Kevin Kelly speaking in San Francisco on his forthcoming book, The Technium

By at 1:52 pm Monday, Mar 6

Kevin Kelly will be speaking about his forthcoming book, The Technium, this Friday. From Stewart Brand:
Science is notoriously unpredictable. The chronicle of recent important discoveries does not tell much about what will be discovered next, important as it may be.

But science may have a deeper arc than discoveries, an arc which is predictive. It emerges if you focus on the tools instead of the paradigms, the desires, or the funding. Early in the several years of study for his forthcoming book, THE TECHNIUM, Kevin Kelly observed, "In researching the trajectory of the scientific method I was shocked to discover how untold its story is."

So Kelly compiled a history of scientific methodology, with its future included. Starting with indexed libraries in 280 BC, through controlled experiments (1590), hypothesis/prediction, peer review, controlled placebo, meta-analysis; on through current breakthroughs like pattern mining, digital repositories (like GenBank), and exhaustive combinatorics; to a predictable future of combined negative results, triple blind experiments, evolutionary search, multiple hypothesis matrices, "zillionics," wiki-science, and defined benefit funding. (That's a sampler list.)

"The Next 100 Years of Science: Long-term Trends in Scientific Method," Kevin Kelly, Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, 7pm, Friday, March 10. The lecture starts promptly at 7:30pm. Admission is free ($10 donation certainly welcome, not required).

Mark Frauenfelder

My latest book, Made by Hand, now in paperback. Follow me on Twitter.

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