John Horgan (journalist)

John Horgan
Born 1953[1]
Other names "Chip" Horgan, "The Horganism"
Education Columbia University School of Journalism (1983)
Occupation Science writer, Author
Notable credit(s) author of The End of Science; has written for many publications, including National Geographic, The New York Times, Time and Newsweek; frequent guest on BloggingHeads.tv; blogger for "Scientific American".

John Horgan is an American science journalist best known for his 1996 book The End of Science. He has written for many publications, including National Geographic, Scientific American, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and IEEE Spectrum. His awards include two Science Journalism Awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Science Writers Science-in-Society Award. His articles have been included in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 editions of The Best American Science and Nature Writing. Since 2010 he has written the "Cross-check" blog for ScientificAmerican.com.[2]

Horgan graduated from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1983. Between 1986 and 1997 he was a senior writer at Scientific American.[2]

1990s assertions

His October 1993 Scientific American article, "The Death of Proof", claimed that the growing complexity of mathematics, combined with "computer proofs" and other developments, were undermining traditional concepts of mathematical proof. The article generated "torrents of howls and complaints" from mathematicians, according to David Hoffman (one of the mathematicians Horgan interviewed for the article).[3]

Horgan's 1996 book The End of Science begins where "The Death of Proof" leaves off: in it, Horgan argues that pure science, defined as "the primordial human quest to understand the universe and our place in it," may be coming to an end. Horgan claims that science will not achieve insights into nature as profound as evolution by natural selection, the double helix, the big bang, relativity theory or quantum mechanics. In the future, he suggests, scientists will refine, extend and apply this pre-existing knowledge but will not achieve any more great "revolutions or revelations."

Nobel laureate Phil Anderson wrote in 1999 "The reason that Horgan's pessimism is so wrong lies in the nature of science itself. Whenever a question receives an answer, science moves on and asks a new kind of question, of which there seem to be an endless supply."[4] A front-page review in the New York Times called the book "intellectually bracing, sweepingly reported, often brilliant and sometimes bullying."[5]

Later work

In 1999 Horgan followed up The End of Science with The Undiscovered Mind: How the Human Brain Defies Replication, Medication and Explanation, which critiques neuroscience, psychoanalysis, psychopharmacology, evolutionary psychology, behavioral genetics, artificial intelligence and other mind-related fields. For his 2003 book Rational Mysticism,[6] he profiled a number of scientists, mystics, and religious thinkers who have delved into the interface of science, religion and mysticism. He presents his personal impressions of these individuals and a sometimes controversial analysis of their contributions to rational mysticism and the relationship between religion and science. His 2012 book "The End of War" presents scientific arguments against the widespread belief that war is inevitable.

In 2005, Horgan became the Director of the Center for Science Writings (CSW) at Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, NJ, where he also teaches science journalism, history of science and other courses. The CSW sponsors lectures by leading science communicators, including geographer Jared Diamond of UCLA, financier/philosopher Nassim Taleb, psychologist Steven Pinker of Harvard, neurologist Oliver Sacks, philosopher Peter Singer of Princeton, economist Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia, and biologist Edward O. Wilson of Harvard.

Media appearances

Horgan and George Johnson on a "Science Faction" episode of Bloggingheads.tv.

Horgan has appeared on the Charlie Rose show, the Lehrer News Hour and many other media outlets in the U.S. and Europe. Currently he is a frequent host (usually with science writer George Johnson) of "Science Faction", a monthly discussion related to science topics on the website BloggingHeads.tv.

Bibliography

Incomplete

Books

Articles

References

  1. ↑ catalog.orion.lib.mi.us
  2. 1 2 John Horgan - Biography, accessed October 21, 2007
  3. ↑ David Hoffman, book review of The End of Science: Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight of the Scientific Age, Notices of the AMS, Volume 45, Number 2 (February 1998), pp. 263. Accessed October 21, 2007.
  4. ↑ Philip W. Anderson, Why Do They Leave Physics?, Physics Today, Sep99, Vol. 52
  5. ↑ Natalie Angier, The Job Is Finished, The New York Times, June 30, 1996
  6. ↑ Dick Teresi (23 March 2003). "Dude, Where's My Karma?". The New York Times. Book review of Horgan's Rational Mysticism: Dispatches From the Border Between Science and Spirituality. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. (ISBN 0-61844-663-X).
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