Science is a miracle. We are mammals with a slightly enlarged brain, chimpanzees with an advanced communication system. Yet we have discovered far away galaxies, understood the intricate details of cell metabolism, and grasped the fundamental laws of nature. How is that possible? How can a hairless ape create science and its infinite wonders? The human mind evolved to care about preys and predators, friends and enemies, not far away galaxies, the intricate details of cell metabolism, or the fundamental laws of nature. Scientists have dedicated their careers, risked their lives, to explore, discover, understand things that humans shouldn’t give a damn about. To test abstruse theories of visual perception, Isaac Newton inserted a needle between his eye and its socket. Marie Curie slowly, painfully ground tons of uranium ore to isolate less than a gram of a new element with no (then) obvious practical use, slowly killing herself in the process. Albert Einstein endlessly pondered what it would be like to ride alongside a light beam—even though he never believed his discoveries would have any application whatsoever. We will explore the quirks of human psychology generating these bizarre obsessions, without which there could be no science. We will also explain why scientists are so keen on sharing their hard earned knowledge, how they are able to reach a consensus, and why they are funded and trusted by governments and by the public, in spite of their limited understanding of science.

Prerequisites: This class will rely heavily on an evolutionary perspective, making it more natural to follow for students who’ve taken Human Behavior, Cultures, and Societies (and, ideally, Methods in Cultural Evolution). However, those who have not can still take the class, but they should contact me (and read at least this : http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/courses/620/pdf_files/evol_psych.pdf)


ECTS : 4