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When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery
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When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery Paperback - 2008

by Simon LeVay

Summary

Brilliant scientific successes have helped shape our world, and are always celebrated. However, for every victory, there are no doubt numerous little-known blunders. Neuroscientist Simon LeVay brings together a collection of fascinating, yet shocking, stories of failure from recent scientific history in When Science Goes Wrong.

From the fields of forensics and microbiology to nuclear physics and meteorology, in When Science Goes Wrong LeVay shares twelve true essays illustrating a variety of ways in which the scientific process can go awry. Failures, disasters and other negative outcomes of science can result not only from bad luck, but from causes including failure to follow appropriate procedures and heed warnings, ethical breaches, quick pressure to obtain results, and even fraud. Often, as LeVay notes, the greatest opportunity for notable mishaps occurs when science serves human ends. LeVay shares these examples:

  • To counteract the onslaught of Parkinson’s disease, a patient undergoes cutting-edge brain surgery using fetal transplants, and is later found to have hair and cartilage growing inside his brain.

  • In 1999, NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft is lost due to an error in calculation, only months after the agency adopts a policy of “Faster, Better, Cheaper.”

  • Britain’s Bracknell weather forecasting team predicts two possible outcomes for a potentially violent system, but is pressured into releasing a ‘milder’ forecast. The BBC’s top weatherman reports there is “no hurricane”, while later the storm hits, devastating southeast England.

  • Ignoring signals of an imminent eruption, scientists decide to lead a party to hike into the crater of a dormant volcano in Columbia, causing injury and death.

When Science Goes Wrong provides a compelling glimpse into human ambition in scientific pursuit.

From the publisher

Simon LeVay is a British-born neuroscientist who has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the Salk Institute. He is best known for his brain research and work on the biology of sexual orientation. LeVay is the author of Human Sexuality (with Sharon Valente) and The Sexual Brain, among other books. He has also written for Scientific American, New Scientist, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and has appeared on Oprah. LeVay lives in West Hollywood, CA.

Details

  • Title When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery
  • Author Simon LeVay
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First Printing
  • Pages 287
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Plume Books, New York, N.Y
  • Date 2008
  • ISBN 9780452289321 / 0452289327
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 in (20.32 x 13.46 x 2.03 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Science - Miscellanea, Errors, Scientific
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2007023389
  • Dewey Decimal Code 500

About the author

Simon LeVay is a British-born neuroscientist who has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School and the Salk Institute. He is best known for his brain research and work on the biology of sexual orientation. LeVay is the author of Human Sexuality (with Sharon Valente) and The Sexual Brain, among other books. He has also written for Scientific American, New Scientist, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and has appeared on Oprah. LeVay lives in West Hollywood, CA.

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When Science Goes Wrong : Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery

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When Science Goes Wrong : Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery

by Simon LeVay

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When Science Goes Wrong : Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery
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by LeVay, Simon

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When Science Goes Wrong : Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery
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When Science Goes Wrong : Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery

by LeVay, Simon

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780452289321 / 0452289327
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