PHAËTON

NEWSLETTER OF THE LONDON HISTORY OF SCIENCE SOCIETY

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 www.historyofscience.co.uk

The use of Nazi research – an ethical dilemma

Plus:
Science policy: technocracy or democracy?
Astronomy and 18th-century navigation
Event and book reviews
Calendar of forthcoming events
Inside cover
Contents
Editorial 5

Minutes of theinaugural meeting of theSociety 6

Photos 8

Recent society events 10

Immoral science: Nazi medical research 12

Calendar of forthcoming events 18

Technocracy or democracy: science policy 20

Clocks, chartsand almanacs 24

Book review: ‘The PeriodicTable’ 28

Albert Einstein
3
Photographed by Oren J. Turner (1947)
London History of Science Society
Committee

Julia Flint Nick Seeber

President Chairman &
Editor of Phaëton

Hen Crichton
Treasurer

Sam Kuper
Secretary

Rob Melville
Event manager

Michael Nevard
Webmaster

Kat Steger
Campaign director

4
Editorial
Welcome to the second issue of Phaëton – I hope that you will find
it absorbing, interesting and entertaining.

During the last few months the London History of Science Society
has been very active: we have grown in members, and organised
a number of events. Phaëton, however, has suffered due to my
busy schedule: more time has passed than I anticipated since the
first issue was published. I hope that the quality of writing we
feature in this issue will be adequate recompense for the wait.

The cover story, Michael Nevard’s exploration of the ethical

problems with using data from Nazi medical research, is a
compelling and thought-provoking article which I am sure will stir
up passionate debate and differing opinions.
Julia Flint investigates how decision-making for national science
policy can be truly democratic, given the general lack in public
scientific knowledge and understanding on which I commented in
the last issue.

My own article is on maritime navigation in the 18th century – a

topic which has been covered in popular science writing before
before, but which I hope you will find bears examination
nonetheless.

In this issue we also introduce book reviews, inaugurated by

Joseph Nevard on Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table.

We also feature reviews of the events the society has organised

and attended in the last few months, photos from the launch party,
and details of forthcoming events in London over the summer.

Finally, I’m delighted to bring to your attention the new and

improved website, where you will find not only digital versions of
Phaëton, but also a calendar of forthcoming events, a discussion
forum and the latest Society news.

Looking forward to a fascinating summer,

Nick Seeber
London, 15 May 2007
phaeton@historyofscience.co.uk
5
 Minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting of
the London History of Science Society

H e l d o n 1 7 t h N o v e mb e r 2 0 0 6 a t 9 . 3 0 p m
T h e P i n t P o t , 1 8 3 To t t e n h am C o ur t R o ad , L o n d o n , W 1 T 7 P D

Present: J u l i a F l i n t – P r e s id e n t
N i c k S e e b e r – C h a ir m a n
H e n r i e t t a C r ic h t o n
S a m K up e r
Rob Melville
Michael Nevard
Kat Steger
Late: (none)
A p o l o gi e s : (none)

