Science is obviously a very human endeavor and is riddled with mistakes along the way. What makes it an enduring structure is that the mistakes are weeded out in due course by competing investigators. This mistake-making is the theme of Mario Livio's delightful book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein (2013). Livio himself is an astrophysicist with wide-ranging interests and is well suited to delve into the creative forays of the scientific mind.
In this book, Livio focuses on five scientists and their "blunders": Charles Darwin in proposing his theory of evolution; Lord Kelvin in the estimation of the age of the earth; Linus Pauling in coming up with the structure of the DNA; Fred Hoyle in proposing an alternative to the big bang theory; and Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity.
Let me choose Albert Einstein's example to illustrate how his "blunder" actually helped shape future science.
In his 1917 general theory of relativity, Einstein formulated an equation that described the evolution of the Universe. This equation predicted that the Universe was not static but either expanding or contracting. Einstein found that this was far too revolutionary and introduced a "fudge factor" called the cosmological constant which artificially contrived to provide a static solution.
In the late 1920s, the astronomer Edwin Hubble provided evidence for an expansionary cosmos. Later Einstein regretted having introduced the cosmological constant and said it were better done away with.
In 1998 a group of scientists found that the Universe, instead of expanding at a constant rate, is actually accelerating! To explain this, scientists had again to seek recourse to the cosmological constant to fit the experimental results!
Livio contends that Einstein's error was not in introducing the cosmological constant but in removing it from his equation. What Einstein may have considered a "blunder" has had far reaching consequences in science.
Livio's book is very well-written and he clearly has a strong grasp of not only astrophysics but also other areas of science as well. Towards the end Livio states: "Despite their blunders, and perhaps because of them, the five individuals I have followed and sketched in this book have produced not just innovations within their respective sciences but also truly great intellectual creations.... The impact of their ideas have been felt far beyond their immediate significance for biology, geography, physics, or chemistry. In this sense, the work of [these scientists] comes closer in spirit to achievements in literature, art, and music...."
Livio could have made the book longer by talking of more examples (for there is certainly no dearth of errors in science) but then that is asking too much of a good thing.
In this book, Livio focuses on five scientists and their "blunders": Charles Darwin in proposing his theory of evolution; Lord Kelvin in the estimation of the age of the earth; Linus Pauling in coming up with the structure of the DNA; Fred Hoyle in proposing an alternative to the big bang theory; and Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity.
Let me choose Albert Einstein's example to illustrate how his "blunder" actually helped shape future science.
In his 1917 general theory of relativity, Einstein formulated an equation that described the evolution of the Universe. This equation predicted that the Universe was not static but either expanding or contracting. Einstein found that this was far too revolutionary and introduced a "fudge factor" called the cosmological constant which artificially contrived to provide a static solution.
In the late 1920s, the astronomer Edwin Hubble provided evidence for an expansionary cosmos. Later Einstein regretted having introduced the cosmological constant and said it were better done away with.
In 1998 a group of scientists found that the Universe, instead of expanding at a constant rate, is actually accelerating! To explain this, scientists had again to seek recourse to the cosmological constant to fit the experimental results!
Livio contends that Einstein's error was not in introducing the cosmological constant but in removing it from his equation. What Einstein may have considered a "blunder" has had far reaching consequences in science.
Livio's book is very well-written and he clearly has a strong grasp of not only astrophysics but also other areas of science as well. Towards the end Livio states: "Despite their blunders, and perhaps because of them, the five individuals I have followed and sketched in this book have produced not just innovations within their respective sciences but also truly great intellectual creations.... The impact of their ideas have been felt far beyond their immediate significance for biology, geography, physics, or chemistry. In this sense, the work of [these scientists] comes closer in spirit to achievements in literature, art, and music...."
Livio could have made the book longer by talking of more examples (for there is certainly no dearth of errors in science) but then that is asking too much of a good thing.
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