Everyday practice of science

Science is sometime perceived to be a purely logical pursuit but in Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic Frederick Grinnell explains how this perception leaves out much of what actually happens in scientific research.

The book starts with a look at the process of scientific discovery, contrasting the way scientific results are written up with the way things actually happened. Grinnell then discusses credibility in science, with an explanation of peer review and the importance of citations, and a look at times when bad science has slipped through the net. This leads on to a chapter on scientific integrity, looking at the possibilities for conflict of interest when scientific discoveries may lead to profitable products, and when one scientist is deciding on the funding for another scientist. The next chapter is on the risks of scientific discoveries, and in particular new medical treatments, and the final chapter looks at the relationship between science and religion.

I felt that Grinnell's style seemed a bit distant for a book which is supposed to spill the beans about what really happens in science. The examples were of the form of case studies rather than biographies, and were mostly from several decades ago - there is no mention of the internet, a critical part of communicating science with the public. The book is OK as a general overview of the way science is done, but doesn't give the insider view of the struggles and successes of scientists, which it what it seems to promise.