The Sisyphean quest for scientific certainty: an epidemiologist calls for humility and triangulation to converge on truth
The Sisyphean quest for scientific certainty: an epidemiologist calls for humility and triangulation to converge on truth
Adam Kucharski's latest book (Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty) offers an expansive, investigative exploration of the scaffolding of certainty in science, from geometry and jurisprudence to randomized trials and neural networks. Across eight sections, the book examines how humans seek and find truth, often conflating confidence with correctness in the process. This conflation, in turn, seems to undermine science's reputation in tackling some of the world's most pressing problems. In an era grappling with algorithmic bias, scientific misinformation, and post-pandemic epistemic aftershocks, Proof's objective is to critically dissect and examine the scaffolding of scientific research rather than reassure us of its superiority.
691
Krammer, Sorin
24ce872e-5044-4846-bb35-88e12c74c854
14 August 2025
Krammer, Sorin
24ce872e-5044-4846-bb35-88e12c74c854
Krammer, Sorin
(2025)
The Sisyphean quest for scientific certainty: an epidemiologist calls for humility and triangulation to converge on truth.
Science, 389 (6761), .
(doi:10.1126/science.aea4594).
Abstract
Adam Kucharski's latest book (Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty) offers an expansive, investigative exploration of the scaffolding of certainty in science, from geometry and jurisprudence to randomized trials and neural networks. Across eight sections, the book examines how humans seek and find truth, often conflating confidence with correctness in the process. This conflation, in turn, seems to undermine science's reputation in tackling some of the world's most pressing problems. In an era grappling with algorithmic bias, scientific misinformation, and post-pandemic epistemic aftershocks, Proof's objective is to critically dissect and examine the scaffolding of scientific research rather than reassure us of its superiority.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 14 August 2025
Published date: 14 August 2025
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Local EPrints ID: 505646
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/505646
ISSN: 0036-8075
PURE UUID: cd518062-3dbe-4e65-b02c-b9138058db34
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Date deposited: 15 Oct 2025 16:39
Last modified: 16 Oct 2025 02:15
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Sorin Krammer
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