practice, since it excludes various sound arguments from consideration and pushes scientists towards ever-more-minute experiments, but explains why modern science has managed to build an incremental body of knowledge and why it did not appear at other historical junctures.<br/><br/>I am not entirely convinced that his account provides entirely robust responses to the various studies on the relevance of non-epistemic values in science. Also, as various other reviews pointed out, the book would have benefitted from engaging with modern examples (beyond the sketches on string theory in the final chapter). Nevertheless, the general contours of the "iron rule" are persuasive, highlighting both the irrationality of scientific practice and the space for democratic, yet value-free scientific practice (on that topic, see Bright's paper on Du Bois and the value-free ideal): scientific research itself is bound by the iron rule, but science-informed public policy is the proper space for democratic debate and value definition. This book is, therefore, a good read for those interested in the philosophy of science after Kuhn, but readers should feel comfortable to skim large sections of it, especially given how some points are frequently repeated.

Finished reading Treasure Island

Rated Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations 10/10

Wants to read Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

Rated The Industries of the Future 6/10

Wants to read Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

Wants to read Alone With You in the Ether

Wants to read Galatea 2.2

Rated The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined 10/10

Overall, an excellent book. By reading the last three chapters one can get a nice psychological overview of the decline of violence. However, Pinker writes of the history so well that you'd miss an excellent historical perspective. Worth a read.

Rated Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All 4/10

Not really a fan of this kind of writing. Anecdotal evidence throughout. Tons of case studies. Wish there was more empirical evidence. Left feeling like it was too good to be true. Personally I felt the writing was often patronizing.

Rated A Tranquil Star: Unpublished Short Stories 10/10

Wants to read The End of Alice

Finished reading Heeft iemand Charlotte Salter gezien?

Wants to read The Free People's Village

Rated Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat 4/10

Wants to read The Fair Process Effect

Rated Ik ben er niet 10/10

Rated Vigil 10/10

Wants to read Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence

Rated Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow 6/10

Rated Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis 6/10

Wants to read What Belongs to You

Finished reading They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan