Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong, by Paul A. Offit, M.D.. National Geographic, 2017

This is the story about unintended consequences, and unleashing discoveries on the world without enough testing beforehand. The frontal lobotomy, trans fats, eugenics, the synthesis of ammonium nitrate, megavitamins, opioids, and the banning of DDT are the seven that Offit has selected as big mistakes. Some, like lobotomies and trans fats, were a horrible idea from the start. Others, like ammonium nitrate and opioids, have been used indiscriminately and created problems.

Offit gives a good history of each of these problems, from the discovery of the thing to today’s results. He gives a bibliography to back up his thesis, and the last chapter is a warning: how to learn from the past, and how to identify bad science. The book is well researched and well written, and is interesting from beginning to end.

Do I agree with everything he says? Well, no. While I agree that deaths from overdoses of opioids are a bad thing, I certainly don’t want them not used any more. Too many people with chronic pain rely on them to get up and do a day’s work; for acute pain, as in post-surgery use, there is nothing else like them. A way needs to be found to keep them from being *over* used, rather than banning them. Yes, banning DDT meant that a number of mosquito borne diseases, which had become scarce in some area, came back with a vengeance, but I don’t agree with him that no damage was ever done with DDT. We need to find a better way, such as vaccines, to deal with those diseases, not bring back a substance that is still in every single person in the world. I do love his lessons on identifying bad science; if something seems to be the answer to all kinds of questions, it’s probably bogus. Nothing cures everything. Nothing cures without the possibility of side effects. As Heinlein said, there ain’t no such thing as free lunch. 

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The Science of the Magical, from the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Super Powers, by Matt Kaplan. Scribner, 2015

 

“The Science of the Magical” is exactly what the title sounds like: explanations for things people have called ‘magic’, both in the past and present. The book ranges widely; he covers transforming into animals, healing pools, oracles, animals with uncanny behaviors, berserker warriors, near death experiences, Captain America, things from ancient history to modern days.

Kaplan is a science writer, and as such has a lot of contacts in all areas of science, which helped a lot in his investigations. Some things are fairly easy; hot springs made people feel better simply by being warm in areas and times that were really hard to stay warm enough in. Hot water helps many cases of sore, aching joints. No real mystery there. Predicting the future by watching the movements of birds was a little harder, but he makes a good case for birds being able to sense which way the winds are prevailing. It turns out that shifting currents can mean a winter either colder or warmer than usual, depending on which way it’s moving, much as El Nino/La Nina means for us in the Pacific Northwest. The birds are just following the winds. The Oracle at Delphi has been pretty well explained before; the cave she did her prognosticating in had a crack in the floor that exhaled toxic fumes that caused oxygen starvation in the brain. Super soldiers close to existing, between amphetamines to keep[LB1]  soldiers awake and provide focus, steroids to enhance strength, and drugs that increase red blood cell count and thus the amount of oxygen present in the blood- shades of Lance Armstrong there!

The author writes in a clear, accessible style. He always stays respectful of the culture from which the magical belief comes from. He’s very witty as well as well educated. The book reads like what you’d get if Terry Pratchett actually wrote a science book (instead of teaming up with science writers)- especially in the footnotes. Fast and fun to read. 

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 [LB1]

Judgement Day: The Science of Discworld IV, by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, & Jack Cohen. Anchor Books, 2015

This volume of the Science of Discworld books goes over evolution, cosmology, and religion, among other things. The discussion of these things is presented if fairly straightforward terms that most readers will be able to understand without having to resort to Google too often. I’ve read several books on quantum physics and cosmology (and still remain boggled by the subjects) and have to say this book puts in a very understandable way. The heart of the book, though, is a thread that runs through all the subjects, and that is why do people believe in things that cannot be proved scientifically. Why do some cling to young earth theories that geologists assure them are not true, or feel that their religion, and only their religion, is real and true despite *not* being able to prove it? Their answer is that religion is human-centered, even though it tries to explain universe centered things. A human centered world view concentrates on the smaller things, on a human scale. Science says the universe is huge, cold, and doesn’t give a damn about humans. A universe centered view offers no comfort.

Like the other SoD books, the science is strung together with a weak Discworld story. And it’s very weak in this book. A couple of pages of story at the start of every chapter makes it a very short story, and it has no plot arc. A fair number of Discworld characters put in appearances, but it’s like they are just wheeled out to wave at the crowd and be gone. If you’re looking for an overview of the sciences presented in this book, it’s fine. But don’t expect a real Discworld story. 

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