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Review by Jason Lush Really should have been called "When Humans with College Educations To Really Stupid Things", but I guess that wouldn't be sensational enough.When Science Goes Wrong is informative and engaging, but I believe it may have been rushed to press to capitalize on some event. The book covers twelve events in recent history in which seemingly smart people committed decidedly careless or outright stupid deeds, always at the cost of others.Each of the twelve stories are factual and informative, but every one of them is jam-packed with worthless fluff and personal anecdotes that distract from the point. My advice is read the first three and last three pages of each chapter and you'll get all the relevant information you need.
Seriously. Do you: a. If you're like me and two of your greatest loves are books about science and reading about natural disasters and calamities. Don't get me wrong, you don't want to let Whoopi Goldberg catch you because she knows you're not really and truly crazy the way Angelina Jolie is and eventually she'll let you out if you don't give her reason not to, but still. I just don't want to give them away because, well, it'll ruin some of the fun for you.One final note: I am pretty sure that Simon LeVay is not related to founder of the modern Satanist movement Anton LeVay (well, he is an evolutionist so he's going straight to hell lololololol.). It's just not right to have that particular set of amusements. Like let's say for instance that you are a nuclear physicist and you know all about the harmful effects of radiation.
conduct it using your hand and a screwdriver. seek help. conduct an experiment with a radioactive isotope using all kinds of lead shielding and so on, or b. But while you are in one of those old-fashioned "Girl: Interrupted" style mental wards, making fun of the girl who hides chickens under her bed, you should pick this book up and read it. if that compulsive liar can read the Oz books, you can certainly tuck this bad boy away.I guess the reason why I like this book can be summed up in one neat and tidy phrase: even scientists can be dumbasses sometimes. Actually, that particular incident is *not* in the book; however, the twelve tales that are there are equally stupid. If he was, I'm pretty sure the first line of the book would be something like "I AM THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS'S BROTHER BOW BEFORE ME", not something about a mortuary (and no, I am not going to give away why he mentions a mortuary).
Mostly, I'd echo Mr. Giltinan point's out, many of the events reported have more to do with technical application problems than actual "pure" science). Giltinan's comments. The book is a disappointment, more full of anecdotal stories of everyday failures than the more the more interesting analysis of WHY these failures occur and how they reflect on the nature of scientific inquiry (and, as Mr. Moreover, many of these stories are fairly well-known. It feels more like the kind of book you'd find engaging as an adolescent, learning about these events for the first time, than as an adult reader looking for some thoughts on the nature of scientific error.
It seems like the majority of books I am reading these days are authors who are on "The Daily Show". I really enjoyed this book. I usually read fiction but these vignettes are so surreal that it is hard to believe they actually happened.
It is clear from this book that the many scientific advances that we hear about regularly are peppered by a few serious fiascoes -often involving human error. The author describes twelve instances, one per chapter, where scientists' work has resulted in some form of disaster. This is a fascinating book. The only way that I can envisage improving this book (or a sequel) is to include a few simple sketches or diagrams in the chapters where detailed descriptions of physical items are presented; this would greatly help the reader to better visualize that particular item and thus possibly better understand the nature of the disaster. The scientific fields in which such incidents are presented include medical/biological disciplines, earth sciences, nuclear sciences, space science and psychology. In many of these cases the author shows how a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The writing style is clear, friendly, accessible, authoritative and quite engaging. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, but science buffs as well as those who are particularly interested in the potential shortcomings of the science/human interface may appreciate it the most.
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