Seth B. Darling – författare

Science today is trapped between blurred motives and urgent demands. We invest billions expecting both paradigm-shattering insight and deployable technology, yet our funding systems seldom distinguish between those disparate aims. The Edge of Purpose argues that, in today's ecosystem, conflating curiosity-driven inquiry with technology development stifles each. Tracing the long arc from Aristotle to AI, the Element shows how post-war policy hardened an outdated linear model and how even refined schemes (e.g., Pasteur's Quadrant) still neglect knowledge that is valuable without being useful. A complementary 'Knowledge-Level' (KL) scale is proposed, parallel to Technology Readiness Levels, to map the maturation of understanding itself. Re-aligning incentives around distinct KL and TRL tracks, while building bridges for serendipity, can reinvigorate discovery, accelerate innovation, and restore public trust. Clear purpose, not bigger budgets alone, is the key to unlocking science's full creative power. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Science today is trapped between blurred motives and urgent demands. We invest billions expecting both paradigm-shattering insight and deployable technology, yet our funding systems seldom distinguish between those disparate aims. The Edge of Purpose argues that, in today's ecosystem, conflating curiosity-driven inquiry with technology development stifles each. Tracing the long arc from Aristotle to AI, the Element shows how post-war policy hardened an outdated linear model and how even refined schemes (e.g., Pasteur's Quadrant) still neglect knowledge that is valuable without being useful. A complementary 'Knowledge-Level' (KL) scale is proposed, parallel to Technology Readiness Levels, to map the maturation of understanding itself. Re-aligning incentives around distinct KL and TRL tracks, while building bridges for serendipity, can reinvigorate discovery, accelerate innovation, and restore public trust. Clear purpose, not bigger budgets alone, is the key to unlocking science's full creative power. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

In our post-truth world, there’s only one place to turn to if we want to live in reality: science. And the research on climate change is clear: It’s real, it threatens us all, and human activity is the primary cause. This essential handbook dismantles all the most pernicious misunderstandings spread by deniers and replaces them with the truth. Faced with an imperiled planet that we must urgently work to save, we don’t have time for anything else.

People are increasingly aware of the role that water has in shaping society and how it impacts quality of life. This is the first book to provide a holistic perspective on water, capturing the full breadth of the science, technology, policy, history, and future outlook for the most important substance on earth — written at a level accessible to non-experts in each of these areas.Water is shockingly bizarre in its properties and of unsurpassed importance throughout human history, yet so mundane as to often be invisible in our daily lives. In Water Is ..., the two Seths (Darling and Snyder) walk the reader through all of the diverse perspectives on water. The journey begins with an exploration of the mysteries of water's properties on the molecular level, zooming out through its central role at biological and geological scales. Next, the Seths travel through the history of human civilization, highlighting the fundamental part water has played throughout, including the complexities of water policy, privatization, and pricing in today's world. Attention then turns to technology and innovation, emphasizing the daunting challenges dictated by increasing water stress and a changing climate as well as the enticing opportunities to achieve a secure global water future.Water is arguably the single most interdisciplinary topic. Students in business, policy, history, science, and engineering can best position themselves to make an impact by learning about the entire range of diverse, unexpected, and fascinating angles on water.Related Link(s)