The complexity of scientific optimism: A review of "It Could Be Otherwise"

SFI Fractal Faculty member Stuart Firestein's new book, It Could Be Otherwise, "proposes a subtly radical notion," writes SFI Professor Brandon Ogbunu in this review: "that optimism, as much as conflict, has always been a character in the development of modern science, and that it should be named and clarified. Doing so, he argues, is not only consistent with the history of scientific progress but can lead to a more creative and integrative scientific endeavor, better equipped to study the natural world."