The Golem at Large: What You Should Know About Technology |  | Authors: Harry Collins, Trevor Pinch
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
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Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 425132
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5
ISBN: 0521012708
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780521012706
ASIN: 0521012708
Publication Date: May 15, 2002
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Product Description
In the widely discussed first volume in the Golem series, The Golem: What You Should Know About Science, Harry Colllins and Trevor Pinch likened science to the Golem, a creature from Jewish mythology, a powerful creature which, while not evil, can be dangerous because it is clumsy. In this second volume, the authors now consider the Golem of technology. In a series of case studies they demonstrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science. The case studies cover the role of the Patriot anti-missile missile in the Gulf War, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, tests of nuclear fuel flasks and of anti-misting kerosene as a fuel for airplanes, economic modeling, the question of the origins of oil, analysis of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the contribution of lay expertise to the analysis of treatments for AIDS. Anyone who views technology with a wary eye will love The Golem at Large. Harry Collins is Professor of Sociology at Cardiff University and Director for the Study of Knowledge Expertise and Science at the University of Wales. His other books include the forthcoming The One Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2001) and (with M. Kusch) The Shape of Actions (MIT, 1998). nTrevor Pinch is a founding member of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, where he is now chair. He is co-editor (with Wiebe E. Bijker) of The Social Construction of Technological Systems (MIT, 1989).
Book Description
In this second volume in the Golem series, the authors consider the Golem of technology. In a series of case studies they demonstrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science described in the first volume. Studies include the role of the Patriot anti-missile missile in the Gulf War, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, tests of nuclear fuel flasks and of anti-misting kerosene as airplane fuel, analysis of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the contribution of lay expertise to the analysis of treatments for AIDS.
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| Customer Reviews:
Science isn't always a Super Hero October 1, 2000
Michele Carpenter (Check, VA United States)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
For some, science is a super hero. It helps to save lives with developments like incubators, surgeries, and medicines. Science brings tools like computers, cordless phones, and DVDs into existence. Others, however, view science as a monster that brings with it pollution, greed, and destruction. Science, as explained in this book, is a very human activity with the full range of problems and possibilities of which man himself is capable. Explained within this book, is the findings of science and exactly how science goes about making progress. This is a very interesting and insightful read. I highly recommend it to pracitioners of science and to students who are studying any type of science. I also recommend it to the layman who wishes to know more about how science really works.
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