It Could Be Otherwise (Hardcover)

Stuart Firestein

ISBN 10: 1541606736 / ISBN 13: 9781541606739

Published by Basic Books, 2026

About this Item

Hardcover. A profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future The search for certainty is embedded deep in the mythos of science. Science is expected to provide definitive answers based on immutable and universal laws. It seeks to answer the question: If we do this, what must necessarily follow? In It Could Be Otherwise, however, biologist Stuart Firestein rejects this idea; science isn't about discerning what must be, but what is possible. The classic view of science, Firestein argues, reduces the world to bland predictability and us to mere automatons. Firestein's vision is its opposite: modern discoveries of deep uncertainty, even unknowability, in evolution, complexity, and physics show that our actions not strictly governed-and that science is an agent of our freedom. In our contemporary age, suspicion of science and its certainties is deep. It Could Be Otherwise argues that science isn't about deciphering what the universe has already determined-instead, science offers possibilities. It invites us not to be prisoners of destiny, but helmsmen of our own fates. A profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781541606739

Bibliographic Details

• Title: It Could Be Otherwise (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1541606736
• ISBN 13: 9781541606739
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A profound argument for science that embraces uncertainty and promotes possibility, creativity, and the belief that we can shape, if not determine, our future.

“This wise book challenges everything we take for granted about thinking scientifically.” —Annie Duke, bestselling author of Thinking in Bets

The search for certainty is embedded deep in the mythos of science. Science is expected to provide definitive answers based on immutable and universal laws. In It Could Be Otherwise, however, neuroscientist Stuart Firestein challenges this idea, extending the reach of science beyond merely discerning what must be to encompassing what may yet be possible.

The classic view of science, Firestein argues, reduces the world to bland predictability and us to our fates. Instead, modern discoveries of deep uncertainty, even unknowability, in evolution, complexity, physics, and all sciences, show that our actions are not strictly governed—and that science is an agent of freedom.

In our contemporary age, suspicion of science and its certainties runs deep. It Could Be Otherwise argues that science isn’t about deciphering what the universe has already determined—instead, science offers possibilities. It invites us not to be prisoners of destiny but navigators of our own futures.

About the Author

Stuart Firestein is a professor of neuroscience at Columbia University and a member of the Santa Fe Institute. He has published over one hundred scientific papers in journals such as Nature, Science, Cell, and Neuron. He is a Guggenheim fellow, a member of the advisory committee for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Also author of the books Ignorance and Failure, he lives in New York City.