Skip to content
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS $35+
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL US ORDERS $35+

Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science

Availability:
in stock, ready to be shipped
Original price $20.95 - Original price $20.95
Original price $20.95
$24.99
$24.99 - $24.99
Current price $24.99

"[Reinventing Discovery] opens with a fantastic account of what we can learn about the future of science from explorations such as the Polymath Project and 'the greatest chess game in history,' Kasparov vs. the World. But what really distinguishes it is its nuanced, intelligent descriptions of just how these projects work, noticing what is important about them in a way that few popular summaries do. . . . Highly recommended!"—Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media

"Anyone who has followed science in recent years has noticed something odd: science is less and less about a solitary scientist working alone in a lab. Scientists are working in networks, and those networks are gaining scope, speed, and power through the internet. Nonscientists have been getting in on the act, too, folding proteins and identifying galaxies. Michael Nielsen has been watching these developments too, but he's done much more: he's provided the best synthesis I've seen of this new kind of science, and he's also thought deeply about what it means for the future of how we understand the world. Reinventing Discovery is a delightfully written, thought-provoking book."—Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution

"This is the book on how networks will drive a revolution in scientific discovery; definitely recommended."—Tyler Cowen, author of The Great Stagnation

"Science has always been a contact sport; the interaction of many minds is the engine of the discipline. Michael Nielsen has given us an unparalleled account of how new tools for collaboration are transforming scientific practice. Reinventing Discovery doesn't just help us understand how the sciences are changing, it shows us how we can participate in the change."—Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus

"This wonderful book is a pleasure to read. Michael Nielsen writes in an authoritative yet clear, concise, and accessible style, making an informative and compelling case for open, networked science and how to achieve it."—William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute

"In Reinventing Discovery, Michael Nielsen introduces us to the new world of the modern scientist, where the Web is amplifying communication and accelerating discovery in unexpected ways, making for extraordinary problem solving. This is a unique and valuable book."—Victoria Stodden, Columbia University

ISBN-13: 9780691160191

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publication Date: 12-08-2013

Pages: 272

Product Dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

Series: Princeton Science Library #91

Michael Nielsen is one of the pioneers of quantum computing. He is an essayist, speaker, and advocate of open science. He lives in Toronto.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Reinventing Discovery will frame serious discussion and inspire wild, disruptive ideas."—Chris Lintott, Nature

"[Nielsen's] easy-to-read and enthusiastic narrative integrates a set of ideas that could, indeed, revolutionize knowledge creation."—Stephen M. Fiore, Science

"Nielsen believes that mass collaboration is the future of science, and his book may be the most interesting piece of nonfiction I read this year."—Anthony Doerr, Boston Globe

"The most compelling manifesto yet for the transformative power of networked science."—James Wilsdon, Financial Times



"Timely and important."—Jack Stilgoe, Guardian

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:Reinventing Discovery 1

PART 1: AMPLIFYING COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE 13
Chapter 2: Online Tools Make Us Smarter 15
Chapter 3: Restructuring Expert Attention 22
Chapter 4: Patterns of Online Collaboration 44
Chapter 5: The Limits and the Potential of Collective Intelligence 69

PART 2: NETWORKED SCIENCE 89
Chapter 6: All the World’s Knowledge 91
Chapter 7: Democratizing Science 129
Chapter 8: The Challenge of Doing Science in the Open 172
Chapter 9: The Open Science Imperative 187

Appendix: The Problem Solved by the Polymath Project 209
Acknowledgments 215
Selected Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading 217
Notes 221
References 239
Index 255