Secretary’s note:
T h e m i n u t e s a r e n ot p r e s e n t e d h e r e i n c h r o n o l o g i c a l o r d e r . D u r i n g
t h e m e e t i n g , t h e r e w e r e s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s w h e n a n um b e r o f
separate discussions were being held simultaneously. For clarity, I
h a v e d e c i d e d t o s e t t h e p r e c e d e n t o f tr a n s c r i b i n g b y s u bje c t f r o m
t h e h a n d - w r i t t e n mi n u t e s . T h e r e s u l t i n g t r a n s c r i p t i o n t h e n o r d e r s
t h e s ub j e c ts i n t h e m o s t r e a da b l e f a s h io n . I b e l i e v e t h a t th i s p r o c e s s
p r e s e r v e s a l l n ec e s s a r y s e m a nt i c a c c u r a c y . Ea c h m e e t i n g ’ s m i n u t es
are to be agreed at the start of the following meeting.
Special business
T h e P r e s id e n t a n d C h a i r m a n w e l c o m e d al l p r e s e n t t o t h e
inaugural meeting of the London History of Science Society. Each
p e r s o n p r e s e n t w a s p r e s e n t e d w it h a c o p y o f Ph a ë t o n ( v o l . 1 ,
i s s u e 1 ) a u t o gr a p h e d b y t h e P r e s i d e n t an d C h a i r m a n .
T h e P r e s id e n t a n d C h a i r m a n a g r e e d t h a t o t h er t h a n t h e m s e lv e s ,
t h o s e p r e s e n t w e r e p e n d i n g m e mb e r s o f t h e S o c i e t y , p o s s e s s i n g
e q u a l r i g h t s t o m e mb e r s .
A. Approval of agenda
A v o t e w a s n o t c a l l e d , b ut n o - o n e o b j e c t e d t o t h e a g e n d a .
B. Approval of previous minutes
T h i s b e i n g t h e i n a u gu r a l m e e t i n g , t h e a p p r o v a l o f p r e v i o us
m i n u t e s w a s no t o n t h e a g e n d a .
C. Open issues
T h i s b e i n g t h e i n a u gu r a l m e e t i n g , t h e r e w e r e n o o p e n i s s u e s .
D. New business
D . 1 . E l e c t i o ns o f O f fi c e r s
T h e P r e s id e n t p r o p o s e d t h a t H e n r i e t t a Cr i c h t o n s h o u l d b e t h e
S o c i e t y ’ s Tr e a s u r er . T h e C h a ir m a n s e c o n d e d t h e p r o p o s a l . A n

6
 o p e n v o t e w a s h e l d , w i t h a l l p r e s e n t i n fa v o ur o f t h e p r o p o s a l . I n
the same way, Rob Melville was elected Events Manager.
T h e C h a ir m a n p r o p o s e d t h a t S a m K up e r s h o u l d b e t h e S o c ie t y ’ s
S e c r e t a r y. T h e P r es id e n t s e c o n d e d t h e p r o p o s a l . A n o p e n v o t e
was held, with all present in favour of the proposal. In the same
w a y , M i c h a e l N e v ar d w a s e l e c t e d W e b ma s t e r a n d K a t S t e g e r w a s
e l e c t e d C a m p a i g n Di r e c t o r .
D . 2 . A i ms , O b j e c t iv e s , M a n i f e s t o
T h e a i m s o f t h e S o c ie t y w e r e d i s c us s e d b r i e f l y . A l l p r e s e n t
s e e m e d b r o a d l y i n f a v o ur o f t h e m a n i f es t o p ub l i s h e d i n t h e f i r s t
i s s u e o f P h a ë t o n . Th e p r o p o s a l s o f
• p ub l i s h i n g P h a ë t o n q u a r t e r l y o n 1 5 t h F e b , 1 5 t h M a y , e t c ,
• f o r g i n g l i n k s w it h t h e R o y a l S o c i et y , a n d
• a r r a n g i n g d i n n e r me e t i n g s ,
w e r e s u p p o r t e d b y al l p r e s e n t .
T h e C h a ir m a n o f f er e d t o h o l d r es p o n s ib i l i t y f o r e d i t i n g a n d
p ub l i s h i n g P h a ë t o n e v e n i f i t m e a n t r e l i n q u i s h i n g h i s
C h a i r m a n s h ip – t h o u g h i n t h e e n d t h is w a s n o t f e l t t o b e
necessary.
N o -o n e w a s a s s i g n ed t h e t a s k o f fo r g i ng l i n k s w i t h t h e R o y al
Society.
T h e d u t y o f a r r a n g in g d i n n e r m e e t i n g s w a s s e e n t o b e t h a t o f t h e
Events Manager.
D . 3 . A d m i n is t r a t io n c o s t s , fu n d i n g a n d m e m b e r s h ip f e e s
( r e mo v e d o n p ub l i c a t i o n )
D . 4 . P a t r o n a g e a n d r e c r u it m e n t
( r e mo v e d o n p ub l i c a t i o n )
D.5. Call for articles
T h e C h a ir m a n i s s u e d a c a l l f o r a r t ic l e s t o b e s ub m i t t e d fo r
p ub l i c a t io n i n t h e ne x t i s s u e o f Ph a ë t o n.
E. Any other business
T h e S e c r e t a r y p r o p o s e d t h a t at e a c h m e e t i n g , a t l e a s t f iv e m in u t e s o f
d i s c u s s io n s h o u l d b e m a n d a t e d t o b e d ev o t e d t o t h e h i s t o r y o f
s c i e n c e . Th e P r e s i d en t s e c o n d e d t h e p r o p o s a l , a n d i t w a s
u n a n i m o u s l y v o t e d fo r . A d i s c u s s io n o n t h e H o o k e f o l io e n s u e d .
F. Agenda for the next meeting
To be set.

