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kunalsen 's review for:
The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning
by Marcelo Gleiser
A thoughtful and wonderfully written book, but the thesis he is trying to prove didn't seem all that original or as novel as the author seems to imply. I don't think any serious scientist at any time would claim that science is moving towards a goal of ultimate truth. I think everyone knows that every scientific answer opens up thousands of new questions. It is a quest without end. We have also known since the early days of quantum physics that nature is inherently non-deterministic. Our growing understanding of complex systems also taught us about the unpredictability of many processes. Therefore, what he illustrated in this book are not surprising revelations, but an excellent presentation of this truth to those who may have believed otherwise.
While the book is mostly very compact, the section on Alchemy seems redundant, as it is not essential in promoting the main argument. There are many interesting factoids there, but I am not sure how that is connected to the theme. I also found the section on consciousness a little scattered and lacks depth.
While the book is mostly very compact, the section on Alchemy seems redundant, as it is not essential in promoting the main argument. There are many interesting factoids there, but I am not sure how that is connected to the theme. I also found the section on consciousness a little scattered and lacks depth.