Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes

by Walter Gratzer

The march of science has been marked through the years by episodes of drama and comedy, of failure as well as triumph, by outrageous strokes of luck, deserved and undeserved, and sometimes by human tragedy. From the death of Archimedes at the hands of an irritated Roman soldier to the concoction of a superconducting witches' brew at the close of the twentieth century, the stories in Eurekas and Euphorias pour out, told with wit and relish by Walter Gratzer.
Open this book at random and you may chance on the clumsy chemist named Sapper who broke a thermometer in a reaction vat and made the discovery that launched the modern dyestuff industry. Or the physicist who dissolved his gold Nobel Prize medal in acid to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis. We meet mathematicians and physicists in prison cells, and even in a madhouse, making important advances in their field. And we witness the careers, sometimes tragic, sometimes carefree, of the great women scientists, from Hypatia of Alexandria, to Sophie Germain and Sonia Kovalevskaya, to Marie Curie and her relentless battle with the French Academy. A glorious parade unfolds to delight the reader, with stories to astonish, to instruct, and most especially, to entertain.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History Of Science, Humor, History

357 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2002

Reviews

[Emily Lakdawalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book consists of 100-odd stories about different personalities in science, predominantly from the 19th and first half of the 20th century but also including some stories from before and after. Most are hilarious (or at least strange), especially if you have ever spent any time in academia. They vary in length from a few paragraphs to a few pages, so it's excellent bedtime or bathroom reading.

[Celeste Thayer]

This is an interesting book, overall, but some considerable portion of its worth may be in the footnotes to each of the anecdotes - where Gratzer footnotes his source. Any interesting story can then be followed to another book to read.

[Elizabeth Poulos]

A very interesting overview of the expanse of anecdotes both animating and anodyne, though thankfully mostly the former, that span the history of scientific endeavour. There are some issues and biases to note, but really just the expected ones. Most of the histories consist of Western, heterosexual, individual or couples of men; this follows a general understanding of science in the Western zeitgeist, that accomplishments are made by singular male geniuses. That’s not to say that there are no aberrations from that framework; I was delighted to learn the names of Leise Meitner and Sofya Kovalevskaya and their contributions to intellectual fields. As well, I don’t want to underplay the entertainment and interest of those White Individual Males, as some of them are excellent. My favourite was the story of William Buckland and the heart of the French monarch.

That favourite does bring up another issue, and that is a common one with anecdotes, and that is the difficulty to ascertain veracity. Most of these stories are at least a few decades old, most aren’t from the last half century, and so different versions have abounded since their happening, if they happened at all and weren’t just rumours. The Buckland retelling itself has a weird issue in that it mentions the wrong monarch, at least according to the searches I made after. Basically, if ou think an anecdote is particularly interesting and worth repeating, I’d recommend looking around online to see what the consensus is about the reality of the story before you tell your version.

Regardless, very interesting and worth flipping through. Thanks Poppa.

[John O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covered a lot of the same ground as the Faber Book of Science

[Juan Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido y con numerosas anecdotas.

[Juan Mesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realmente todos los pasajes son interesantes, casi no paro de reir ante el relato de la medicion de la altura del edificio de Niels Bohr

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eurekas y Euforias, como su propio subtítulo indica, es una recopilación de anécdotas sobre los principales descubrimientos científicos y los científicos que los consiguienron. El autor del libro es químico, pero a pesar de ello ha conseguido recopilar anécdotas de todas las ramas de la ciencia (quizás se echan en falta algunas sobre Geología). El libro está muy bien escrito y traducido y las anécdotas muy bien seleccionadas. Un gustazo. Algunas de las anécdotas interesantes que narra este libro son:

- Los descubridores de la insulina casi se matan entre ellos a golpes al día que la descubrieron. Como eran cuatro y el premio Nobel se les otorgó sólo a dos de ellos, se hicieron enemigos de por vida.

- Einstein era un tipo bondadoso: un alumno le hizo esperar una hora (por culpa del tráfico) cuando habían quedado en la calle, y Einstein le dijo, cuando al fin llegó pidiendo disculpas de rodillas, que no se preocupara, que afortunadamente tenía una profesión que podía practicar en cualquier lado. Le bastaba con un poco de silencio y se ponía a elucubrar. A veces necesitaba un papel y un lápiz, pero nunca más.

- Un “matemático aficionado” (contradicción en términos) de Indiana consiguió llevar hasta el Congreso una propuesta de Ley para que la constante π adoptara el valor de 3’2, basándiose en “una demostración de la cuadratura del círculo que había conseguido. Supongo que nuestros lectores saben que es imposible cuadrar el círculo. Dedicaré una entrada a este tema. Sólo la presencia de un matemático en el Congreso, que estaba allí visitando a un amigo congresista, consiguió hacer entrar en razón a los diputados.

Y así hasta 181 anécdotas. Está muy bien el libro. Calificación: Muy interesante.

[Juan Cruz Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy interesante y amplia serie de anécdotas sobre científicos. Particularmente es una buena herramienta para docentes de Ciencias, Epistemología y hasta Periodismo de cualquier nivel educativo. Personalmente no me agrada mucho que se presente a los científicos como personas extravagantes, díficiles e incluso algo sociópatas. Perjudica el despertar de vocaciones científicas. Pero el libro es muy entretenido y dinámico.

Very interesting and extensive series of anecdotes about scientists. In particular is a good tool for teachers of Sciences, Epistemology, and even Journalism of any educational level. Personally, I don't really like it when scientists are presented as quirky, difficult, and even like a little sociopathic people. It harms the awakening of scientific vocations. But the book is very entertaining and dynamic.

[Pawan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all about persistent, unwavering hard-work resonated by luck, isn't it? Ofcourse all of it is augmented or subdued by circumstances.