The Golem at Large: What You Should Know about Technology

by Harry Collins, Trevor Pinch

In the widely discussed first volume in the Golem series, The Golem: What You Should Know About Science, Harry Colllins 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. 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. Anyone who views technology with a wary eye will love The Golem at Large. Harry Collins is Professor of Sociology at Cardiff University and Director for the Study of Knowledge Expertise and Science at the University of Wales. His other books include the forthcoming The One Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2001) and (with M. Kusch) The Shape of Actions (MIT, 1998). nTrevor Pinch is a founding member of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, where he is now chair. He is co-editor (with Wiebe E. Bijker) of The Social Construction of Technological Systems (MIT, 1989).

Contents

Preface and acknowledgements
Introduction: the technological golem

1. A clean kill?: the role of Patriot in the Gulf War

2. The Naked Launch: Assigning Blame for the Challenger Explosion

3. Crash!: nuclear fuel flasks and antimisting kerosene on trial

4. The world according to Gold: disputes about the origins of oil

5. Tidings of comfort and joy: Seven Wise Men and the science of economics

6. The science of the lambs: Chernobyl and the Cumbrian sheepfarmers

7. ACTing UP: AIDS cures and lay expertise

Conclusion: The Golem goes to work

References and further reading
Index

Genres: Science, History, Nonfiction, Technology, Sociology

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Frederick Widdowson]

Although the events discussed here are a bit dated and I would think it very helpful if they updated this and their previous one about science in general with modern events like the Covid pandemic this is an important work. Like The Golem about how science works this really explains the way scientists think and operate in a very helpful manner including their positive and negative points. Apparently, Dr. Fauci had his bit to play in the AIDS controversies of the 1990s. Anyway, read this book and The Golem if you love science and want to see how it is really done and why it is often right and why it is often wrong.

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Harry Collins' work and have read most of what he's written for a lay audience. This book contains a fascinating analysis of the Challenger shuttle explosion and the famous O-ring controversy.

I disagree with the summary blurb that "those who are wary of technology will enjoy this book." I'm quite a fan of technological progress. I would say instead that "those who enjoy understanding the subtleties and nuances that go into technological decision-making" will find the case-studies fascinating.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept going back and forth between three and four stars for this: there was a lot of interesting information that I did not know about the real-world testability of science/engineering. (Or at least about certain examples -- I'm fully aware that it can be difficult or impossible to design a real-world experiment.) I felt that the individual sections didn't hold together very well, though. In particular, I felt that switching between anecdotes about engineering, science, and economics did not help the coherence of the book.

[Jeta]

A very easy read and very informative for anyone who is interested in understanding the complex relations and interactions between the scientific community, politicians and lay-people. Some of the case studies were difficult to follow (macroeconomics) but other (AIDS activists) were inspiring for anyone who ventures is the field of STS.

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides some excellent case studies which help dispel some simplistic views about how technology can be developed and its impacts assessed. It is particularly illustrative to read some of the chapter from the perspective of Responsible Innovation - a European Union approach to Science, Technology and Society developed roughly after 2006.

Chapter 1 (“A clean kill?: the role of Patriot in the Gulf War”) spells out 21 possible success criteria for the Patriot missile which can be used to highlight stakeholder diversity, the difficulty of interpreting outcomes and, above all, the difficulty of defining measurable success criteria in practice.

A key aspect of technological failures is being able to analyze them and determine their root causes and apportioning responsibility for them. In chapter 2 (“The Naked Launch: Assigning Blame for the Challenger Explosion”), the authors review the Challenger explosion and show how the public perception due, on one hand, to Richard Feynman's graphic demonstration of the effects of cold on rubber, and a compelling but incorrect narrative of bureaucrats ignoring key warnings, are deeply flawed. By going over detailed reviews of the case, the authors come up with a much more nuanced understanding of what happens when complex technology is developed in situations where uncertainty lurks, engineering models and viewpoints clash, and risk analysis is, necessarily, incomplete. It is in fact, quite fascinating and intellectually enriching to read about the tests which were carried out both by NASA and Morton Thokiol on the O-rings to drive down both the uncertainty and the risks associated with their use.

Chapter 3 (“Crash!: nuclear fuel flasks and anti-misting kerosene on trial”) makes key distinctions between demonstrations and experiments, and discusses the difficulty of correctly interpreting results in real life, even when spectacular demonstrations are shown live on television to the public. In one case, a train carrying nuclear waste in specially built canisters was crashed in order to show how the canisters were not breached, in the other a plane running on special fuel was crashed in order to show passengers (dummies) would survive such a crash. The first crash turned out as planned, yet several experts were not convinced of the safety of those canisters, whereas, in the second, the demonstration went awry and the crashed plane caught fire and the dummies were burnt - yet the fuel performed better than expected!

Two chapters are very instructive on the importance of stakeholder involvement and participation. Chapter 6 (“The science of the lambs: Chernobyl and the Cumbrian sheepfarmers”) presents an excellent example of how not to treat stakeholders, and how this mistreatment leads to scientists' and government's loss of credibility. Chapter 7 ("ACTing UP: AIDS cures and lay expertise") show how gay communities came to play a role in reforming the AIDS research agenda:

In effect, a group of lay people had managed to reframe the scientific conduct of clinical research: they changed the way it was conceived and practised.

This success shows us that science is not something that only qualified scientists can do. Lay people can not only gain expertise but also, in some circumstances, they can have that expertise accorded the respect it deserves

This chapter is thus also relevant to readers interested in citizen science.

The authors' main point is that science and technology, are not as clean-cut or definitive as simplists would have us believe they are, and that their inherent "messiness" and incompleteness should be better known, and to attempt to assuage the public by simple but untrue messages meant to be reassuring, actually lead to a dangerous loss of credibility in science, experts and government.

Well worth reading (three and a half stars).

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent follow-up to the author's book on the truth behind science. It is very interesting to review the decisions behind the Challenger disaster, how AIDS activists engaged the scientific community successfully, and other behind the scenes narratives on important events. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in the philosophy of science and how it really works rather than the popular myths about it. Good read.

[Darnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how this got on my list - it doesn't seem popular in any era or subculture - but I'm glad it did. Fun look into the gritty details of multiple issues. These aren't all winners (as far as I can tell the oil chapter has not been vindicated by time), but even in those cases the authors have a reasonable level of reserve, so overall I think this is a good check to easy narratives.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 4 blew off my mind...

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collins and Pinch continue the exploration of expertise began in "The Golem: What You Should Know About Science," with another handful of depictions of the experimenter's regress. Discussions in "The Golem at Large: What You Should Know About Technology" include the controversy surrounding the Patriot missile, the circumstances around the Challenger space-shuttle explosion, and the debate about the biogenic origins of fossil fuels.

An entertaining read. I enjoyed some of this book's subject-matter better than some chapters in the first volume of this series (personal preferences).

I probably will check out their third volume, Dr. Golem, to at least skim. But, it's not necessary to read both of the first two volumes to get their point thus far; so it's hard to imagine that a third book will add much beyond the possibility of a personally interesting story or two.