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Review: Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology edited by Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich
Review
Bookends
The Islamic world’s greatest scientist in a millennium was thrown into exile. This biography reminds Jim al-Khalili of how much catching up Islamic countries have to do Cosmic Anger: The first Muslim Nobel scientist by Gordon Fraser, Oxford University Press £25/$49.95, ISBN 9780199208463
UNTIL I read Gordon Fraser’s excellent Cosmic Anger I knew just two things about the Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam: he won the Nobel prize for physics in 1979 for his part in developing the electroweak theory which unifies two of the four forces of nature, and he founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, to support researchers from developing countries. Actually, let me add a third fact that I was vaguely aware of but which crystallised after reading this biography: Salam stands as the greatest physicist of the Islamic world for 1000 years. Not since the 11th-century polymath Ibn alHaytham has there been a more influential figure in the field. Born in the Punjab in 1926, Abdus Salam – a western corruption of a single first name – showed early signs of talent. At school he quickly solved a problem posed by the Indian maths genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, using an approach far more elegant than that of the great man himself. Salam was a devout Muslim, but his life was hampered by his adherence to a controversial and relatively obscure sect called the Ahmadis, so much so that his religious convictions led him to be excommunicated from Pakistan in the 1970s. Despite this, he remained loyal to his country and worked tirelessly
■
Abdus Salam’s genius transcended all boundaries – bar in his home country www.newscientist.com
to promote science in the Islamic world. He also spent much of his life lobbying world leaders and the United Nations for funding to help science in developing countries. Not since Einstein has any one scientist been so influential on the world stage. But without the support of his own country, Salam’s dream of a scientific renaissance in the Islamic world was doomed to failure. It is to Pakistan’s eternal shame that its greatest scientist was not acknowledged because of a narrow-minded intolerance towards his brand of religion. I believe that until Salam is given the respect he deserves there can be no true Islamic renaissance in science. The early “Golden Age” of Islam, from the 8th to the 11th century, was notable not only for the many great scientific advances that were made, but for its acceptance of scholars from all races and religions. The reasons for the subsequent slow decline of science
Breaking the mould Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology edited by Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Yale University Press, $40/£25, ISBN 9780300116397 Reviewed by Gail Vines
HEROIC stories of scientific iconoclasts form the bedrock of our culture – think Galileo and Darwin – but what was it about these individuals that made them do it? This intriguing collection of essays explores the life stories of 19 of biology’s recent rebels, including Alfred Russel Wallace and Barbara McClintock. While every rebel has their own idiosyncratic history, it appears that successful rebellions generally conform to the rules of the game: it’s best to have high status and a secure post before you start to act up.
“Salam’s theory is one of the most beautiful ideas in physics” commentary. And while some of the details of Salam’s physics may be incomprehensible to those without a background in the subject, the politics of the Indian subcontinent, and the status of science in Islam, both past and present, make this an important and enlightening read. ●
Engaging Einstein Relativity: A very short introduction by Russell Stannard, Oxford University Press, £7.99/$11.95, ISBN 9780199236220 Reviewed by Andrew Robinson
Jim al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey, UK
HULTON/GETTY
WITHOUT HONOUR IN HIS OWN LAND
in the Islamic world between the 11th and 15th centuries are complex and varied, but the fact remains that Islamic countries today have a lot of catching up to do. Salam’s main devotion in life, however, was not to religion but to physics. His genius left its mark wherever he went: Cambridge, Princeton, Imperial College London and finally Trieste. The post-war decades saw tremendous advances in our understanding of the subatomic world. Together with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow, Salam created a theory that brought together the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces, one of the most beautiful and powerful ideas in physics. More than a biography of a great scientist, this book provides a wider political and historical
EVER since Albert Einstein struggled to present relativity in layman’s terms in 1916, physicists have sought ways to make its counterintuitions accessible. Stannard starts refreshingly with eight everyday notions of space, time and matter contradicted by relativity, such as “time passes equally quickly for everyone”. Part 1 covers special relativity, part 2 the general theory, including black holes. Few surprises here bar the detailed discussion of the twin paradox, but the explanations are clear and engaging, aided by crucial diagrams.
