The Crime of Reason: And the Closing of the Scientific Mind

by Robert B. Laughlin

Book Overview

We all agree that the free flow of ideas is essential to creativity. And we like to believe that in our modern, technological world, information is more freely available and flows faster than ever... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465020283
• Release Date: December 2010
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Can minds be closed down?

I know Robert Laughlin from my free study of a lot of his works and also through his popular science writing. This book while written to address a growing problem of monopolizing scientific discoveries toward economic incentives is not an easy read/or to swallow if the reader fails to have the overview as it is argued in this book. Robert is a distinguished applied physicists and is well aware of the fuzzy lines between what's in one's head and what's out there; he has written at times on delicacies between confusing realms of theories vs experiment and in my view this is where his views in this book tie into the complex web of society, survival and progression of science. In my view the problem is like the analogy of fish in water; while science by nature is open to free inquiries of all sorts without any hint of repercussions of its discoveries nevertheless these scientific inquiries are made by people who live in and depend on societies that their rules transcend the ideal goals of curious investigations, that's where economic reasoning can at times contain or threaten the spirit of free scientific minds but again these inquiries are driven by engines of economic progress that were set in place to direct these minds. This sounds like a circular argument but may also be described as a non-dual nature of science and society, they are co-dependent. In my view Robert Laughlin is daring enough of a distinguished scientist to speak freely for a system, suffering from internal inconsistencies ie promote free thinking and speech but also apply restriction to certain manners of thinking! The kinds of thinking proposed in this book is like the common challenge for an engineer to think scientifically or for a scientist to see things through the eyes of an engineer; both instances seem to involve pains for each other and digression from focus area but are of the same nature. I would say our societies tend to evolve in unpredictable ways to get beyond the type of current contradictions between allowing free scientific thinking/pursuits without running into risks of infringing on someone's (economic) interests. That's my hope. Alireza

The Crime of Reason: Reviewed

I picked this book up on a whim at the library and was able to complete it one sitting (thank you kindergarten spacing & font size). A fair amount of content was interesting to muse including the concept of thought crimes, the drama of economics, the over indulgence of disposable knowledge, & the restriction of technological progress by the current patent law. The more we restrict creative thought (through current public education, absurd laws, & excessive disposable knowledge), the sooner we will become the worlds described by authors such as Orwell & Huxley.

A narrow subject, well coverred.

I tend to agree with another reviewer that this subject is barely big enough for a book. However, the subject is important, well covered, and the book well written. The author gives good reasons for the legitimately conflicting interests when it comes to information management. However, I wish he would present more suggested solutions.

A key acquisition for any library strong in science and social issues alike

THE CRIME OF REASON AND THE CLOSING OF THE SCIENTIFIC MIND comes from a Nobel prize-winning professor of physics and discusses scientific delusions that science is being affected by volumes of advertising and little really valuable information, which is increasingly classified as private property. How can scientific inquiry continue when research is viewed as a threat to national security or patent infringement? Illegalities in scientific inquiry are analyzed for their far-reaching effects on science conduct, making this a key acquisition for any library strong in science and social issues alike.

An unsettling jeremiad about the crisis of our Information Age

In this jeremiad against the stifling constraints of commercialized culture, Laughlin writes, "At the dawn of the Information Age we find ourselves dealing with the bizarre concept of the 'crime of reason,' the unsocial nature or outright illegality of understanding certain things." A widespread attack on Enlightenment rationality, he gloomily asserts, threatens to end in the criminalization of learning. More and more, the act of reasoning something out for yourself is potentially a crime. The author contends that the Information Age should be called "the Age of Amnesia." The Internet promises a wide dissemination of useful information, but paradoxically there has been a steep decline in public accessibility of important information. Laughlin explains the problems clearly and well, but provides little hope and virtually no solutions to the crisis. About the author: Robert B. Laughlin is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Physics at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1985. In 1998 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the fractional quantum Hall effect. He has also won the Oliver F. Buckley Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Physics, and the Department of Energy's Earnest O. Lawrence Award for Physics. The author of A Different Universe (2005), he lives in Stanford, California.