Thursday, August 13, 2020

The network collective rise and fall of a scientific paradigm: from theory to absurdity

This is a very interesting book overall. It is written by Klaus Eichmann, a German Immunologist who spent half of his scientific career working on experiments addressing Network Theory proposed by Niels Jerne in the 1970s.

Network theory dominated immunology for 15 years. Hundreds of immunologists were working on it. But by the early 1990s, it disappeared from publications as if it never existed.

What drove the author to write this book was his desire to understand why so many scientists, including himself, suddenly decided to work on a new model, generated tons of data in support of it, and then again suddenly abandoned it.

He divides this book into 3 parts. The first part is focused on the analysis of how science is done. The second part is about Network theory itself, its development, its rise and fall, and the third part is his conversations with fellow scientists of his generation who has done some work on Network theory.

The main point is that Network theory was a mere concept that never developed into a coherent model that could explain mechanistically the immune system and still a big part of immunology society was directly or indirectly involved in perpetuating its validity for 15 years. How was it possible for so many scientists to produce so much data in support of a model that no one could work out from A to Z even at the theoretical level? What was it? Scientific fraud? Poor experimentation? Conformism among scientists? lack of necessary reagents as many scientists appear to suggest?

posted by David Usharauli

  

Sunday, May 19, 2019

C.J. Sansom's "Lamentation" - A Shardlake novel - A review

This is another great novel from Shardlake series set in the 16th century England ruled by Henry VIII.

It is the year 1546 and old King Henry is getting a bit paranoid. Reformation has stalled and conservative faction dominates the court decisions. Fear is palpable everywhere. People are afraid to express their religious views because no one is certain what King's views are in any given day.

It is in such an atmosphere of censorship that Shardlake, a respected lawyer, is summoned to investigate the disappearance of the book secretly authored by Henry's latest Queen, Katherine. The book contains lots of Queens' private thoughts and its existence could jeopardize her situation and could bring downfall to her and her extended family.

Shardlake has to find a book to save her, again. It is a very good novel that perfectly describes how people were coping in living in a surveillance state that tried to control its inhabitants' religious beliefs.

posted by David
               

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Iain Pears' "The Dream of Scipio"- a review

This is a novel about how an individuals actions determine the course of history. It is set in the same geographical place but in three different historical periods, 5th century (fall of the western Roman empire), 14th century (black death) and 20th century (Nazi-occupied France) and tells the three separate but interconnected stories. 

These time periods are chosen deliberately to illustrate upheavals that people were facing at that time and how they deal with it. More precisely, it is a novel about 1500 years of anti-semitism in Western Europe and how some unscrupulous people exploited it for their own advantage. How to overcome hatred? It is not cool heads or intellectuals or wise people but love. If anything saves the world it is through love, love of nature, love of neighbors, love of women or man, love of everything.   

posted by David
   

Sunday, March 17, 2019

What actually happened in Munich in 1938?

This is a great novel. Its 1938 and everyone in Europe is scared that another war is coming. How to stop it?

It looks like no one in Europe wants or are ready for war except Nazis. WWI was such a shock to people in West Europe that they are willing to go to great length to "appease' Nazis as much as they can rather than to take a risk for another WW. 

But was it really an appeasement what transpired in Munich in 1938? Harris tries to show in vivid details that it is not what actually happened. It is true that Munich did not solve the problem of Nazi expansion in Europe but it gave 1 extra year that was essential to prepare the countries to fight Nazi in WWII. It is possible that 1 year saved humankind and led to defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII.

posted by David