
The Human Side of Science
Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories behind Science's Big Ideas
Prometheus Books (Publisher)
Published on 19. April 2016
Book
Hardback
364 pages
978-1-63388-156-3 (ISBN)
Description
This lively and humorous book focuses attention on the fact that science is a human enterprise. The reader learns about the foibles and quirks as well as the admirable ingenuity and impressive accomplishments of famous scientists who made some of the greatest discoveries of the past and present.
Examples abound: James Watson and Francis Crick formed a legendary partnership that led to the discovery of DNA, but they essentially ignored the contribution of female colleague Rosalind Franklin. Later, in the race to sequence the human genome, Watson criticized J. Craig Venter's technique as a process that "could be run by monkeys." Nikola Tesla once worked for Thomas Edison, but then quit after a dispute about a bonus. Robert Hooke accused Isaac Newton of stealing his ideas about optics. Plato declared that the works of Democritus should be burned.
With tongue-in-cheek illustrations by renowned science cartoonist Sidney Harris, this book takes the reader behind the scenes of scientific research to shine new light on the all-too-human people who "do" science.
Examples abound: James Watson and Francis Crick formed a legendary partnership that led to the discovery of DNA, but they essentially ignored the contribution of female colleague Rosalind Franklin. Later, in the race to sequence the human genome, Watson criticized J. Craig Venter's technique as a process that "could be run by monkeys." Nikola Tesla once worked for Thomas Edison, but then quit after a dispute about a bonus. Robert Hooke accused Isaac Newton of stealing his ideas about optics. Plato declared that the works of Democritus should be burned.
With tongue-in-cheek illustrations by renowned science cartoonist Sidney Harris, this book takes the reader behind the scenes of scientific research to shine new light on the all-too-human people who "do" science.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
544 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63388-156-3 (9781633881563)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Arthur W. Wiggins | Charles M. Wynn
Human Side of Science
Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories behind Science's Big Ideas
E-Book
04/2016
Prometheus Books
€14.83
Available for download
Persons
By Arthur W. Wiggins and Charles M. Wynn Sr. - Illustrated by Sidney Harris