The Primacy of Doubt

“This is quite possibly the best popular science book I’ve ever read (and I’ve read many hundreds)”—Brian Clegg, Popular Science

"Tim Palmer's book The Primacy of Doubt provides a remarkably broad-ranging account of uncertainty in physics, in all its various aspects. I strongly recommend this highly thought-provoking book."—Roger Penrose, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics

“In a whirlwind of a book that’s partly scientific autobiography and partly the manifesto of a visionary, Tim Palmer masterfully weaves together climate change and quantum mechanics into one coherent whole. Using uncertainty as a unifying principle, Palmer puts forward new perspectives on old problems. A revolutionary thinker way ahead of his time.”
 —Sabine Hossenfelder, author of Existential Physics and Lost in Math

“Tim Palmer is a scientific polymath. It’s hard to think of anyone else who could have written so authoritatively— and so accessibly—on themes extending from quantum gravity to climate modelling. This fascinating and important book offers some profoundly original speculations on conceptual linkages across different sciences.”
 —Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal of the United Kingdom

"The Primacy of Doubt is an important book by one of the pioneers of dynamical weather prediction, indispensable for daily life, describing how the approach can be used for prediction in other areas, such as climate, health, economy, and conflict.”—Suki Manabe, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics