The Crime of Reason

And the Closing of the Scientific Mind

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Science
Cover of the book The Crime of Reason by Robert B. Laughlin, Basic Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert B. Laughlin ISBN: 9780786726318
Publisher: Basic Books Publication: September 23, 2008
Imprint: Basic Books Language: English
Author: Robert B. Laughlin
ISBN: 9780786726318
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication: September 23, 2008
Imprint: Basic Books
Language: English

We all agree that the free flow of ideas is essential to creativity. And we like to believe that in our modern, technological world, information is more freely available and flows faster than ever before. But according to Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin, acquiring information is becoming a danger or even a crime. Increasingly, the really valuable information is private property or a state secret, with the result that it is now easy for a flash of insight, entirely innocently, to infringe a patent or threaten national security. The public pays little attention because this vital information is “technical”-but, Laughlin argues, information is often labeled technical so it can be sequestered, not sequestered because it's technical. The increasing restrictions on information in such fields as cryptography, biotechnology, and computer software design are creating a new Dark Age: a time characterized not by light and truth but by disinformation and ignorance. Thus we find ourselves dealing more and more with the Crime of Reason, the antisocial and sometimes outright illegal nature of certain intellectual activities.

The Crime of Reason is a reader-friendly jeremiad, On Bullshit for the Slashdot and Creative Commons crowd: a short, fiercely argued essay on a problem of increasing concern to people at the frontiers of new ideas.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

We all agree that the free flow of ideas is essential to creativity. And we like to believe that in our modern, technological world, information is more freely available and flows faster than ever before. But according to Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin, acquiring information is becoming a danger or even a crime. Increasingly, the really valuable information is private property or a state secret, with the result that it is now easy for a flash of insight, entirely innocently, to infringe a patent or threaten national security. The public pays little attention because this vital information is “technical”-but, Laughlin argues, information is often labeled technical so it can be sequestered, not sequestered because it's technical. The increasing restrictions on information in such fields as cryptography, biotechnology, and computer software design are creating a new Dark Age: a time characterized not by light and truth but by disinformation and ignorance. Thus we find ourselves dealing more and more with the Crime of Reason, the antisocial and sometimes outright illegal nature of certain intellectual activities.

The Crime of Reason is a reader-friendly jeremiad, On Bullshit for the Slashdot and Creative Commons crowd: a short, fiercely argued essay on a problem of increasing concern to people at the frontiers of new ideas.

More books from Basic Books

Cover of the book 1812 by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Should I Medicate My Child? by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Getting Off by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book The Other Side of Sadness by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book The Master Algorithm by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Atticus Finch by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Mary Jane by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Searching For Memory by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book For God, Country, and Coca-Cola by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Paths of Life by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book A Cluttered Life by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book The Math Gene by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book The Great Democracy by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book The Partnership Charter by Robert B. Laughlin
Cover of the book Trading with the Enemy by Robert B. Laughlin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy