Stuart Firestein

Ignorance, all of what we don't know, and even what we don’t know we don't know, is the driving force of science. Find information on Ignorance the course at Columbia University and Ignorance the book, now available from Oxford University Press.

My laboratory investigates the sense of smell, olfaction. We take a wide ranging approach beginning with the chemistry of odors, their detection by the specialized cells in your nose and the ways in which that information is processed by your brain to produce a perception of a rose from the blend five kinds of molecules....

Essays, op-ed pieces, and other contributions. Also information on the science writing group Neuwrite, a collective of scientists, non-fiction writers and journalists working to make real science engaging and accessible to a more general readership.

Talks on Ignorance, Seminars on the work of the lab, and some fun science related appearances.

Dr. Stuart Firestein is the Chair of Columbia University's Dept. of Biological Sciences where his colleagues and he study the vertebrate olfactory system, possibly the best chemical detector on the face of the planet. His lab seeks to answer that fundamental human question: How do I smell?

Reviews and interviews, in print or podcast, about Ignorance the book and our work in the lab.