“Science”

“‘Battle of the Big Bang’ brilliantly humanizes such abstract speculations by highlighting the power-plays and publicity struggles of competing scientific teams. ‘Science is a messy business that involves more politics than meets the eye,’ the authors warn. One scientist describes inflation theorists as ‘religious zealots’ who ‘feel offended if someone doubts their idea.’ Some researchers are described as ‘insurgent’; others are ‘much better at marketing’ than their competitors. Another says of a paper that poses a challenge to his view: ‘This is serious. We have to destroy it.’ (‘As we say in Persian,’ Mr. Afshordi remarks, ‘two beggars can sleep on a rug, but two kings can’t fit in a land.’) The upshot is a reminder that science is, after all, a social practice pursued by fallible apes. That it should ever get close to the truth is itself a miracle.” – Steven Poole