The Big Questions

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Steven Landsburg is an economics professor at the University of Rochester. I had run across his work in Slate, a guest-blogging stint at The Volokh Conspiracy, and a number of other publications. He describes himself as a "hard-core libertarian", which is OK with me, even though I'm softer-core myself. His writings are accessible and witty, so I was a natural audience for this book. If you're interested, he set up an associated website here.

As the title implies, Landsburg isn't messing around with trivia here. The questions he outlines in (just) part 1: "What exists, and why? What are we made of, what are our minds made of, and what is the Universe made of? How should we think about God, and the ultimate causes of things?"

This might strike you as arrogant. It could appear so, in the hands of a less able writer. Landsburg points out in his introduction that he merely means to provide what he considers to be plausible answers for the Big Questions. Like all good thinkers, the "I might be wrong, but" is always hanging around. At times he might seem glib; I think he wandered down the wrong path in a couple of places. (For example, some of his refutations of alternate views involve speculation on the internal inconsistencies of the holders of such views. No fair.)

But that's a quibble; it's a very entertaining read, and if you ever wanted a layman's explanation of Gödel's Theorem, or the Uncertainty Principle, or a knock-down of protectionism, or a host of many other topics, this is a pretty good choice.


Last Modified 2024-01-28 2:46 PM EDT