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Positioned at the crossroads of the physical and biological sciences, chemistry deals with neither the infinitely small, nor the infinitely large, nor directly with life. So it is sometimes thought of as dull, the way things in the middle often are. But this middle ground is precisely where human beings exist. As Hoffmann shows in his inspired prose, the world observed at its molecular level is complex and agitated, as are the emotions of the supposedly dispassionate scientists who explore it. In The Same and Not the Same the vital tensions of chemistry are revealed; with down-to-earth explanations, Hoffmann uncovers the polarities that power, rend, and reform the world of molecules. When we wash an apple before eating it, we are thinking not merely of the dirt that may still be on it but of the pesticides used in agricultural production. When we take medication, we expect relief for our pain but also fear side effects. The Same and Not the Same shows this ambivalence to be only one of a number of dualities pervading the world of molecules. The theme of identity, reflected in the title of the book, is central to the story. Other dualities, from stasis and dynamics, to creation and discovery to the rich complexity of revealing and concealing, are lucidly delineated for nonscientist and scientist alike. The Same and Not the Same also offers a rare and compelling personal statement of the social responsibility of scientists. Unabashedly confronting some of the major ethical controversies in chemistry today, the book strives for balance in facing the pressing ecological and environmental concerns of our time.
Sommario
Part One: Identity--the Central Problem
1. Lives of the Twins
2. What Are You?
3. Whirligigs
4. Fighting Reductionism
5. The Fish, the Worm, and the Molecule
6. Telling Them Apart
7. Isomerism
8. Are There Two Identical Molecules?
9. Handshakes in the Dark
10. Molecular Mimicry
Part Two: The Way It Is Told
11. The Chemical Article
12. And How It Came to Be That Way
13. Beneath the Surface
14. The Semiotics of Chemistry
15. What DOES That Molecule Look Like?
16. Representation and Reality
17. Struggles
18. The Id Will Out
Part Three: Making Molecules
19. Creation and Discovery
20. In Praise of Synthesis
21. Cubane, and the Art of Making It
22. The Aganippe Fountain
23. Natural/Unnatural
24. Out to Lunch
25. Why We Prefer the Natural
26. Janus and Nonlinearity
Part Four: When Something is Wrong
27. Thalidomide
28. The Social Responsibility of Scientists
Part Five: How, Just Exactly, Does it Happen?
29. Mechanism
30. The Salieri Syndrome
31. Static/Dynamic
32. Equilibrium and Perturbing It
Part Six: A Life in Chemistry
33. Fritz Haber
Part Seven: That Certain Magic
34. Catalyst!
35. Three Ways
36. Carboxypeptidase
Part Eight: Value, Harm, and Democracy
37. Tyrian Purple, Woad, and Indigo
38. Chemistry and Industry
39. Athens
40. The Democratizing Nature of Chemistry
41. Environmental Concerns
42. Science and Technology in Classical Democracy
43. Anti-Plato; or, Why Scientists (or Engineers) Shouldn't Run the World
44. A Response to Worries About the Environment
45. Chemistry, Education, and Democracy
Part Nine: The Adventures of a Diatomic
46. C2 In All Its Guises
Part Ten: The Dualities That Enliven
47. Creation Is Hard Work
48. Missing
49. An Attribute of the Devil
50. Chemistry Tense, Full of Life?
51. Cheiron
Info autore
Roald Hoffmann
Riassunto
Nobel laureate Roald Hoffman confronts some of the major ethical controversies in chemistry today. Expertly weaving together examples from the worlds of art, literature, and philosophy, Hoffmann illustrates his uniquely accessible dialectic about the creative activity of chemists.
