# Notes on Doubt and Certainty in Science by J. Z. Young

- Author: Joichi Ito
- Date: 1999-01-16T00:00:00Z



   
    Joichi Ito's Reading Notes
    January 16, 1999
  
   
    Doubt and Certainty in Science
    by J. Z. Young
  


Excellent book. The book was published in 1951 and the references 
  to computers are extremely dated, but his analysis of the brain, thinking, scientific 
  discovery, learning, evolution, etc. are very enlightening.
Young tries to look at human beings from the perspective of a 
  biologist. He tries to describe all aspects of humans including religion from 
  a biologists perspective. He looks at the brain as an organ and begins by describing 
  the brain and the neurons that make up the brain. He explains how these neurons 
  and their behavior can explain most of the behavior of humans. Remeniscient 
  of "Lost Worlds", he talks about the evolution of humans and how we 
  are more a product of our social environment than our DNA. (This is a very old 
  thread for me and something I would like to develop more in the future.) He 
  explains how atoms flow through the human body and explains that we are a "pattern" 
  and have nothing solid that persists over time. We are like a whirlpool. "Piology 
  like physics, has ceased to be material," he says. In this sense, evolution 
  of humans is about learning. Learning is about the brain. The neurons in our 
  brain throb happily until they are disturbed by some outside stimulus. They 
  try to come up with some solution that stops the noise and brings the brain 
  back into sync again. This process of disturbance and harmony is the "doubt 
  and certainty" in science he talks about. Learning, he says, is not all 
  as Pavlov and his conditioning shows. Humans look at things and think in order 
  to disturb or break up the harmony in order to discover better ways. He trys 
  to explain that studying the anatomy of the brain my give us insight into the 
  process of learning and help us evolve.
His vision seems to tie in well with the De Bono book about thinking 
  that I have just begun reading after being recommended to do so by Sen Nagata. 
  More on these thoughts later...





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