5 July 2008 | NewScientist | 49
Bookends
The Islamic world’s greatest scientist in a millennium was thrown into exile. This biography reminds Jim al-Khalili of how much catching up Islamic countries have to do Cosmic Anger: The first Muslim Nobel scientist by Gordon Fraser, Oxford University Press £25/$49.95, ISBN 9780199208463
UNTIL I read Gordon Fraser’s excellent Cosmic Anger I knew just two things about the Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam: he won the Nobel prize for physics in 1979 for his part in developing the electroweak theory which unifies two of the four forces of nature, and he founded the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, to support researchers from developing countries. Actually, let me add a third fact that I was vaguely aware of but which crystallised after reading this biography: Salam stands as the greatest physicist of the Islamic world for 1000 years. Not since the 11th-century polymath Ibn alHaytham has there been a more influential figure in the field. Born in the Punjab in 1926, Abdus Salam – a western corruption of a single first name – showed early signs of talent. At school he quickly solved a problem posed by the Indian maths genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, using an approach far more elegant than that of the great man himself. Salam was a devout Muslim, but his life was hampered by his adherence to a controversial and relatively obscure sect called the Ahmadis, so much so that his religious convictions led him to be excommunicated from Pakistan in the 1970s. Despite this, he remained loyal to his country and worked tirelessly
■
Abdus Salam’s genius transcended all boundaries – bar in his home country www.newscientist.com
to promote science in the Islamic world. He also spent much of his life lobbying world leaders and the United Nations for funding to help science in developing countries. Not since Einstein has any one scientist been so influential on the world stage. But without the support of his own country, Salam’s dream of a scientific renaissance in the Islamic world was doomed to failure. It is to Pakistan’s eternal shame that its greatest scientist was not acknowledged because of a narrow-minded intolerance towards his brand of religion. I believe that until Salam is given the respect he deserves there can be no true Islamic renaissance in science. The early “Golden Age” of Islam, from the 8th to the 11th century, was notable not only for the many great scientific advances that were made, but for its acceptance of scholars from all races and religions. The reasons for the subsequent slow decline of science
Breaking the mould Rebels, Mavericks, and Heretics in Biology edited by Oren Harman and Michael R. Dietrich, Yale University Press, $40/£25, ISBN 9780300116397 Reviewed by Gail Vines
HEROIC stories of scientific iconoclasts form the bedrock of our culture – think Galileo and Darwin – but what was it about these individuals that made them do it? This intriguing collection of essays explores the life stories of 19 of biology’s recent rebels, including Alfred Russel Wallace and Barbara McClintock. While every rebel has their own idiosyncratic history, it appears that successful rebellions generally conform to the rules of the game: it’s best to have high status and a secure post before you start to act up.
“Salam’s theory is one of the most beautiful ideas in physics” commentary. And while some of the details of Salam’s physics may be incomprehensible to those without a background in the subject, the politics of the Indian subcontinent, and the status of science in Islam, both past and present, make this an important and enlightening read. ●
Engaging Einstein Relativity: A very short introduction by Russell Stannard, Oxford University Press, £7.99/$11.95, ISBN 9780199236220 Reviewed by Andrew Robinson
Jim al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey, UK
HULTON/GETTY
WITHOUT HONOUR IN HIS OWN LAND
in the Islamic world between the 11th and 15th centuries are complex and varied, but the fact remains that Islamic countries today have a lot of catching up to do. Salam’s main devotion in life, however, was not to religion but to physics. His genius left its mark wherever he went: Cambridge, Princeton, Imperial College London and finally Trieste. The post-war decades saw tremendous advances in our understanding of the subatomic world. Together with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow, Salam created a theory that brought together the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces, one of the most beautiful and powerful ideas in physics. More than a biography of a great scientist, this book provides a wider political and historical
EVER since Albert Einstein struggled to present relativity in layman’s terms in 1916, physicists have sought ways to make its counterintuitions accessible. Stannard starts refreshingly with eight everyday notions of space, time and matter contradicted by relativity, such as “time passes equally quickly for everyone”. Part 1 covers special relativity, part 2 the general theory, including black holes. Few surprises here bar the detailed discussion of the twin paradox, but the explanations are clear and engaging, aided by crucial diagrams.
5 July 2008 | NewScientist | 49