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May 27, 2018PimaLib_MatthewL rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
In The River of Consciousness, the late Dr. Oliver Sacks, known for Awakenings and The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, wonders if the history of science is much like the evolution of life, dependent on contingency and luck, and punctuated by bursts of activity between long periods of consolidation and stasis. He quotes Stephen Jay Gould in saying if the evolution of life on earth could be replayed, it would be wholly different the second time around. Citing the many accidents and fortunate discoveries in science, Sacks thinks the same thing might happen if you were to rewind the history of science. He says "Ideas, like living creatures, may arise and flourish, going in all directions, or abort and become extinct, in completely unpredictable ways."