Island of Knowledge. The Limits of Reachable Great Science

Humans have an inherent thirst for knowledge, but all that is accessible to our observations — is just a tiny part of the surrounding world. In the book «Island of Knowledge», physicist Marcelo Gleiser discusses how we sought answers to the most fundamental questions about the meaning of our existence. In doing so, he arrives at a provocative conclusion: science, our primary tool of understanding, has insurmountable limitations. Presenting a dramatic history of human striving to understand everything, the book «Island of Knowledge» offers an exceptionally original interpretation of the ideas of many of the greatest thinkers, from Plato to Einstein, and explains how their inquiries affect us today. The authoritative and encyclopedic history of meaning and knowledge told in this book reveals what it means to «be human» in a universe full of mysteries.