With the emergence of "cultural studies" and the blurring of once-clear academic boundaries, scholars are turning to subjects far outside their traditional disciplines and areas of expertise. In "Higher Superstition" scientists Paul Gross and Norman Levitt raise serious questions about the growing criticism of science by humanists and social scientists on the "academic left." This paperback edition of "Higher Superstition" includes a new afterword by the authors.

The book explores the possibility of extending the notions of "Grassmannian" and "Gauss map" to the PL category. They are distinguished from "classifying space" and "classifying map" which are essentially homotopy-theoretic notions. The analogs of Grassmannian and Gauss map defined incorporate geometric and combinatorial information. Principal applications involve characteristic class theory, smoothing theory, and the existence of immersion satifying certain geometric criteria, e.g. curvature conditions. The book assumes knowledge of basic differential topology and bundle theory, including Hirsch-Gromov-Phillips theory, as well as the analogous theories for the PL category. The work should be of interest to mathematicians concerned with geometric topology, PL and PD aspects of differential geometry and the geometry of polyhedra.