Science After Babel

“Many will read this book for the close, elegant reasoning, the astonishing erudition, or the mordant analysis. I confess I read it for the prose. "Vast sections of our experience might be so very rich in information"-I quote here from the discussion of our limited ability to define complexity-"that they stay forever outside the scope of theory and remain simply what they are: unique, ineffable, insubsumable, irreducible." See what I mean? Nobody but David Berlinski has ever employed such sweet, gorgeous prose in writing about science.”

“Whether deconstructing the latest theory of everything or dishing on scientists and mathematicians he has known, whatever David Berlinski writes is delightful and profitable to read!”

“"If I were picking two books to be required reading for every college student in the United States, Science After Babel would be one. A striking and beautiful and absolutely necessary book. David Berlinski at his spectacular best.”

“Science After Babel is a literary triumph. In it, David Berlinski masterfully exposes the hubris of scientific pretensions with a wit that dances deftly between the lines, unveiling profound insights with a refreshing candor. This book testifies to the author's penetrating intellect, inviting readers to reconsider the limits of scientific authority and reject facile invocations of science that demand assent at the expense of compelling evidence and rigorous thought.”

“Berlinski speaks wittingly as an insider to the sciences and their recent history. As a historian-philosopher of science, I recognize numerous valuable insights in this collection of arguments and memories. He captures the wonder of scientific inquiry without misplaced worship of speculative pronouncements made in its name. Berlinski is the most enjoyable antidote to scientism I know.”

“Dr. Berlinski explores everything from the complicated spawning behavior of salmon and the problems with the RNA World hypothesis to various acute challenges to modern evolutionary theory, including the Cambrian explosion, molecular machines, and the failure of punctuated equilibrium. As he shows, trouble is brewing for Darwin on other fronts as well-population genetics, taxonomy, behavioral psychology, and the philosophy of biology, to name just a few. In total, Science after Babel is a lively mix of deep scientific knowledge, literary skill, and humor.... I highly recommend the book and hope it is widely read.”