by JohnSeely (Author), HelgaNowotny (Author), StevenE. (Author), Mitch Cohen (Author)
An influential scholar in science studies argues that innovation tames the insatiable and limitless curiosity driving science, and that society's acute ambivalence about this is an inevitable legacy of modernity. Curiosity is the main driving force behind scientific activity. Scientific curiosity, insatiable in its explorations, does not know what it will find, or where it will lead. Science needs autonomy to cultivate this kind of untrammeled curiosity; innovation, however, responds to the needs and desires of society. Innovation, argues influential European science studies scholar Helga Nowotny, tames the passion of science, harnessing it to produce deliverables. Science brings uncertainties; innovation successfully copes with them. Society calls for both the passion for knowledge and its taming. This ambivalence, Nowotny contends, is an inevitable result of modernity. In Insatiable Curiosity, Nowotny explores the strands of the often unexpected intertwining of science and technology and society. Uncertainty arises, she writes, from an oversupply of knowledge. The quest for innovation is society's response to the uncertainties that come with scientific and technological achievement. Our dilemma is how to balance the immense but unpredictable potential of science and technology with our acknowledgement that not everything that can be done should be done. We can escape the old polarities of utopias and dystopias, writes Nowotny, by accepting our ambivalence-as a legacy of modernism and a positive cultural resource.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 10 Sep 2010
ISBN 10: 0262515105
ISBN 13: 9780262515108
Book Overview: Societies today promote innovation and curiosity as tracks to the future--but if the quest for the new is unrestrained, what is to keep societies from careening off the rails? This is the dilemma explored in this brief but provocative meditation by Helga Nowotny, one of Europe's most distinguished and influential scholars. Imagine a tool that is at once a precise probe and a far-reaching map: it is this book. --Rosalind Williams, Program in Science, Technology, and Society, MIT -- Rosalind Williams In this learned and wide-ranging meditation on the future, one of Europe'sleading scholars of science and society reflects on the complexities anduncertainties that surround today's dizzying technological innovations.Acknowledging the disorienting forces of change, Nowotny neverthelesspresents an eloquent, erudite argument for embracing the future in all itsambiguity. To those who worry about the pace of change, she counselscourage. Her message is as deeply humanistic as it is also optimistic:experiment with the new; do so with self-knowledge; revel in the openness ofthe imagination; be not afraid. --Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies,Harvard Kennedy School -- Sheila Jasanoff In this learned and wide-ranging meditation on the future, one of Europe's leading scholars of science and society reflects on the complexities and uncertainties that surround today's dizzying technological innovations. Acknowledging the disorienting forces of change, Nowotny nevertheless presents an eloquent, erudite argument for embracing the future in all its ambiguity. To those who worry about the pace of change, she counsels courage. Her message is as deeply humanistic as it is also optimistic: experiment with the new; do so with self-knowledge; revel in the openness of the imagination; be not afraid. Sheila Jasanoff , Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School Societies today promote innovation and curiosity as the track to the future but if the quest for the new is unrestrained, what is to keep societies from careening off the rails? This is the dilemma explored in this brief but provocative meditation by Helga Nowotny, one of Europe's most distinguished and influential scholars. Imagine a tool that is at once a precise probe and a far-reaching map: it is this book. Rosalind Williams , Program in Science, Technology, and Society, MIT
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