Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface to second edition
- Preface to first Canto edition
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Introduction: the golem
- 1 Edible knowledge: the chemical transfer of memory
- 2 Two experiments that ‘proved’ the theory of relativity
- 3 The sun in a test tube: the story of cold fusion 5
- 4 The germs of dissent: Louis Pasteur and the origins of life
- 5 A new window on the universe: the non-detection of gravitational radiation
- 6 The sex life of the whiptail lizard
- 7 Set the controls for the heart of the sun: the strange story of the missing solar neutrinos
- Conclusion: putting the golem to work
- Afterword: Golem and the scientists
- References and further reading
- Index
Preface to first Canto edition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2014
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface to second edition
- Preface to first Canto edition
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Introduction: the golem
- 1 Edible knowledge: the chemical transfer of memory
- 2 Two experiments that ‘proved’ the theory of relativity
- 3 The sun in a test tube: the story of cold fusion 5
- 4 The germs of dissent: Louis Pasteur and the origins of life
- 5 A new window on the universe: the non-detection of gravitational radiation
- 6 The sex life of the whiptail lizard
- 7 Set the controls for the heart of the sun: the strange story of the missing solar neutrinos
- Conclusion: putting the golem to work
- Afterword: Golem and the scientists
- References and further reading
- Index
Summary
In the short time since The Golem was first published, it has received a number of reviews. This gives us the opportunity to clear up a source of misunderstanding. The Golem is not meant to be statistically representative of the ordinary science that is done every day in laboratories throughout the world. On the contrary, most science is uncontroversial. Thus, as an introduction to the day-to-day world of science for scientists, the book would be misleading; the average scientist would be lucky indeed (or unlucky!) to be personally involved in the kind of excitement represented here. In spite of this, as we suggest, citizens as citizens need understand only controversial science. One reviewer argues: ‘it is quite easy to think of political decisions with a scientific side to them where the science is non-controversial’ and offers as an example the effect on medical institutions of the development of a predictive test for Huntingdon's disease. But if the science is non-controversial, why do those running the medical institutions need to understand the deep nature of the science that gave rise to the results? If the test is uncontroversially valid they can make their decisions without understanding how agreement about the test was reached. Thus, while thanking our reviewers for the many generous comments about the importance, the informativeness, and they style of the book, we stand by our claim that ‘For citizens who want to take part in the democratic processes of a technological society, all the science they need to know about is controversial. ‘ For this purpose, The Golem represent s science properly.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The GolemWhat You Should Know About Science, pp. xi - xiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012