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Losing the Nobel Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor Hardcover – April 24, 2018
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Brian Keating
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Print length352 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
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Publication dateApril 24, 2018
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Dimensions6.6 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
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ISBN-101324000910
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ISBN-13978-1324000914
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A riveting account of the rise and fall of the seeming confirmation of the cosmological theory of inflation... Keating offers vivid profiles of the personalities involved in shaping our modern view of the universe.”
- Science
“Losing the Nobel Prize dissects the error-prone humanity of science, but cuts the ugly details with beauty... Charming and clever, Losing the Nobel Prize bounces between clear explanations of nitty-gritty science, accounts of personal relationships and historical lessons.”
- ScienceNews
“Brian Keating's riveting new book tells the inside story of the search for cosmic origins, emphasizing the influence of Nobel dreams and laying bare the question of whether the lure of grand prizes is ultimately a good thing for science.”
- Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe
“By losing the Nobel Prize, Keating and BICEP2 has led us to an even greater victory: the recognition that there are more important things in this Universe, like scientific truths, than the fleeting glory of an earthly award.”
Forbes
“A fascinating autobiographical account, full of intriguing detail, of the passions and inspirations that underlie the scientific quest to comprehend the nature and origins of our universe...A highly thoughtful and informative book.”
- Sir Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford and author of The Emperor’s New Mind
“Visionary Brian Keating takes us along on a refreshing and honest journey to see how great discoveries are made and unmade. This is one of the greatest stories told in cosmology. I couldn't put it down!”
- Stephon Alexander, Professor of Physics, Brown University, jazz musician, and author of The Jazz of Physics
“[Keating] is a deft writer, interweaving the science with personal musings.”
- Nature
“A compelling personal memoir, a fascinating history of cosmology, and an interesting firsthand account of a dramatic scientific adventure.”
- Physics Today
“In this riveting personal account, Brian Keating writes frankly of his challenges, frustrations, and motivations during the years spent building and operating the instruments used to tackle one of the most fundamental problems in science: how our universe began.”
- Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal and author of Universe
“Part adventure story, part cautionary tale, Brian Keating’s Losing the Nobel Prize is that rare thing among popular science books―a page-turner.”
- Rae Armantrout, professor emerita, University of California, San Diego, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Versed
“A deeply personal journey that illuminates both the ultimate questions that cosmologists seek to answer, and the problems that we, as human beings, generate in the pursuit of those answers... Whether you're familiar with these ideas behind the evolution of our universe or have never heard the word 'inflation' before, Keating's narrative ensures you'll have the background you need to understand why this result was so sought-after.”
- Astronomy.com
“Brian Keating describes the thrilling highs and dramatic lows that accompany the relentless pursuit of science’s top accolade. This is a personal, cautionary tale to which we should all listen.”
- Peter H. Diamandis, chairman/founder, XPRIZE Foundation and Singularity University, and author of Abundance and Bold
“Brian Keating's compulsively readable book shows us the human side of science: the passion, the competition, the jealousies, the mistakes, the triumphs, the heartbreaks. A first-hand account of how science happens at the very highest levels.”
- Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture
“Brian Keating is a wonderful storyteller with a very good story to tell. His tale is provocative and evocative as he takes us on a highly personal journey to the heart of the scientific exploration of the universe.”
- Lee Smolin, Perimeter Institute, and author of Time Reborn
“I loved this well-told tale of science, passion, and the pursuit―literally to the ends of the earth―of life’s purest questions. Brian Keating weaves together a must-read drama of big dreams, awe-inspiring technology, and a belief in the power of science to solve any puzzle. He is thoroughly modern and forward facing, questioning the veneration of the Nobel Prize, and making the case with his heartfelt story that the real prize is in the science itself.”
- Julian Guthrie, author of How to Make a Spaceship
“Three fascinating tales entwine between these covers; a young man growing to scientific maturity, an elusive baby picture of our universe, and the prize he hoped that picture would garner. The story, enthralling as it is, remains unfinished.”
