Dangerous Ideas
In the introduction to “What Is Your Dangerous Idea?”, Steven Pinker says, in part:
Do women, on average, have a different profile of aptitudes and emotions than men? Were the events in the Bible fictitious-not just the miracles, but those involving kings and empires? Has the state of the environment improved in the last fifty years? Do most victims of sexual abuse suffer no lifelong damage? Did Native Americans engage in genocide and despoil the landscape? …
Perhaps you can feel your blood pressure rise as you read these questions. Perhaps you are appalled that people can so much as think such things. Perhaps you think less of me for bringing them up. These are dangerous ideas-ideas that are denounced not because they are self-evidently false, nor because they advocate harmful action, but because they are thought to corrode the prevailing moral order.
Whew! With that kind of intro, how can you not read the book!? It’s a collection of essays by scientists on what they consider to be their most dangerous ideas. Some of the essays contain ideas that are scary to contemplate, but all are intriguing.
Visit Edge at www.edge.org to see what scientists have to say about this year’s question, “What Have You Changed Your Mind About? Why?“
Tags: Books, Edge, ideas, non-fiction, science
January 9, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Intriguing. Now trying to figure out ways on how to get hold of this book. Thanks for the post.
January 10, 2008 at 12:40 am
Hi! To place a hold on this book, or any book you fancy, please visit our website at http://www.librarypoint.org and click on the link in the left margin for Library Catalog. Then, search for your item. Once you have found it, click on the button for Request First Available Copy. The system will prompt you for your 14 digit CRRL library card barcode number, your PIN (usually the last 4 digits of your home telephone number of record), and your preferred pickup location. You will be notified by US mail or by e-mail when your book comes in. If you’d like to change the way your notices are sent, please contact the check out desk at your local branch.
Happy reading!
January 10, 2008 at 12:56 am
By the way, if you’d like to buy the book, you can get it at any of the online booksellers - used and new! If you are going to buy it from Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com, please consider using the link through our catalog to get to those sites.