The world of science has been transformed. Where once astronomers sat at
the controls of giant telescopes in remote locations, praying for clear
skies, now they have no need to budge from their desks, as data arrives
in their inbox. And what they receive is overwhelming; projects now
being built provide more data in a few nights than in the whole of
humanity's history of observing the Universe. It's not just astronomy
either - dealing with this deluge of data is the major challenge for
scientists at CERN, and for biologists who use automated cameras to spy
on animals in their natural habitats. Artificial intelligence is one
part of the solution - but will it spell the end of human involvement in
scientific discovery?
No, argues Chris Lintott. We humans still have unique capabilities to
bring to bear - our curiosity, our capacity for wonder, and, most
importantly, our capacity for surprise. It seems that humans and
computers working together do better than computers can on their own.
But with so much scientific data, you need a lot of scientists - a
crowd, in fact. Lintott found such a crowd in the Zooniverse, the
web-based project that allows hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic
volunteers to contribute to science.
In this book, Lintott describes the exciting discoveries that people all
over the world have made, from galaxies to pulsars, exoplanets to moons,
and from penguin behavior to old ship's logs. This approach builds on a
long history of so-called "citizen science," given new power by fast
internet and distributed data. Discovery is no longer the remit only of
scientists in specialist labs or academics in ivory towers. It's
something we can all take part in. As Lintott shows, it's a wonderful
way to engage with science, yielding new insights daily. You, too, can
help explore the Universe in your lunch hour.
