Synopses & Reviews
World-leading natural and social scientists shed light on their discoveries and lives in conversation with an award-winning science writer When acclaimed science writer Stefan Klein asks Nobel Prize– winning chemist Roald Hoffmann what sets scientists apart, Hoffmann says, “First and foremost, curiosity.” In this collection of intimate conversations with 19 of the world’s best-known scientists (including three Nobel Laureates), Klein lets us listen in as today’s leading minds reveal what they still hope to discover—and how their paradigm-changing work entwines with their lives outside the lab.
From the sports car that physicist Steven Weinberg says helped him on his quest for “the theory of everything” to the jazz musicians who gave psychologist Alison Gopnik new insight into raising children, scientists explain how they find inspiration everywhere. Hear from:
- Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on selfishness
- Anthropologist Sarah Hrdy on motherhood
- Primatologist Jane Goodall on animal behavior
- Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran on consciousness
- Geographer Jared Diamond on chance in history
- And other luminaries!
Synopsis
What distinguishes scientists, in your eyes? Stefan Klein
First and foremost, curiosity. Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Prize winning chemist
When Stefan Klein, an acclaimed journalist, sits down to talk with 18 of the world s leading scientists, he finds they re driven by, above all, curiosity. When they talk about their work, they turn to what s next, to what they still hope to discover. And they see inspiration everywhere: From the sports car that physicist Steven Weinberg says helped him on his quest for the theory of everything to the jazz musicians who gave psychologist Alison Gopnik new insight into raising children, they reveal how their paradigm-changing work entwines with their lives outside the lab. We hear from extraordinary natural and social scientists, including:
- Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on ego and selflessness
- Primatologist Jane Goodall on chimpanzee behavior
- Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran on consciousness
- Geographer Jared Diamond on chance in history
- Anthropologist Sarah Hrdy on motherhood
- And cosmologist Martin Rees on how ultimately we ourselves are stardust.
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Synopsis
When Stefan Klein, an acclaimed journalist, sits down to talk with 18 of the world's leading scientists, he finds they're driven by, above all, curiosity. When they talk about their work, they turn to what's next, to what they still hope to discover. And they see inspiration everywhere: From the sports car that physicist Steven Weinberg says helped him on his quest for "the theory of everything" to the jazz musicians who gave psychologist Alison Gopnik new insight into raising children, they reveal how their paradigm-changing work entwines with their lives outside the lab. We hear from extraordinary natural and social scientists, including:
- Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on ego and selflessness
- Primatologist Jane Goodall on chimpanzee behavior
- Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran on consciousness
- Geographer Jared Diamond on chance in history
- Anthropologist Sarah Hrdy on motherhood
- And cosmologist Martin Rees on how "ultimately we ourselves are stardust."
Synopsis
Nineteen brilliantly led conversations with a sterling roster of natural and social scientists, shedding new light on their ideas, discoveries--and lives.
How does Jane Goodall's relationship with her dog Rusty inform her thinking about our relationship to other species? Which time and place would Jared Diamond most prefer to live in, in light of his work on the role of chance in history? What does driving a sports car have to do with Steven Weinberg's quest for the "theory of everything"?
Physicist and journalist Stefan Klein's intimate conversations with nineteen of the world's best-known scientists (including three Nobel Laureates) let us listen in as they talk about their paradigm-changing work--and how it is deeply rooted in their daily lives.
• Cosmologist Martin Rees on the beginning and end of the world
• Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on egoism and selflessness
• Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran on consciousness
• Molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn on aging
• Philosopher Peter Singer on morality
• Physician and social scientist Nicholas Christakis on human relationships
• Biochemist Craig Venter on the human genome
• Chemist and poet Roald Hoffmann on beauty
About the Author
Stefan Klein, PhD, recipient of the prestigious Georg von Holtzbrink Prize for Scientific Journalism, is one of Europe’s premier science writers, as well as a trained physicist himself. His many books include the #1 international bestseller The Science of Happiness and have been translated into 25 languages. Ross Benjamin is a translator and a writer. He has received the prestigious Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize as well as a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship.
Ross Benjamin is a translator of German literature and a writer. He has received the prestigious Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize (2010) as well as a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship (2012).