Important Things We Don't Know

A skeptical examination of what we call the sciences, focusing on the important things that we still do not know about nearly everything that really matters. [Updated through 2021.] The perspective of this book differs from that of most books that one would find in the popular science section of a library or bookshop. I do not undertake to surprise or educate the reader with examples of the marvelous discoveries of science and the amazing things that we have come to learn about the world around us. Instead, and of more importance, I try to show the reader what we do not know, illustrating both the scope and the depth of our ignorance. ...The point that I seek to establish in the following pages is that despite the astonishing achievements and practical consequences of technology, science has been remarkably unsuccessful. Upon a close examination, the lack of actual knowledge about and real understanding of the deeper fundamentals of reality are among the most striking and surprising characteristics of modern science. And, this is not bad news. To the contrary, our ignorance is a source of wonder... . John majored in economics at Amherst College, receiving a BA, summa cum laude, in 1970. He received his JD, magna cum laude, from The Harvard Law School in 1973. Following law school, he did post-graduate research at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. In late 1974, John began a 37-year career as a commercial litigator with a major law firm in New York City. He retired from the practice of law in 2011, after which he located just outside of Cambridge, England, to enjoy the facilities of the University. In March 2015, however, John was diagnosed with ALS (motor neuron disease). As a result, he returned to the U.S. He has been living in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, with his daughter Sarah and her Rhodesian Ridgebacks. His son John Eliot and daughter-in-law Megan, with his two grandchildren Hannah and Jeffrey, live nearby.