Fabulous Science : Fact and Fiction in the History of Scientific Discovery

The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed data that didn't support the case he was making. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity was only 'confirmed' in 1919 because an eminent British scientist massaged his figures. Joseph Lister's famously spotless hospital wards were actually notoriously dirty. Gregor Mendel, supposed father of the science of heredity, never grasped the fundamental principles of 'Mendelian' genetics. The history of science used to be presented as a heroic saga, in which a few far-seeing geniuses overcame the petty opposition of lesser minds to establish new scientific truths. But over recent decades, historians of science have cast a much more critical eye over their subject. Delving into laboratory notebooks and reconstructing once-fierce debates, they have challenged many of our basic assumptions about the nature of science and the roles its greatest heroes played. Fabulous Science reveals many of these findings to the general reader for the first time.; Often startling and always enthralling, they show that some of our most important scientific theories were initially accepted only because famous scientists fudged data, pulled rank, or were propped up by religious and political elites. Striking case-studies show that science is not always driven on by pure rationality: human factors can play at least as big a role in the origin and reception of scientific ideas. Even poorly attested theories can gain widespread acceptance if put forward by scientists with sufficient clout. The new history of science also demonstrates that many standard portraits of scientific heroes are little more than romantic inventions. Classic accounts of men before their time who battled to overcome ignorant opposition before achieving scientific immortality exaggerate the originality of the few and underplay the crucially important contributions of the many. Fabulous Science argues that our view of the history of science has been egregiously distorted by individuals seeking to glorify disciplines and nations, and by famous scientists who unfairly garnered credit properly due to others.; Fabulous Science restores to the history of science its complex personalities, bitter rivalries, and intense human dramas which until recently have been overlain by sanitising myths and misconceptions. Above all, its richly entertaining vignettes will transform the way we think about science, past, present, and future. Annotation The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed 'awkward' data because it didn't support the case he was making. John Snow, the 'first epidemiologist' was doing nothing others had not done before. Gregor Mendel, the supposed 'founder of genetics' never grasped the fundamental principles of'Mendelian' genetics. Joseph Lister's famously clean hospital wards were actually notorious dirty. And Einstein's general relativity was only 'confirmed' in 1919 because an eminent British scientist cooked his figures. These are some of the revelations explored in this book. Drawing on currentHistory of Science scholarship, Fabulous Science shows that many of our greatest heroes of science were less than honest about their experimental data and not above using friends in high places to help get their ideas accepted. It also reveals that the alleged revolutionaries of the history ofscience were often nothing of the sort. Prodigiously able they may have been, but the epithet of the 'man before his time' usually obscures vital contributions made their unsung contemporaries and the intrinsic merits of ideas they overturned. These distortions of the historical record mostly arisefrom our tendency to read the present back into the past. But in many cases, scientists owe their immortality to a combination of astonishing effrontery and their skills as self-promoters The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed 'awkward' data because it didn't support the case he was making. John Snow, the 'first epidemiologist' was doing nothing others had not done before. Gregor Mendel, the supposed 'founder of genetics' never grasped the fundamental principles of 'Mendelian' genetics. Joseph Lister's famously clean hospital wards were actually notorious dirty. And Einstein's general relativity was only 'confirmed' in 1919 because an eminent British scientist cooked his figures. These are just some of the revelations explored in this book. Drawing on current history of science scholarship, Fabulous Science shows that many of our greatest heroes of science were less than honest about their experimental data and not above using friends in high places to help get their ideas accepted. It also reveals that the alleged revolutionaries of the history of science were often nothing of the sort. Prodigiously able they may have been, but the epithet of the 'man before his time' usually obscures vital contributions made their unsung contemporaries and the intrinsic merits of ideas they overturned. These distortions of the historical record mostly arise from our tendency to read the present back into the past. But in many cases, scientists owe their immortality to a combination of astonishing effrontery and their skills as self-promoters. The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed "awkward" data because it didn't support the case he was making. Joseph Lister's famously clean hospital wards were actually notoriously dirty. And Einstein's theory of general relativity was only "confirmed" in 1919 because an eminent British scientist massaged his figures. Drawing on the latest scholarship, John Waller shows that many of our greatest heroes of science were less than honest about their experimental data, and not above using friends in high places to help get their ideas accepted. He reveals how sheer effrontery and self-promotion propelled certain scientists to the fore, obscuring the vital contributions of others and the intrinsic merit of the ideas they overturned. Einstein's Luck is an enthralling and entertaining book, which resurrects the complex personalities, bitter rivalries, and intense human dramas that enliven and illuminate the history of science. "Drawing on the latest scholarship, John Waller shows that many of our greatest heroes of science were less than honest about their experimental data, and not above using friends in high places to help get their ideas accepted. He reveals how sheer effrontery and self-promotion propelled certain scientists to the fore, obscuring the vital contributions of others and the intrinsic merit of the ideas they overturned. Fabulous Science is an entertaining book, which resurrects the complex personalities, bitter rivalries, and intense human dramas that enliven and illuminate the history of science."--Jacket The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed data that didn't support the case he was making. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity was only 'confirmed' in 1919 because an eminent British scientist massaged his figures. Joseph Lister's famously spotless hospital wards were actually notoriously dirty. Gregor Mendel, supposed father of the science of heredity, never grasped the fundamental principles of 'Mendelian' genetics. Often startling, always enthralling, FabulousScience reveals the truth behind these and many other myths in the history of science. - ;The great biologist Louis Pas This book explores the truth behind many of the famous stories about scientists and their famous experiments. The first section describes experiments by Pasteur, Millikan, Eddington and F.W Taylor. It describes how their preconceived notions and extraneous factors made them suppress and sometimes even manipulate data to support a cause that they had already decided on. The second part describes cases where reports of experiments and scientists by "science historians" were not faithful to the reality and how this distorted the picture that the later generations had of these people. The great biologist Louis Pasteur suppressed data that didn't support the case he was making. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity was only 'confirmed' in 1919 because an eminent British scientist massaged his figures. Joseph Lister's famously spotless hospital wards were actually notoriously dirty. Gregor Mendel, supposed father of the science of heredity, never grasped the fundamental principles of 'Mendelian' genetics. Often startling, always enthralling, Fabulous Science reveals the truth behind these and many other myths in the history of science A revealing study of the dark side of science explores the hypocrisies, lies, deceits, and incompetence that have sometimes accompanied the noble scientific pursuit of truth. (Science & Mathematics) John Waller. Published In The United States As: Einstein's Luck. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 296-301) And Index. file:///C|/Documents and Settings/me/デスクトップ/desktop/pictures/getpedia.html......Page 0