7
Photos from the inaugural event

8
9
Society events
17 November 2006 By removing the notes from the gaze of

Lecture on the Hooke Folio the Royal Society, and in more recent
times generations of Historians of Science,
The president reports: The inaugural event
Hooke shot himself in the foot as no
of the London History of Science Society
record remained of his invention, leaving
was held on Friday 17th November 2007
the priority of Huygens’s watch
in a lecture theatre at UCL. The pioneering
unchallenged! The hitherto unseen pages
members attended an enthralling Royal
of the folio have shed light on Hooke’s
Institution lecture given by Lisa Jardine
claim which, previously been believed to
entitled ‘The Rediscovered Hooke Folio:
be unfounded, has been disputed for
What Happened Next?’
centuries.
As an authoritative Robert Hooke expert,
The lecture closed with some thought-
and author of the popular book, ‘The
provoking comments about the ‘business’
Curious Life of Robert Hooke’, Lisa
of science, the developing of protocols and
Jardine was able to offer us a riveting
standards to which scientists have to
insight into the history of this newly
conform, and to which Robert Hooke was
discovered folio. The folio was discovered
so bad at conforming.
in a “country house” in “Hertfordshire”
(although a Freudian slip led us to suspect After the lecture, drinks and light

that its actual location was somewhere refreshments were served to the audience

entirely different). at the venue and the members of the

The folio consists of Hooke’s transcripts of
the proceedings of the Royal Society,
copied from the minutes taken by Henry
Oldenburg, his predecessor as secretary
of the Royal Society. These pages are
followed by Hooke’s own rough notes from
his time as secretary. Lisa Jardine
believed that Hooke had removed the
minutes from the official transcripts of the
Royal Society in order to painstakingly
prove, perhaps amongst other things, his
claim to the invention of a pocket watch
before Christian Huygens published his
design in 1675.
Society had the opportunity to talk to
Professor Jardine. Mr Sam Kuper was
introduced to the members of the Society
by Prof. Jardine and was admitted as a
member forthwith.
Inaugural meeting of the Society
The Society then rejoined to a local
hostelry and held the inaugural meeting of
the Society. The minutes were captured by
the new secretary of the Society, Mr Sam
Kuper, and can be seen on page 7 of this
issue.

10
Photos of some of the members can be entertaining and salutary insight into the
seen on pages 8-9. For copies of the lives of Boswell and his contemporaries.
photos please contact the President. From sheepskin condoms to mercury
medicines, the Chairman heard how
eighteenth-century Londoners battled the
4 February 2007
pox.
President’s dinner

The members of the Society were kindly

5 March 2007
invited to have dinner with the President at
her London residence. Over a delicious More on the Hooke folio…

dinner the history of science was Professor Jardine gave a follow-up talk on
discussed, ideas for future event proposed the Hooke folio to an audience at the
and new friendships made. It was decided Cambridge University Library. This was
that the next dinner would be hosted by attended by the Secretary who informed
the Chairman, with a date to be decided. the society that some progress had been
made in the study of the folio. A report by
the Secretary will follow in a further issue
27 February 2007
of Phaëton.
In Armour Complete: Practising Safe
Sex in the Eighteenth Century
21 March 2007
Famously ‘indelicate’ in his choice of
female company, the diarist James The Last Man Who Knew Everything:

Boswell enjoyed a lifelong relationship with Thomas Young

‘Signor Gonorrhoea’. Alternating between Young’s most recent biographer, Andrew

bouts of unrestrained licentiousness and Robinson, gave a talk at the Royal College
bitter remorse, Boswell's history of of Surgeons on this incredible man – a
venereal disease was probably typical of pioneer in so many fields: physics,
many men and women in Georgian medicine, linguistics, Egyptology
London. mathematics, actuarial sciences and

Natasha McEnroe, Museum Manager of navigation. The Chairman bought a copy

the Grant Museum, UCL, provided an of Robinson’s book – a review will be

forthcoming in the next issue of Phaëton.

