The MIT Press

09/13/2025

Offering an alternative to both futurism and communism, Russian Cosmism imagined a world where science and technology could conquer death and unite humanity.

Big Think interviewed Boris Groys, editor of "Russian Cosmism," about why these 19th-century ideas feel surprisingly relevant in the age of Big Tech.

Russian Cosmism predicted the end of the world, and foreshadowed mankind's desire to colonize outer space.

09/12/2025

Born on this day in 1921, Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) was a visionary writer whose prose pushed the limits of science fiction and philosophical inquiry. Bringing nine of his stories into English for the first time, "The Truth and Other Stories" offers a wonderful introduction to his work for a new generation of sci-fi readers: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262545068/the-truth-and-other-stories/

09/12/2025

🎮 🕹️ Happy National Videogames Day! To celebrate, we've gathered a collection of open access MIT Press books on gaming, game design, and streaming that you can read freely and immediately: https://mitpress.mit.edu/open-access-reading-for-national-videogames-day-2025/

09/12/2025

"Be open to surprises … biology will surprise you. Let the animals tell you something different about the world than what you thought."

What frogs teach us about s*x, science, and why biology is messier than we think.

09/11/2025

When psychologist David McNeill began his work on gesture more than forty years ago, language and the action of speaking were regarded as separate realms. But language, he says, is dynamic, and gesture is fundamental to speaking.

In "Language Is Gesture," McNeill further develops his nonreductive scientific approach to the mind–brain–body unity of language, providing unique insights into how language is acquired by focusing on the dynamic relationship between gesture, thought, and language.

Available in both paperback and open access editions:
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552912/language-is-gesture/

09/10/2025

Our attempts to stamp out hypocrisy are backfiring, creating what Michael Hallsworth calls "the hypocrisy trap." In his insightful new book, Hallsworth offers practical solutions to our current predicament: how to increase our own consistency, navigate accusations wisely, and change how we judge others’ actions. "The Hypocrisy Trap" vividly shows that we can improve our politics, businesses, and personal relationships if we rethink hypocrisy—soon.

Look for "The Hypocrisy Trap" in bookstores on October 14th! Learn more, including where to pre-order: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262050944/the-hypocrisy-trap/

09/09/2025

"Large language models, which power systems like GPT-5, are nothing more than souped-up statistical regurgitation machines, so they will continue to stumble into problems around truth, hallucinations and reasoning. Scaling would not bring us to the holy grail of A.G.I."

In his latest op-ed for The New York Times, Gary Marcus, author of "Taming Silicon Valley," notes the failures of GPT-5 and advocates for a different path forward: stronger regulation, AI systems built around world models, and a return to the cognitive sciences:

Building bigger A.I. isn’t leading to better A.I.

09/08/2025

Will powerful new tools be used to promote democracy or undermine it?

09/08/2025

"The question of how, and under what conditions, published science is used to train LLMs is not just about copyright. It is about who controls the future of knowledge."

MIT Press Director Amy Brand shares her insights on how the unchecked use of published research in AI may threaten the integrity, sustainability, and future of scientific publishing:

In this issue, we feature an editorial by Amy Brand, Director at MIT Press, who shares her insights on how the unchecked use of published research in AI may threaten the integrity, sustainability, and future of scientific publishing.

09/07/2025

"Respect for the truth does not require one to take seriously ideas simply because they are popular or backed by influential people."

Published amid intense debates over "scientific creationism" in American classrooms, an excerpt from Philip Kitcher's 1982 book "Abusing Science" sketches what genuine tolerance in science looks like:

A classic critique shows how creationists’ calls for “equal time” in classrooms blurred the line between legitimate scientific debate and intellectual imposture.

09/06/2025

We're so pleased to share that we’ll be publishing Virginia McGee Richard's moving photographic and narrative history of the Inner Passage in April 2026. Learn more about "The Inner Passage: An Untold Story of Black Resistance Along a Southern Waterway": https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262051712/the-inner-passage/

09/06/2025

"An engaging book by Adam Szetela ... tells you what you already know: that something silly is happening in publishing."

The Economist reviews "That Book is Dangerous!":

In “That Book is Dangerous!” Adam Szetela argues that the industry has become Orwellian