Simplicity

The scope of public ignorance concerning how things work inevitably grows explosively. It is unreasonable to expect widespread or detailed understanding even of the many major support systems that make urban life possible (clean water, electrical supply, groceries in markets at all seasons, trash and sewage disposal). What we don't understand seems 'complex' to us, at least until, with study or practice, we may achieve an occasional "Ah -- Ha!" moment when complexity suddenly reduces...
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The scope of public ignorance concerning how things work inevitably grows explosively. It is unreasonable to expect widespread or detailed understanding even of the many major support systems that make urban life possible (clean water, electrical supply, groceries in markets at all seasons, trash and sewage disposal). What we don't understand seems 'complex' to us, at least until, with study or practice, we may achieve an occasional "Ah -- Ha!" moment when complexity suddenly reduces to simplicity, and part of our world view changes forever. In this welcome and appealing book the authors, who have achieved stature in both experimental and theoretical sciences, address the grandest "how things work" issue of them all, viz., the methods and limitations of science itself. They do so in a conversational style accessible to any interested reader. Queries about how science works have provoked controversies from the beginning, still continuing, but even more animated are debates about the limitations of science and its methods. Responsible and informed people are even writing books and articles with the theme: "The End of Science!" In that setting, Zbilut and Giuliani unflinchingly guide the reader through brambles and thickets, emerging unscratched -- an admirable accomplishment.