11
Immoral science: expendable lead to the
comprehensive programs of such research
creation of

Ethical problems into hypothermia and hypoxia. The work

was organised by the SS under the control
posed by Nazi of Heinrich Himmler, and was led by Dr
Georg Weltz a radiologist. Initially the work
research experimented on animals but the research
was extended to human subjects, which

Michael Nevard were conducted by Dr Sigmund Rascher.

This body of work is perhaps the most
What are the limits of science? In the clear example of the brutality and
journey towards knowledge of the world, ruthlessness of the Nazi scientific mindset,
and faced with the innumerable problems which was also applied to research on
of research, some scientists left behind malaria, antibiotics, chemical weapons,
any humane or ethical restrictions in poisons, weapons and surgical
pursuit of results. Perhaps some of the techniques. Due to its strong backing from
most horrifying examples of this took place the government, detailed documentation
in Nazi Germany during the Second World and results have survived and can be
War. At the Nuremburg Trials, twenty- analysed today.
three doctors and scientists were charged
Where does the evidence of these
with war crimes and crimes against
experiments come from? At the end of the
humanity for their role in experiments
war, amid jubilation in their home
carried out on unwilling prisoners in
countries, the Allied forces in Germany
concentration camps, and participation in
faced the grim task of uncovering the
the mass murder which took place there.
details of the crimes that had occurred
For what end was science perverted in this
under Nazi rule. Major Leo Alexander of
way? And is it possible for any of the
the US Army Medical Corps, was given
results to be used by reputable scientists?
the task of investigating the so-called
During the Second World War, the ‘scientific research’ into hypothermia which
German military was faced with a host of had been carried out at the concentration
problems concerning its servicemen in camp Dachau. His 1946 report, “The
hostile environments. In particular the Treatment of Shock from Prolonged
Luftwaffe desperately wanted to improve Exposure to Cold, Especially in Water”,
the survival of its airmen at high-altitude also known as the “Alexander Report”,
and after having fallen into the icy waters includes his analyses of both human and
of the North Sea. By 1941 the use of animal experimentation, as well as
experiments of human subjects to provide information from interviews with some of
knowledge of these problems was seen as the perpetrators. This document, included
essential, and the general attitude of as evidence at the Nuremburg Doctors
viewing certain groups in society as Trial, provides a clear and dispassionate

12
account of the atrocities committed in the devised: the first, to determine the human
acquisition of the results and has proved body’s response to freezing water; the
to be a controversial document since it second, to test and evaluate various
was written. The reason is that, given the rewarming techniques for hypothermia
lack of controlled scientific evidence into victims. All of these experiments were
hypothermia, reputable scientists have carried out at Dachau concentration camp
wanted to cite the report as evidence in in Germany, under the direction of Dr
their research. Over time, both the Rascher.
questionable scientific validity of the
A wooden tank measuring 2x2x2 metres
results, and the ethical defensibility of
was filled with water and ice and
using information obtained in such an
maintained at temperatures between 12°C
immoral way, have fuelled a wider debate
and 2.3°C. The experimental subjects
about scientific ethics. We shall give a
were placed in the tank, sometimes
brief account of what happened at
dressed in the uniform of a German
Dachau, look at the possible scientific
airman, and sometimes naked. The
value of the results, and consider some of
subjects’ rectal and skin temperatures
the ethical questions they raise.
were monitored along with their heart
Tanks Of Ice rates. Both blood and urine was sampled
to test for a range of effects. In the
By the summer of 1942, the Nazi scientists
rewarming experiments various
began a program of study into
techniques were tested: rapid rewarming
hypothermia using human subjects. Two
with a hot bath; body-to-body rewarming;
principal sets of experiments were
packing in blankets; vigorous massage of
the whole body; diathermy of the heart
(using a electrical current to heat the heart
tissue), and various chemical stimulators.

The human cost of these experiments is

not easy to quantify. The suffering caused
to individuals was certainly extreme, and
there many fatalities as well as unknown
long-term effects. The Alexander report
stated that 107 experiments were
performed on unconsenting prisoners, of
which at least 13 died. However, Walter
Neff, an assistant to Rascher claimed that
up to 300 subjects were involved with 80
to 90 fatalities. The identities of the
individuals used are not known but it
Heinrich Himmler appears the priority for subject selection

13
from Dachau’s diverse prisoner population rewarming where, in this case, the victim
was: Jews, foreigners, gypsies, criminals, was forced to lie next to a nude female
and political prisoners. subject.

