Society Book of the day Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker review – life is getting better Now is the best time to be alive claims this triumphalist defence of scientific rationality – if it matters, we’ll solve itSteven Pinker places enlightenment and science on the right side over every argument. Steven Pinker’s answer to this problem is to double down on progress: the policies of the past 300 years are still the best available. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Steven Pinker. Take nuclear weapons, which on the face of it would suggest potentially catastrophic consequences of scientific “progress”. The heroic ethos of science, of progress, is to carry on regardless, even in the knowledge that entropy will eventually win.

Source: The Guardian February 14, 2018 07:30 UTC