A couple weeks ago, Tim Ferriss had Michael Mauboussin on his show. Among many other topics, they discussed the concept of consilience. When Mauboussin mentioned E.O. Wilson’s book as a great place to learn more, I bought it.
This is a book that explores the idea of bringing together knowledge from different fields of study to create a unified understanding of the world. Wilson argues that consilience, or the unity of knowledge, is essential for solving many of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change and poverty.
The book begins by discussing the history of knowledge and how it has become fragmented into various disciplines, such as biology, physics, and psychology. Wilson argues that this fragmentation has led to a lack of communication and understanding between these different fields, hindering progress in solving complex problems.
Wilson then proposes consilience as a solution to this problem, explaining that by connecting knowledge from different fields, we can create a more comprehensive understanding of the world. He provides examples of how consilience has been successfully applied in various fields, such as the study of the brain and the environment.
One of the strengths of Consilience is Wilson’s ability to explain complex scientific concepts in a clear and concise manner, making the book accessible to a wide audience. He also provides numerous examples to support his arguments, ranging from literature and philosophy to science and politics.
Along the way, he takes some fairly strong shots at transcendentalism and the squishiness of some of the social sciences, taking to task those that close their eyes to scientific fact in favor of folk psychology. I found myself cheering.
The book was published in 2014, when Earth’s population was a paltry 7.2ish billion. Now, coming up on nine years later, there are a billion more of us. His ending chapter is sobering in terms of what the Earth can sustain from his perspective as a biologist. Throughout, he is honest to science as it existed at publication. I would love to know what his thoughts were on the topic now. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2021 at the age of 92.
Overall, Consilience is a worthwhile and thought-provoking book that challenges readers to think about the importance of interdisciplinary thinking and the need for a more holistic approach to understanding the world. While Wilson’s vision of consilience may be idealistic, the book provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing discussion about the nature of knowledge and how we can work together to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. On the Feral Scale, it’s a 10 for science, and a 7 for readability/story.
In the world of SPARK, my appearance on Bill Hatch’s Not Quiet After Midnight podcast went live. Find it here. David’s just gone added video and his background and setting could use some work, but the conversation was fun. Dr. Janice Fletcher was the other guest. There’s also a guy, Rudy, who’s a disembodied voice and interjects somewhat randomly into the conversation.
We talked a lot about AI and education. Along the way we also get into the obligations we have as human beings and citizens. It’s available at all the standard places. Here’s the YouTube link. Get through the intro and it settles down a bit.
Shortly, I’m heading over to my local Half Price Books in Copperfield (15754 FM 529 in Houston) to do a signing from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. It’s on Saturday, March 25, 2023, so if you’re reading this after that, you’ll have missed me. Head over anyway. I’m a big fan of reselling/recirculating books.