- Jill Tarter, Bernard M. Oliver Chair, SETI Institute
“Our most august institutions―government, billion-dollar corporations, and even staid academia―are rife with human politicking and raw ambition. In Losing the Nobel Prize, Brian Keating describes just some of that jockeying and maneuvering among the smartest people in the world, studying the most abstruse and fundamental knowledge, while chasing humanity's greatest honor. Along the way, Keating provides understandable explanations of the more mind-bending aspects of modern cosmology, and just what we know about our universe.”
- Antonio García Martínez, author of Chaos Monkeys
“A fascinating blend of personal history and an honest behind-the-scenes look at high-stakes science. Brian Keating was at the origin of what appeared to be one of the most exciting discoveries in modern cosmology. His vivid storytelling brings humanity’s search for the origin of the Universe to life.”
- Jay Pasachoff, author of Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets
“Cosmologists had thought that they had glimpsed a distant image of the first moments of the universe. Instead, this image turned out to be ‘smudge on the window’: galactic dust once again bedeviling cosmologists. Keating conveys this exciting search through a personal tale of the ups and downs of cutting edge science.”
- David Spergel, Professor, Princeton University, Co-Winner of the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
“In Losing the Nobel Prize, Brian Keating shares a view from the jagged frontiers of scientific exploration, offering fresh insights into the passions, ambitions, and competition that drive many researchers today. A fascinating journey.”
- David Kaiser, professor of physics and the history of science, MIT and author of How the Hippies Saved Physics
“According to Brian Keating, the Oscar and Nobel science prizes have a lot in common. In Losing the Nobel Prize, he weaves together the Nobel Prize institution, his personal life, and his own involvement in modern cosmology into a multi-facetted and highly readable story. Providing a vivid picture of the adventurous and competitive world of cosmological research, he also suggests radical reforms to the venerable but perhaps outdated Stockholm institution.”
- Helge Kragh, Emeritus Professor, Aarhus University and author of Cosmology & Controversy
“Brian Keating’s Losing the Nobel Prize tells an exciting story of breakthrough discoveries in modern cosmology, his personal hunt for signals from the Big Bang, and the pros and cons of Nobel dreams. The book is a page-turner. Keating’s misgivings about the role of the Nobel Prize as a driver of scientists to rush to discovery make for thought-provoking reading.”
- Katherine Freese, George E. Uhlenbeck Professor of Physics, University of Michigan and author of The Cosmic Cocktail
“An extraordinary work of intellectual honesty. Astrophysicist Brian Keating explores the fascinating history and mixed effects of the Nobel Prize, especially on the field of physics. For a few years, Keating felt these effects, as people chattered about his own possible candidacy, before the chances and mischances of science changed course. That experience informs Losing the Nobel. An amazing journey.”
- David Brin, author of Existence
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (April 24, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1324000910
- ISBN-13 : 978-1324000914
- Item Weight : 1.45 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.6 x 1.3 x 9.6 inches
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Best Sellers Rank:
#471,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #597 in Cosmology (Books)
- #904 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books)
- #2,544 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Robert S. Mittler, PhD, is a retired immunologist, a former faculty member of Emory University School of Medicine, and cosmology enthusiast, more accustomed to looking at things alive and very small through the lenses of a microscope, rather than at the vastness of the universe through a telescope.
While the Nobel Prizes have been (and remain) landmark awards for anyone seeking to better our world through science, Keating outlines a number of very valid considerations about the Nobel Committee and its system, as well as ethical considerations that apply more broadly to the sciences in general. However, in taking an introspective and personal look at his own scientific work, achievements, and shortcomings, Keating illustrates the all-too-human aspects behind what motivates discovery, and in doing so, highlights a number of "intellectual landmines" that any serious student of science should be aware of.
Well written and cleverly crafted, "Losing the Nobel Prize" is a book any fans of popular science will both enjoy and appreciate.
In this wide-ranging book, Dr. Keating describes the life of a scientist working on cutting-edge research (at the Geographic South Pole, no less!) and shows how science, despite being humanity's highest pursuit, is still a product of humans and is susceptible to human imperfections. In his world, navigating the highs of discovery, the lows of political infighting, and the all-around surprising, he begins to question the highest honor of the field and its impact on science and scientists. He lays out arguments against the Nobel prize's antiquated, arbitrary, and often deeply sexist rules and offers a suggestion that rewards serendipity, collaboration, and fairness.
