Brilliant Blunders From Darwin to Einstein by Mario Livio - Book review

Brilliant Blunders

From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe

By: Mario Livio

Published: May 14, 2013
Format: Hardcover: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1439192367
ISBN-13: 978-1439192368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster












"The purpose of this book is to present in detail some of the surprising blunders of a few genuinely towering scientists, and to follow the unexpected consequences of those blunders, Writes internationally known astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Mario Livio, in his fascinating and insightful book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe. The author describes some of the most famous missteps of some of history's most influential scientists, examines the possible causes of those blunders, and considers the relationships between those intriguing mistakes and the workings of the human mind.

Mario Livio understands that the blunders, on the part of the world's most famous scientists, were part of the process of discovery and innovation despite the unlikely process. The author presents examples of blunders made by Charles Darwin, Lord Kelvin, Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein. Mario Livio examines the theories proposed by these monumental thinkers, and considers the weaknesses and even failures of their theories. To further evaluate these blunders, the author looks at the psychological and even neuroscience based causes for these colossal mistakes. Mario Livio points out that each of the blunders is different from the others, and resulted from each of the scientists blind spots, personal weaknesses, or personality characteristics.



Mario Livio (photo left) reminds us that the blunders were both inevitable, and formed a critical part of the advancement of science and understanding of the world and the universe. The author recognizes that science is not a linear progression, but is more of a labyrinth with twists, turns, dead ends, and unexpected breakthroughs. Some of those monumental breakthrouhs were the result of blunders made by even the greatest of scientists.

Mario Livio provides the theories and discoveries, for which the renowned scientists are best known, and then adds an analysis of one blunder for each individual. Through this approach, the author is able to provide context for the mistake, as well as demonstrate why the actions taken by the scientist was in keeping with their character and worldview. The author considers the following questions and ideas:

* Mistakes and blunders
* Yea, all which I inherit, shall dissolve
* How old is the Earth?
* Certainty generally is an illusion
* Interpreter of life
* Whose DNA is it anyway?
* B for Big Bang
* The same throughout eternity
* The "biggest blunder"
* Out of empty space

For me, the power of the book is how Mario Livio combines a very accessible and entertaining history of science, with in depth analysis of how and why the world famous scientists made their major blunders. The author not only shares details of the blunders themselves, but places them in their historical context. He also examines the psychological, and even neuroscience related causes that predisposed these larger than life personalities to make the blunders in the first place.

Mario Livio presents the important insight that stupendous blunders are a crucial part of the overall scientific discovery process. The road to new scientific knowledge is not a straight line and a neat and tidy pathway. Instead, the events leading to historic breakthroughs are often accidental, unintentional, and even the result of a major misstep on the part of the scientist. In the book, Mario Livio makes clear that without an acceptance of blunders and serendipity, and an understanding of the very human tendencies and biases of the scientists in question, advancement may not be as likely to take place.

I highly recommend the informative and thought provoking book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe by Mario Livio, to any historians of science, active scientists, students and faculty at universities, and to anyone interested in how even the greatest of scientific minds can make huge blunders. This book will open your eyes and your mind to the importance of the process in both the scientific method, and to the furthering of human knowledge of life, the world, and the universe.