April 2, 2012
Brooks, a science columnist for Britain’s New Statesman, says that at the end of WWII science was “branded” as logical, trustworthy, rational, predictable, and gentlemanly, among other traits. So successful was the attempt to dispel public qualms over science’s potential dangers that even scientists bought into it. But Brooks (13 Things That Don’t Make Sense) pulls back the curtain to show that scientists are fallible humans just like the rest of us. Isaac Newton was aggressively competitive, and routinely kept important discoveries to himself so he could taunt his colleagues with his “secret knowledge.” Einstein fudged his math to support his “beautiful” ideas. Scientists attempted to torpedo the unorthodox ideas of geneticist Barbara McClintock (who eventually won a Nobel Prize for her work) and astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Some scientists have defied rigid ethical standards, tested theories on themselves, and taken their most powerful inspiration from dreams, visions, and illicit drugs. Brooks raises intriguing questions about the value of peer review panels and ethics boards, while illuminating much of the gritty real work performed in ivory towers around the world. Agent: Caroline Dawnay, Peters Fraser & Dunlop (U.K.).
May 15, 2012
New Statesman columnist Brooks (13 Things That Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time, 2008, etc.) delves into the rough-and-tumble world of scientific research. The stereotypical scientific researcher is a staid investigator, grinding away at his experiments while assiduously following the rules of the scientific method. As Brooks demonstrates, however, many of the leading lights of science were merely flawed human beings and not above bending or breaking rules in their quests for knowledge. His book lays bare the messy stories behind some of the greatest discoveries in scientific history. At least one Nobel Prize winner, he writes, is upfront about taking illegal drugs for inspiration. Some researchers, including the inventor of the cardiac catheter, recklessly used themselves as test subjects. Several legends of science, including Albert Einstein, even ignored or fudged research data that didn't fit with their theories; others callously betrayed research partners to claim sole credit for major discoveries. While Brooks condemns many of the more egregious injustices and unethical behaviors, he also asserts that outside-the-box thinking is not necessarily a bad thing and is indeed a necessity to push the boundaries of knowledge. "If we want more scientific progress," he writes, "we need to release more rebels, more outlaws, more anarchists." To that end, he makes a solid case for overhauling some longtime traditions, such as the see-no-evil discouragement of activism among scientists and the politics-laden peer-review system for scientific journals. Though Brooks dwells a bit much on the drug angle--much of the epilogue, for example, concerns his unsuccessful attempt to confirm if a famous DNA researcher used LSD--the overall narrative is enjoyable and insightful. A page-turning, unvarnished look at the all-too-human side of science.
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