No One Knows What They're Doing

Do you ever pretend to be more certain than you really are? At some point early in life it hits us all: the adults around us, who we assumed knew what they were doing, have no more idea than we do. We are all making it up as we go along. Even in science there are few absolute truths. And yet uncertainty makes us uncomfortable. Our brains crave binary answers to binary questions, however flawed. This way of thinking is useful in fight or flight situations, but not for the nuances of modern life. There are endless tomes about the things we do know. In mathematician Hannah Fry's whipsmart new book, we learn to embrace what we don’t. Accepting uncertainty enables better decisions, everywhere from space exploration to medicine to work. Led by compelling story-telling and packed with revelatory examples, Hannah demonstrates that almost everything lives along a spectrum of uncertainty - and when we realize this, even the most contentious subjects become less divisive. Doubt may be the most powerful tool we possess. ************************************************************** Praise for Hello World by Hannah Fry, one of the ‘Best Books of the Year’ in The Times, Financial Times*,* Guardian and New Scientist** ‘Brilliantly clear...Fry succinctly outlines the ethical issues that beset AI.’ - James McConnaiche, Sunday Times ‘With refreshing simplicity, Fry explains what AI, machine learning and complicated algorithms really mean …This book illustrates why good science writers are essential.’ - Katy Guest, Guardian ‘Stylish, thoughtful, and scrupulously fair-minded account... A beautifully accessible guide that leaps lightly from one story to the next without sparing the reader hard questions... deserves a place in the bestseller charts.’ - Oliver Moody, The Times ‘Hannah Fry…