Customer Reviews

Closer to Truth: Challenging Current Belief

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Book Closer To Truth has rejuvenated my excitement for science. Dr. Robert Kuhn is brilliant to bring such a diverse group of people togther.I was elated to see that his roundtable discussions were not limited to scientists. Seated at these roundtable discussions are poets, philosophers, musicians, educators,as well as some of the greatest scientists of our time. The focus of the discussions in this book are in-depth. Science is about asking questions and challanging those questions for the quest of the truth.I think my college-aged children would be more excited about science if they were exposed to a book like Closer To Truth. This book kept has me up at night. Every aspect of our life in some way is revolved around science.Closer To Truth addresses some compelling topics in science today. Closer To Truth has reminded me of how important science is to mankind.

When I was in college, I took copious notes in every class, since in those exhausting days my memory seemed little more than a vestigial organ . Viewing Closer to Truth on television is like sitting in a classroom with some of the greatest minds of our time. The book Closer to Truth provides for the note-taking function. I can look up any show in the book and find a summary of its contents. Before the shows air, I can know who the players will be and what issues they will discuss. I can bone up on the topics ahead of time and be a more informed viewer. After the fact, I can review the book and recalled who said what, when. This book is an ideal companion to the 28 shows that are scheduled to air on Public Television stations across the country. Wouldn't be without it. Nobody, with the possible exception of the host, is fully informed on all of the topics that are covered in these fascinating shows. This book clues me in to the issues and why they are important. To fully explore the subject matter of the shows, the book would have to be encyclopedic. For the purposes it serves, the present book is just the right size and format. As they say, it's a "boon companion" to the shows.

This book has a lot going for it: a superb cast of players and a list of fascinating topics. Unfortunately, the format does not lend itself to depth and focus. The chapters are in the form of dialogs, the transcripts from a TV series, actually. Pit five or six world-renowned scientists together in the same room, give them a fascinating topic, and watch the fireworks. Unfortunately, not much can happen in this kind of a forum. Just as one of the participants starts getting into the meat of something, someone who disagrees interjects with his own agenda and they are off in another direction before the idea can be explored in any depth. In chapter after chapter I came away with the feeling of not being any more enlightened than I was at the beginning. There are an incredible number of interesting ideas discussed in this book that simply are not followed through in enough detail to let you feel that you've actually heard a well-rounded argument. I'd much rather have a single author of wide vision and open mind such as John D. Barrow write a book covering these topics than this diffuse presentation. A waste of the serious seeker's time.

Closer To Truth gives meaning to science and I loved it. Such fascinating ideas and such easy reading! At first I browsed, skipping and jumping to what I particularly liked (consciousness, artificial intelligence, life in the universe). Then, surprisingly, I read the book from cover to cover, and I realized the continuity of themes, all of which reflect deeply on what we are as human beings. I almost sense a purpose to human life and I am still rather overwhelmed.

The book is mostly transcripts from the television series, which can make it hard to follow if you haven't seen the show. But the topics are fascinating and the discussion is enlightening. The second show in particular left me wanting more, so I went to the show's web site and found a complete and in-depth discussion in which I was able to participate and share my own views.

I found this book by accident in a used book store, never having heard of it or the PBS television show. Like most other reviewers, I enjoyed the book very much. Often I wished I could be present with Kuhn's panels in order to ask questions. I don't understand quantum theory or inflation theory much better than before I read the book, maybe it could be supplemented with The Idiot's Guide to String Theory or something. Still very much worth the time and enlightening on a range of topics.

This is an excellent companion guide to the PBS broadcast series of panel discussions by experts on a fascinating range of cutting-edge subjects. Readers with access to the Internet can visit the website and listen to the tapescripts that make up the book. The book is useful in giving background information on the panel participants, but virtually all the information can be gotten from the website if the reader has the time and patience to search and print it out.

Closer to Truth has really opened my eyes. This book makes the latest scientific thinking of the most innovative thinkers accessible to the general readers. By reading the book, I felt that I joined a roundtable with top scientists and thinkers to discuss in-depth on some most fascinating scientific issues. This book fits perfectly an audience, like me, who needs a simpler introduction. Robert. L. Kuhn hardly asserts to have all the answers or to have proven anything beyond presenting the latest development in each scientific field, however, he clearly is laying the groundwork for future work in scientific inquiry. If you interest in development in science today, you got to read it!

Closer To Truth was a complete surprise. I have always been interested in such subjects as brain and mind, the universe and its possible purposes, and the impact of revolutionary technologies, but I was not trained as a scientist and felt that I couldn't really understand the latest scientific thinking. Not so! Closer To Truth brings all the latest, state of the art theories to life, allowing the leading proponents of these theories to state them in their own simple words. I understood it all -- and I love the interaction among the experts, and the frequent disagreements highlight the issues. Thank you!

Closer To Truth is a mind-expanding treat, offering serious subjects of importance and fascination that everyone can understand. It's as if Kuhn is holding small dinner parties with some of the most innovative minds on the planet and we are invited along. I like skipping around, finding stimulating thoughts and discussions. What is surprising is how little jargon is involved and yet how intellectually honestly the ideas are presented. Closer To Truth is great entertainment from great ideas.