The Threat and the Glory: Reflections on Science and Scientists

by Peter Medawar

Sir Peter Medawar, as his many admirers know, was not only a great scientist but a great writer. The creative energy that earned him the 1960 Noble Prize for Medecine for his pathbreaking work in immunology also fueled his many and varied writings. Books such as Pluto's Republic , The Limits
of Science , and The Hope of Progress (to name but a few) made the ever-changing world of modern science accessible to non-specialists, and have since become small classics of their kind. As Lewis Thomas writes in his foreword to this posthumous collection, "some of the wisest remarks of the
twentieth century" come from the pen of Peter Medawar.
The Threat and the Glory explores the twin nature of modern science; its ability to inspire both hope and fear in its professional and lay observers. Medawar, of course, says it best when he writes of science's ability to make the seemingly impossible a reality, "scientists may exult in the
glory, but in the middle of the twentieth century the reaction of ordinary people is more often to cower at the threat." This theme runs throughout this collection of writings which cover a characteristically wide range of genetic engineering, evolution, philosophy, creativity, scientific
fraud, the medical community, and attitudes toward death. Ranging in tone from these serious reflections on the nature of science to more lighthearted pieces such as "Son of Stroke"--a guide for long-term hospital patients based on his own experience as the victim of a cerebral hemorrhage-- The
Threat and the Glory entertains as much as it educates. Selected by his close friend David Pyke, these essays--some previously unpublished, many appearing in book form for the first time--show Medawar to have been not only a tireless truth-seeker, but also a merciless debunker of myths. Reading
Medawar, we come to understand and accept the indispensable role of science in our world.
Witty, incisive, and above all compassionate, The Threat and the Glory will delight those who are familiar with Medawar's writing, and will be a special treat for those who are not.

Genres: Science

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Guillermojimenezespneo]

El tiempo tratándose de ciencia es cruel. No siempre logras mantenerte en la zona del confortable verismo. Lo que sabías y lo que pensabas era cierto o verdadero, con los años se torna una opinión más. Medawar no solo ganó el Nobel por sus descubrimientos inmunológicos, sentó las bases que concluyeron en la facilitación de los transplantes y fue un extraordinariamente preciso divulgador científico, no solamente en su propio campo de investigación, sino en la metodología científica en general. Sin embargo, pero... sus opiniones acerca de la inteligencia, cualquier cosa que esta palabreja signifique le hace caer en el resbaladizo pantano de lo incierto, de lo falso pues. La inteligencia como una función cerebral integral es un concepto muy siglo diecinueve. Los neurocientíficos recientes, incluso los psiconeurocientíficos, los psiconeuroendocrinoinmunocientíficos (y puedo seguir alargando la palabreja para incluir a los filósofos, teólogos y economistas cuando menos) no consideran a la inteligencia en general como algo cuantificable. Algunas funciones cognitivas son medibles (dígalo si no los puntajes para el diagnóstico de los trastornos conductuales) pero la inteligencia ampliada o contextual no son cuantificables, sino en el propio proceso cuando son necesarias. Esto que parece dogma es en el terreno científico una aproximación más a la realidad a la espera de lo que venga en cuanto a descubrimientos o experimentos que demuestren que una nueva norma es más precisa que la antigua que sustituye. Así es la ciencia. Fuera del ahora seudoensayo del mejoramiento genético, los demás son bastante amenos, precisos, disfrutables.

[Mike Suter]

This is an uneven collection of assorted essays from the brilliant scientist Peter Medawar, published after his death. While Medawar is an elegant and eloquent writer, this book has the feeling of a record album of mediocre singles released after the death of the artist. Included, for instance, is a review by the author of the 1974 edition of Encyclopaedia Brittanica. There are a few high points, including a discussion of Karl Popper's scientific philosophy, and a lecture series on 'The Future of Man' which, though somewhat dated, makes some interesting observations on social evolution, which due to the power of language bypasses genetics and so ironically can be described as Lamarkian rather than Darwinian. This is not the best place to start with Peter Medawar; his autobiography ('Memoirs of a Thinking Radish') is a more compelling read.