Dr. Keating shows how a scientific discovery (or near-discovery) can be a deeply personal story, full of joy, grief, and awe, and how careers can be made or broken in the pursuit of a Nobel prize.
Top reviews from other countries
Keating’s story is particularly interesting given the huge implications of his research, however the most pleasing aspect of his book is the way in which scientists are shown to be (above all) human! Would recommend this book to anyone wanting to gain some understanding of observational cosmology or some insight as to how the competitive world of astronomy (and science in general) really works.
On March 17 2014, a team of astronomers announced at a press conference, held at Harvard University, that they had detected traces of the so-called B-modes - the faint, wiggly signatures produced when the baby universe inflated - using a special type of telescope called BICEP2. Although Keating was co-leader of the project he was regarded by some as a competitor and had not been invited to the press conference. Even his name was barely mentioned during the announcement. Still, despite the snubbing, there was every chance that this discovery would offer him a ticket to Stockholm to collect his golden reward.
Or maybe not.
This book tells the inside story of the quest to find signals from the birth of the universe and the scientific drama that followed. There is plenty of cosmology along the way, clearly explained in a witty and charming style that makes the book a pleasure to read.
Intermingled amongst the cosmology are chapters on the Nobel Prize. Here the author argues that the Nobel Prize has failed to live up to its reputation and rather than advance scientific progress, actually promotes greed and punishes collaboration and innovation. Thoughtfully, he offers his own solutions on how the prize can be reformed and modernised so that it works alongside 21st century science in a more positive way.
This book is a real page-turner and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Highly recommended.
Ausgezeichnete Bücher zur modernen Kosmologie und insbesondere zur Rolle der Inflationstheorie, gibt es etliche, darunter auch einige, die für eine breite Leserschaft geeignet sind, etwa Lawrence Krauss 'A Universe from Nothing' und das großartige 'The Infaltionary Universe' von Alan Guth, dem Architekt der Inflationstheorie selbst; das vorliegende Buch ist aber insofern besonders, da es aus dem Blickwinkel eines Experimentalwissenschaftlers verfasst wurde. Zwar erlaubt die Inflation theoretische Erklärungen für einige bedeutende Puzzle der Urknall Kosmologie, aber dieser Theorie wird oft vorgeworfen, dass sie nicht direkt beobachtbar ist. Um so faszinierender ist die Geschichte des Autors, der über seine Ideen zum Nachweis von Mustern in der CMB, die zumindest indirekt einen Beleg für die inflationäre Phase des Univerums liefern sollen, berichtet -- Ideen die schließlich zum Bau des BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) Teleskops führten.
Der Autor geht aber nicht nur auf die physikalischen und kosmologischen Grundlagen seines Experiments ein, er spricht auch über das Wohl und Wehe eines Wissenschaftlers, insbesondere eines Experimentators – lange vorbei die Zeiten eines Faraday, dessen Versuche einige Rollen Draht, Magnetnadeln und Galvanoskope bedurften, die ganze Anordnung passte gut auf einen Labortisch – heutig Experimente haben aber oft andere Dimensionen, manche fast industrielle – also müssen Fördermittel aufgetrieben werden, die Vorbereitung dauert oft jahrelang und die Aufgaben sind in der Regeln nur von Teams zu bewältigen. Aber auch von den Leidenschaften des Forschens ist die Rede. So fließen in Keatings Darstellungen ganz selbstverständlich auch autobiographische Elemente ein, und es ist nicht verwunderlich, dass der Autor auch über die Nobelpreiswürdigkeit seines Entwurfs nachdenkt – eine solche Chance ergibt sich in einem Forscherleben nur einmal.
