We expect that science will uncover truths about nature, and that scientists will be well trained in observing, recording, and analyzing data with objectivity. Anyone who regards scientific progress over the centuries, and especially in the past century, will find that such expectations are generally met. And yet scientists are human, with all the weaknesses humans are prone to. _The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-Deception, and Human Frailty_ (Oxford University Press) by Walter Gratzer demonstrates instances where scientists can be susceptible to wishful thinking, patriotic coercion, and self deception. Interestingly, the book does not dwell on cases of fraud; the scientists in the episodes described generally aren't trying to fool anyone, but manage to do so only after fooling themselves.
The guiding spirit of this book is Irving Langmuir, a scientist who won a Nobel for his work on surfaces, but who brashly (and offensively to some) pushed his way into the research areas of other scientists. When he wasn't in the lab, he liked to pursue what he called "pathological science." He never wrote about this hobby, and only a transcript of a lecture he gave in 1953 remains, but Langmuir's Rules for spotting pathological science show up all over this book. The rules specify, among other things, that in pathological science, experimental results are very close to the limit of detectability (hardly noticeable, or noticeable at a very low statistical significance); there are claims of great accuracy; explanations are fantastic and contrary to experience; and any criticism of the "science" is met with excuses thought up on the spur of the moment.
What has happened to these scientists? Gratzer explains: "The germ of a pathological episode is usually an innocent mistake or an experimental mirage; the perpetrator is persuaded that he has made a great discovery, which will bring him fame and advancement in his profession. Once committed it is difficult to go back and to allow the principles of caution and skepticism that training and experience normally inculcate to overcome the excitement and euphoria of a brilliant success." Among the stories Gratzer covers are N-Rays, polywater, Lysenkoism, the foolish Nazi science of superstition, cold fusion, and more. These stories have all been told before, but it is useful to have them collected here. Gratzer writes for _Nature_ and has a clear style even when the physics gets a little intimidating. The lessons from the collected events should increase our admiration for how well science usually works, but should also remind us that there will always be fringe scientists. It is impossible to tell when the next cold fusion embarrassment will occur, but I hope we will be able to count on mainstream science to counter claims that HIV does not cause AIDS, that the world is less than 10,000 years old, or that people are being regularly abducted by aliens.
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Thomas De Vries
It's Always Possible to Fool Oneself
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 24, 2012
