All That Matters

Why is it that we do science? The answer most scientists may provide to this question is that their curiosity that drove them towards a career in science. The urge to learn and to discover. For most, this curiosity and passion for science is so strong that they take into account long hours and salaries that are lower than those in other professions. But such passion does of course not mean that there cannot be a quantitative study of the way science works, and of those doing science. Indeed, this is what Paula Stephan from Georgia State University undertakes in her book, How Economics Shapes Science. We can understand a lot by applying economic theory to understand the way we do science. This is not only important to reach a better way of doing science, but it might also lead to a better appreciation of the benefits that come from doing science. How well public funds are spent, and how important science is for all of us. The returns on investment, to use an economic term.

One of the first question the book addresses is of course to understand why are people doing research? What drives them in addition to the obvious curiosity? What’s the economic currency that makes a career in science lucrative? Money of course, let’s face it, is one reason. Some scientists really do get rich from all the startups and patent revenues  – and Stephan provides good examples. But of course, that’s just one aspect. A stronger driver perhaps are fame and recognition. Making an important discovery can create a historic legacy that is unrivalled in comparison to other professions. We know the names of famous scientists even after centuries but not nearly as well those of successful business men.

The points that Stephan make here are all interesting and plausible. Indeed, my impression is that economics already knows a lot about the people doing science. The salaries of scientists, the economic costs of doing a PhD (basically, in most cases you lose out financially). International migration patterns. The increasing number of people studying science, and consequently the fact that fewer and fewer of the scientists we train have a long-term perspective in academia. Academia no longer educates mainly for itself, but for others. There is a lot of data on that and the people working in science, and this book gives a great summary. […]

Neuroscience is certainly not among the usual topics for this blog, but I just read Jonah Lehrer‘s book How We Decide, and want to briefly highlight it here. Although do take my comments with caution, I am no expert in this field, so this should not be seen as a qualified review.

In How We Decide Lehrer writes about the neuroscience of decision making. Whether it is an airline pilot averting disaster, a quarterback throwing passes at the Super Bowl, or simply any of us buying strawberry jam or a new sofa – our brain takes decisions all the time. Commonly we tend to think that the best decisions are the rational ones. Look at all available options, ponder over the pros and cons and then take a decision. Well, not only would this be a painstaking process (the book describes such a case), it furthermore isn’t even a good thing to shut out emotions entirely. Psychopaths that lack any emotional response can do terrible things. And as tests with people tasting strawberry jams have shown, the more rational people are trying to be about it, the worse their choice gets because then they’re trying to include factors other than taste. On the other hand, yielding solely to your emotions can lead to pretty bad choices, too. Coming back home from shopping might be one of those moments to realize the penalty of taking too emotional decisions…

What fascinated me about Lehrer’s book is that it is very good at explaining the underlying science of decision making, how the prefrontal cortex balances emotional and rational thoughts. It illustrates horrible cases where this decision-making capability has gone wrong, but also describes cases of heroic and successful decisions, by fire fighters, airline pilots, poker players and so on. It was interesting to me to read how powerful and often correct underlying emotional feelings are, and consequently how important it is to consider these in the decision-making process. And then there are the moral implications of decisions, and the inconsistency at which we often digest information. How easy it is for us to dismiss objective conflicts with existing beliefs, ignoring obvious facts. Politics is an area where this is widespread. And I suppose that’s why the first impression is so important when meeting someone new, as it shapes our emotional response.

Either way, understanding the scientific aspect of decision making is certainly a much more informative read than most literature on this topic. So if you haven’t heard about the book yet, take a look. The book has been published back in 2009 already – yes, I am that far behind in my reading – but Lehrer has soon another book coming out, Imagine, which is on the way creativity works. In my view, after reading How We Decide the decision-making process of whether to give this latest book of his a try should be an easy one…

Reference:
(Note: in the UK the book is called The Decisive Moment, and that’s the ebook version that I read)

Lehrer, Jonah. How We Decide. Houghton Mifflin Co, 2009. 302 pages. ISBN: 9780618620111

Henry Petroski is an engineer who has written extensively about his profession. So it is no surprise that over the past decades he has amassed a broad range of facts on engineering, some of which while certainly interesting may not fit into the usual books. For example, did you know that hard hats were first worn during the construction of the Hoover Dam? Or that for the construction of the latter about 2.5 million cubic metres of concrete were used?

Well, as with so many other facts, Wikipedia would also give you the answer to these questions. But that’s not the point. What Petroski has now done is to collect and curate interesting facts related engineering, and published them in alphabetical order as “An Engineer’s Alphabet“.

There are plenty of gems to discover in the book. Many of them I would never have thought to even look up on the internet without being prompted, and in that respect the book is inspiring. I certainly enjoyed browsing through the text. Written by an American professor, it is more American Dream than Steampunk in character, although to be fair Isambard Brunel does appear in eight different entries. Herbert Hoover thirteen times. Robert Noyce only once, in passing.

The best way to go about reading this book is simply do flip through it and to read here and there. Or, to use the indispensable index at the end. Indeed, if £18.99 or $21.99 should be a bit too much of an expense it might make sense to consider the various ebook options, with the highly useful possibility of searching the book. On the Kindle or the Nook prices are about half of the hardcover ones. It doesn’t seem to be available on iBooks. Either way, if you love engineering and are interested in broadening in particular your historic knowledge of the profession, this book might be for you.

Reference:

Petroski, Henry. An Engineer’s Alphabet. Cambridge University Press, 2011. 268 pages. ISBN: 9781107015067. $21.99 / £18.99