Um die Hintergründe seines Experiments erläutern können, geht der Autor kurz auf die jüngere Geschichte der Kosmologie ein, die 1916 von Albert Einstein als Wissenschaft etabliert wurde, als er seine kurz vorher geschaffen Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie aus das Universum als Ganzes angewandt hatte. Doch selbst Einstein erwartete nur ein statisches All, er erweiterte dazu sogar seine Feldgleichungen der Gravitation um den sogenannten kosmologische Term. Erst nach den bahnbrechenden Entdeckungen von Edwin Hubble 1923, freundete er sich zögerlich mit dem Model eines expandierendem Universums an, vor allem, da das auch zur Konsequenz hat, dass die Welt einen Anfang in der Zeit haben müsste – dass sie mit einem Big Bang begann – dagegen gab es gravierende philosophische Vorbehalte; deswegen erhielt auch zunächst ein alternatives Model von Hoyle, Bondi und Gold größeren Zuspruch. Erst mit der Entdeckungen der kosmischen Hintergrund Strahlung 1964 von Penzia und Wilson, verdichteten sich die Indizien für die Big Bang Theory. Allerdings konnten auch die Anhänger der Steady State Theory diese Strahlung in ihr erweitertes Model (QSSC) integrieren, sie hätte aber durch die Streuung an kosmischen Staub polarisiert sein müssen. Das konnte aber 2002 durch Messung mit dem Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) ausgeschlossen werden.
Auch bei BICEP spielen Polarisationsstrukturen in der CMB die entscheidende Rolle. Larry Abbott und Mark Wise zeigten, dass das die inflationäre Phase mit er Erzeugung primordialer Gravitationswellen einhergeht, die dem Plasma Riffel einprägen, aus dem 380000 Jahre später die Hintergrundstrahlung erzeugt wird. Alex Polnarev bewies, dass diese Gravitationswellen B- Mode Polarisationsmuster in der CMB hinterlassen, d.h. wirbelartige Muster im Bereich von Winkelgraden.
Als Postdoc wird Keating von Jaffes et.al. 'Polarization pursuers’ guide' dazu inspiriert, über die Möglichkeiten des Nachweises von B- Modes in der CMB nachzudenken. Er ist davon so eingenommen, dass er seine eigentlichen Themen vernachlässigt. So muss es sich zunächst eine neuen Mentor suchen, er findet ihn in Andrew Lange und wechselt nach Pasadena. Gemeinsam mit Jamie Bock kann er Lange für seine Idee gewinnen, der Mittel organisiert, um BICEP tatsächlich zu bauen. In der Nähe des Südpols führt BICEP von 2005 bis 2008 Beobachtungen durch. Aber erst das verfeinerte Nachfolge Projekt BICEP2, an dem der Autor nicht mehr leitend beteiligt ist, war empfindlich genug, um die gesuchten Polarisationsphänomene tatsächlich identifizieren zu können. Jedenfalls wurde das im Rahmen einer Pressekonferenz im März 2014 verkündet. Das Auswertungsteam hatte sich dabei aber auf Vorabinformationen zur Abschätzung des Einflusses des galaktischen Staubs gestützt. Bereits im September, als erste Daten des Planck Weltraumteleskops veröffentlicht wurden, musste die Ergebnisse revidiert werden.
Der Autor sieht damit seine Chancen auf eine Einladung nach Stockholm schwinden, findet dafür aber einen starken Buchtitel. Darüber mag er nicht weiter räsonieren, bekennt er in der Einleitung, möchte aber das Buch zum Anlass nehmen, um sich darin auch über die Geschichte des von Alfred Nobel gestifteten Preises, seiner Bedeutung für die Gemeinde der Naturwissenschaftler, und über die heutige Vergabepraxis -- insbesondere des Physik Nobelpreises -- zu äußern. Tatsächlich waren bedeutenden neuer Entdeckungen, wie die des Higgs Boson oder der Nachweis von Gravitationswellen, nur im Rahmen von 'Big Science' Experimenten wie ATLAS und CMS am LHC bzw. LIGO möglich, an den riesige Forscherteams beteiligt waren. Ist es da nicht angebracht, den Preis künftig auch an Gruppen zu verleihen, statt ihn nur an maximal drei Laureaten zu verteilen. Ob allerdings Keatings Verstellung, Nobels Vermächtnis 'wieder herstellen' zu müssen, Anklang findet, sei dahingestellt.
Das Buch ist mit acht Farbtafeln, einem ausführlichen Index und einem Anhang mit Anmerkungen zum Text, das auch die Quellenangaben enthält, schön ausgestattet, eine separate Bibliographie fehlt hingegen.




