James Gleick author photo
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James Gleick

Born: August 01, 1954 – New York City, New York, United States

James Gleick is an American author and historian of science renowned for his works exploring the impact of science and technology, notably Chaos: Making a New Science and The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. His books have been finalists for major awards and translated into over twenty-five languages, significantly shaping public understanding of scientific ideas.

Biography & Author's Journey

James Gleick, born in New York City in 1954, emerged as one of America’s most influential science writers and popular historians of science. Raised in an intellectually vibrant environment, he attended Harvard College, where he studied English and linguistics and served as an editor for The Harvard Crimson, graduating in 1976. A pivotal early moment in Gleick’s career was his move to Minneapolis to help found the alternative newspaper Metropolis, but after its brief existence he returned to New York and joined The New York Times, eventually spending a decade there as a reporter and editor on the metropolitan desk.

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Quotes

quote
When information is cheap, attention becomes expensive
-The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
quote
You don’t see something until you have the right metaphor to let you perceive it
-Chaos: Making a New Science
quote
It is not the amount of knowledge that makes a brain. It is not even the distribution of knowledge. It is the interconnectedness
-The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
quote
The universe is computing its own destiny
-The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
quote
Ideas that require people to reorganize their picture of the world provoke hostility
-Chaos: Making a New Science
quote
Every new medium transforms the nature of human thought. In the long run, history is the story of information becoming aware of itself
-The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
quote
Science was constructed against a lot of nonsense
-Chaos: Making a New Science
quote
Of all the possible pathways of disorder, nature favors just a few
-Chaos: Making a New Science
quote
Information is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom
-The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
quote
IN THE MIND’S EYE, a fractal is a way of seeing infinity
-Chaos: Making a New Science

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Community Voices

"James Gleick is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology"

Wikipedia

"According to the Wall Street Journal, James Gleick is a master of crafting historical narrative, elucidating esoteric theories, and humanizing scientists"

Wall Street Journal

"James Gleick’s books have been translated into more than thirty languages"

Wikipedia

"James Gleick is known for his books on the history of science and technology, including 'Chaos' and 'The Information."

The Greatest Books

"James Gleick has been called 'one of the great science writers of all time."

Wikipedia

"James Gleick, leading American science writer, transformed the world's consciousness with his 1987 book, Chaos: Making a New Science"

University at Albany

"James Gleick is the author of bestselling biographies of Richard Feynman and Isaac Newton, both shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize"

Key West Literary Seminar

"James Gleick is a leading American science journalist, historian, and biographer"

Britannica

"James Gleick was an editor and reporter for ten years at The New York Times"

Georgina Capel Associates LTD

"James Gleick's writing style combines clear mind, magpie-styled research, and explanatory verve"

Wikipedia

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