Some evidence was found that the type of
clothing worn by the victim did affect the
cooling process and certain protective
outfits could minimise the danger of
hypothermia. The physical condition of the
victims also effected the rate of cooling
with emaciated subjects experiencing a
faster temperature drop after
immersed in the water. Violent shivering
and stiffening of the limbs took hold as the
skin temperature dropped rapidly in the
first 5 minutes of exposure, and after 40 to
50 minutes in the tank the face of the
subject turned blue. At a core temperature
of 31°C, consciousness began to cloud
and as the temperature dropped further
the heart beat became ragged
irregular. Between 25.7°C and 24.3°C the
subject died of cardiac arrest. Of seven
known victims of this method, the total
time of immersion before death was
between 53 and 106 minutes.
In early 1943, Rascher moved to
Auschwitz to determine whether the rapid
rewarming method would be successful for
victims of cold-air-induced hypothermia. In
spring 1945 Rascher and his wife were
imprisoned by the SS, and after a failed
escape attempt they were executed just
being two weeks before the Allies entered
Dachau. Although the reason for his
capture and death is not known, it is
thought that Himmler, in charge of both the
SS and the scientific program, was trying
to prevent Rascher testifying against him
after the end of the war.
Is it science?
and
In many cases of unethical and illegal
experiments carried out in the name of
science there is very little recorded

The rewarming results indicated that

immersing the victims in a hot bath (40°C
to 50°C) was the most effective way to
treat the hypothermia victims and
particularly to reverse the highly
dangerous ‘afterdrop’. The ‘afterdrop’ was
the phenomena when the victim’s core
temperature continued to drop even after
being removed from the water, explaining
why rescued pilots sometimes died half-
an-hour after being rescued, even after
attempted rewarming. In general the other
techniques were shown to be relatively
ineffective particularly body-to-body Sigmund Rascher

14
information that survives the demise of the
perpetrators. This means that the full
horror of the crimes committed and the
true suffering of the victims slips into
unrecorded history. However, in the case
of the Nazi hypothermia research Himmler
himself kept records which were
discovered by Major Alexander even
though the labs themselves had been
completed destroyed before the Allied
troops arrived at the concentration camps.
Since this data was discovered
researchers in hypothermia have used and
referenced the Dachau data. This has in
turn sparked a highly-charged debate
about whether the findings have any
scientific validity, and whether it is right to
reference them in contemporary research
papers. It appears that American military
scientists had little doubt about the validity
of the data that had survived in Himmler’s
The gates of the concentration camp at Dachau
15
possession. Immediately after the war, the
cooling curve from the Dachau results (the
rate at which the core temperature of the
victims fell) was compared to
measurements from US pilots that had
been rescued from cold water. The non-
fatal portion of the Dachau data seemed to
fit well with these other results and so
seen as reasonable. The data were also
used as part of investigations into the
viability of using hypothermia to preserve
the life of the heart during open-heart
surgery. A set of studies on temperature
variation, and some on the cardiovascular
system referenced the Dachau data,
primarily to corroborate particular findings.
Aside from these example of the data
being used, many scientists have had
significant reservations. Some have
argued that Rascher was not a trained
researcher, and since he clearly was a
sadistic murderer he cannot really be standards. At the time, small numbers of
trusted. However he worked with two main experiments and case studies were
collaborators Holzloehner and Finke who considered sufficient evidence to support a
did have the required scientific credentials, hypothesis without the requirement for
and the work seemed to have been used controlled repetition and statistical analysis
within the Luftwaffe and Wehrmach in a of significance. It is also evident that,
way which suggests the Nazi’s had no under the pressure of war, experiments
problems with the results’ credibility. On would have been rushed and
the other hand, Andrew Ivy of the documentation limited to the essentials
University of Chicago, who evaluated the only. This lack of reported detail does not
data for the Nuremburg trials, suggested show that the methodology was
this greatest of medical tragedies was necessarily shoddy, especially as most of
compounded by the fact that they added the researchers’ own papers were
“nothing of significance to medical destroyed.
science”. However later he conceded that
It seems then that, from a utilitarian point
some of the data were “obviously good”
of view, the findings from Dachau did have
and there had been “some very worthwhile
some value, and were certainly used for
results”.
various worthwhile ends. However, some
Doctor Robert Pozos, a specialist in people, including relatives of victims, and
hypothermia at the University of Minesota, survivors, believe that even partially
believes that most of the data obtained accepting the data’s validity gives some
already existed from experiments on kind of acceptance of the Nazi philosophy
animals, and the experiments could have that produced it. Conversely, others
been conducted on volunteers by dropping believe that if it can be used for some
their core temperature by 2°C or 3°C, with good end, and particularly if helping to
no risk of death. Recent studies of save lives, then the data should be used in
rewarming techniques have also an appropriate and respectful way. As we
attempted to partially replicate the Dachau have seen, the findings from Dachau have
experiments but under safe, controlled and already used for various worthwhile
humane conditions. Rascher’s conclusion scientific ends, and this cannot be undone.
that body-to-body rewarming was However this debate is highly relevant to
ineffective was corroborated but the science as a whole.
researchers dismissed the Dachau
Never Again?
findings as useless because of the
“emaciated condition of the subjects as
In our discussion we have only looked at a
well as questions regarding the protocol
small part of the Nazi experimental
and accuracy of the results”.
programme; concentration camp inmates
and other unwilling human subjects were
Another problem is the difficulty of judging
also used to investigate: altitude sickness,
the Dachau research by modern scientific

