The nightly news and conventional wisdom tell us that things are bad and getting worse. Yet despite dire predictions, scientists see many good things on the horizon. John Brockman, publisher of Edge (www.edge.org), the influential online salon, recently asked more than 150 high-powered thinkers to answer a vital question for our frequently pessimistic times: “What are you optimistic about?” Spanning a wide range of topics—from string theory to education, from population growth to medicine, from evidence-based decision making to the future of science, religion, and technology, and even from global warming to the end of world—What Are You Optimistic About? features an impressive array of what world-class minds (Steven Pinker, Jared Diamond, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, and Brian Greene—among others) weighing in to offer carefully considered optimistic visions of tomorrow. Their provocative and controversial ideas may rouse skepticism, but they might possibly change your students’ perceptions of humanity’s future.

この本は単なる希望的観測の集積ではありません。知性の最前線に立つ人々が、冷徹な科学的根拠を武器に混沌とした現代への逆襲を綴った珠玉の選集です。暗いニュースが溢れる今、人類の叡智が導き出す前向きな可能性は、私たちの曇った視界を鮮やかに晴らしてくれる圧倒的な輝きを放っています。 各分野の碩学たちが放つ言葉は短くも強烈で、思考の枠組みを根底から揺さぶります。悲観に浸ることが知性的だとされがちな今、あえて楽観を選択する論理的必然性を突きつける本作は、未来を信じる勇気を与える最強の知的武器となるはずです。