Bill Bryson (of tongue-in-cheek Brit-baiting fame) has a new book out, this time about science. He spoke with New Scientist about what he's learned writing it.
On the work of my editorial colleagues:
I was quite delighted with how accessible most of the writing in Nature is.
On scientists' failure to communicate:
If there is a failure in science it is the way scientists neglect to tell people how amazing their work is. I was constantly struck as I was learning by the thought that this is really interesting, why has nobody ever told me about it?
On science as a spiritual experience:
One thing that did strike me is that if you dip into science at any point and follow any line of enquiry back to its origin, you come to a point where God becomes as valid an explanation as anything else - if you go back to the big bang and start asking what caused that or what was going on before that, or what caused life to arise when it did. I don't necessarily mean the God you go to church to worship, but you eventually arrive at some point where it is completely humbling.Posted by timo at June 3, 2003 09:11 PM | TrackBack