Mission to Abisko
Subtitle: stories and myths in the creation of scientific "truth"
By: edited by John L. Casti and Anders Karlqvist
Publisher: Perseus Books
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Reading, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 194
ISBN-13: 9780738201672; 9780738200026
Subjects: Popularisering; Exacte wetenschappen; Science news; Science fiction
Description: In May 1997, science author John Casti led a dozen writers to a remote Swedish village called Abisko, far above the Arctic Circle, to discuss the nature of scientific truth. Their discussions and debates focused on one major question: How do the stories that scientists tell each other, and the public, affect the way they do their science? This book is the outcome of that lively meeting of minds. Each chapter is by a noted scientist who writes, or science fiction writer who practices science.

In this fascinating look behind the scenes of science, eleven of the world's top scientist-authors examine the phenomenon of science as storytelling.

As these authors demonstrate, the tales scientists tell each other are often even more mysterious or fanciful than those they tell the public. Many of these tales are called "thought experiments," and their purpose is to focus and encapsulate large amounts of knowledge into short, pithy pictures that capture the essence - and the shortcomings - of a scientific theory.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Analogy of nature -- John D. Barrow;; title: Proving the dream -- Greg Bear;; title: Beyond this horizon: envisioning the next century, or stories of our (preventable?) future(s) -- Gregory Benford;; title: Cambridge quintet: the chronicle of an experiment in 'scientific fiction' -- John L. Casti;; title: Becoming Maureen-a story of development -- Jack Cohen;; title: Algorithmic and ascetic storytelling: alternative approaches to imagination and reality -- Per-A. Johansson;; title: Einstein at the amusement park: the public story of relativity in Swedish culture -- Kjell Jonsson;; title: Telling science -- Anders Karlqvist;; title: Frankenstein's daughters -- Paul J. McAuley;; title: Mission to Abisko -- Larry Niven;; title: Secret narratives of mathematics-- Ian Stewart.