John Horgan

JOHN HORGAN is a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. A former senior writer at Scientific American (1986-1997), he has also written for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Slate, Discover, The London Times, The Times Literary Supplement, New Scientist, and other publications around the world. He blogs for the Center for Science Writings and for Bloggingheads.tv (see links at left).

His latest book is Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in January 2003 and in paperback by Mariner Books in March 2004. Reviewers have called Rational Mysticism "a marvelous book...Horgan tackles this impossible subject journalistically--critically but with an open heart" (New York Times Book Review, March 23); "a great read, full of amusing vignettes and thoughtful reflections" (Washington Post, March 9); "a splendidly written, beautifully organized, honestly and passionately argumentative book, balanced on the cusp between belief and unbelief" (Globe and Mail, Canada, April 19); "a hyper-intellectual road flick...Spike Jones directing" (Skeptic Magazine, October 2003); "informative, critical... fascinating and disturbing" (Library Journal, February 15); and "entertaining... refreshingly personal...a title with crossover appeal" (Publisher's Weekly, December 23). See the outtakes from the book posted on this site.

His first two books are The End of Science: Facing the Limits of Science in the Twilight of the Scientific Age, Broadway Books, 1996, a U.S. bestseller translated into 13 languages; and its followup The Undiscovered Mind: How the Human Brain Defies Replication, Medication, and Explanation, Free Press, 1999, which was a finalist for the 2000 British Mind Book of the Year and has been translated into eight languages.

He is the co-author with the Reverend Frank Geer of Where Was God on September 11?, edited by Robert Hutchinson, Brown Trout, 2002 (proceeds donated to charity). He contributed essays to Within the Stone, a collection of photographs of mineral cross sections by Bill Atkinson, one of the creators of the original MacIntosh computer. Other contributors to the book--which was edited by Robert Hutchinson and published by Brown Trout in 2004--include the poet Diane Ackerman, the science fiction writer David Zindell, and the ecologist Tyler Volk.

Horgan is currently doing research on pacifism, aggression, and the widespread belief that human warfare is inevitable. He touches on these topics in his Science & Spirit article under Quick Links. He would appreciate any input on these topics, especially recommendations for relevant reading materials, organizations, individual sources, etc.

His publications have received international coverage, including front-page reviews and news articles in The New York Times, London Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune. He has been interviewed hundreds of times for print, radio, and television media, including The Lehrer News Hour, Charlie Rose, and National Public Radio's Science Friday. He has lectured and participated in debates with prominent scientists and journalists before dozens of institutions in North America and Europe, including MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Dartmouth, McGill, the University of Amsterdam, and England's National Physical Laboratory.

His awards include the 2005 Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowship in Science and Religion; the American Psychiatric Association Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Reporting on Psychiatric Issues (1997); the Science Journalism Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1992 and 1994); and the National Association of Science Writers Science-in-Society Award (1993). His articles have been selected for The Best American Science and Nature Writing in 2005 and 2006.

Horgan was an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum, the journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, from 1983 to 1986. He received a B.A. in English from Columbia University's School of General Studies in 1982 and an M.S. from Columbia's School of Journalism in 1983.

He lives in Garrison, New York, with his wife Suzie Gilbert and their two children, Mac and Skye. Suzie is the founder of Flyaway Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured wild birds. For information on Flyaway or to make a donation, write to Flyaway, 241 Rt. 403, Garrison, NY 10524.