Science to save the world

A physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist are working together to bring better, smarter decision-making to the masses. By Lee Billings. A physicist, a philosopher and a psychologist walk into a classroom. Although it sounds like a premise for a joke, this was actually the origin of a unique collaboration between Nobel Prize—winning physicist Saul Perlmutter, philosopher John Campbell and the psychologist Rob MacCoun.

A video series that takes its name literally by asking a question about how science or a particular technology can help save the world.

Spurred by what they saw as a perilously rising tide of irrationality, misinformation and sociopolitical polarization, they teamed up in to create a multidisciplinary course at the University of California, Berkeley, with the modest goal of teaching undergraduate students how to think—more specifically, how to think like a scientist.

That is, they wished to show students how to use scientific tools and techniques for solving problems, making decisions and distinguishing reality from fantasy. The course proved popular, drawing enough interest to run for more than a decade and counting while sparking multiple spin-offs at other universities and institutions.

Now the three researchers are bringing their message to the masses with a new book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. And their timing is impeccable: Our world seems to have only become more uncertain and complex since their course began, with cognitive biases and information overload all too easily clouding debates over high-stakes issues such as climate change , global pandemics , and the development and regulation of artificial intelligence.

From parsing the daily news to treating a medical condition, talking with opposite-minded relatives at Thanksgiving or even choosing how to vote in an election, Third Millennium Thinking offers lessons that anyone can use—individually and collectively—to make smarter, better decisions in everyday life. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing.

By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. How did all of this begin, and what motivated each of you to take on such an ambitious project? And surprisingly enough, we were not doing it in a very sensible way. And is it possible for us to articulate what these concepts are and teach them in a way that people would apply them in their whole lives, not just in a lab?