The Next Fifty Years is a collection of very readable essays on a variety of scientific topics. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The topics were weighted a bit heavily toward psychology, and I have to agree with Paul Bloom who says, ”...the practical benefits of psychology have always been modest… at their best, common sense… at their worst, they are faddish and dangerous…”

Even so, all the essays are well-written. As editor John Brockman notes, these are papers by scientists who “are writing for, and engaging, their peers in other disciplines” and “attempt to make the latest scientific research understandable within science itself as well as to a wide audience.