Author Description

Science offers no guidelines about finding a path that leads to scientific discovery. Traveling through space will not provide such a guideline, unless we happen to meet some wise aliens along the way. Nor will this problem be solved by carrying out random experiments, hoping that other experiments will help us 'join up the dots' to form a coherent picture of the universe. The problem is, we are part of the problem; the mechanism of thinking is as much a part of the mechanism of the universe as any other part. If we do not understand the mechanism of thinking, how can we know whether our thoughts represent the nature of the universe or are merely reactions to it, like shadows pointing us towards the absence of light? The author holds a science degree from Imperial College, London and is a Zen Buddhist.