The Golem at Large

What You Should Know about Technology

Harry Collins author Trevor Pinch author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:15th May '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Golem at Large cover

The authors demonstrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science described in the first volume.

In this follow up to their earlier book, The Golem: What You Should Know about Science, the authors now consider the Golem of technology. Using the same successful format, in a series of case studies they demonstrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science.In the very successful and widely discussed first volume in the Golem series, The Golem: What You Should Know about Science, Harry Collins 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 described in the first volume. 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.

'Of the many impressive texts that use case studies to convey 'what you should know about technology', The Golem at Large is the clearest and simplest.' Barry Barnes, Nature
'… riveting.' Robert Gaitskell, Times Higher Educational Supplement

ISBN: 9781107688285

Dimensions: 215mm x 137mm x 12mm

Weight: 330g

256 pages