16
drinking sea water, infectious diseases,
battle injuries and their treatment,
chemical weapons, fertilisation and
sterilisation, and research related directly
to ethnic cleansing policies. It is also
apparent that similarly unethical
programmes have, at various times, been
carried out under other governments
across the world, particularly in countries
at war.
It is useful here to consider how science
should deal with possible contemporary or
future cases of military scientists using
people deemed as ‘expendable’ to further
their governments aims. Consider a
hypothetical future scenario: a repressive
regime is developing biological weapons
and to in order to protect its soldiers it is
also secretly testing antidotes to these
agents on political prisoners sentenced to
death. Given that the scientists involved
have been educated at respected
universities, and have access to current
scientific thinking, it is possible that the
research could be seen as valid with
respect to the latest scientific standards.
Given this, what would be the right thing to
do with a report on this work that fell into
the hands of a right-minded researcher
from an opposing nation? Should she
destroy or ignore the report? or would it be
more ethical to use the results to help
develop vaccines against a possible
forthcoming biological attack? It seems
likely that most people would say the
findings from the unethical source should
be used if it is scientifically valid, cannot
be gained from other ethical sources, and
could have a direct impact on saving lives.
17
There are, in fact, many real life cases
where the same crucial dilemma is
involved: how should science treat work
that was done unethically. After the
Second World War many German
scientists were taken to the United States
to assist with the arms race against the
Soviet Union, ignoring the fact that some
may have been involved in unethical
experimentation. Today with differing
moral views towards human cloning and
embryonic stem-cell research the same
issue is raised, but without the added
complexity of considering the ethics of
weapons research. If you are a professor
who believes that abortion is a moral
wrong, how can you assess the work of a
colleague who believes the opposite?
What about quoting that research in one of
your own papers?
Inevitably the whole debate over the use
of data from unethical research is
dependent on individuals’ own ethical
codes and on how they view the place of
science in society. It also reflects one’s
position on how far individual’s rights
should be subservient to the greater good.
In the face of war, or great suffering
caused by disease there will always be the
tendency to push aside the limits of what
is acceptable, but some people believe
that any use of results obtained in this way
is not justified, even at the loss of scientific
progress. With the Dachau hypothermia
data it has been used by reputable
scientists, but accompanied with a clear
explanation of how the results were
obtained, and the suffering inflicted on the
innocent victims. Whether even this is
acceptable is up to you.
Calendar
What happened to the polymaths?
Oliver Morton, Andrew Robinson & John Whitfield
Wednesday 16 May 7.00pm (£8/£5)
Lecture Theatre 1, The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Join the News Editor of Nature and this series' speakers to discuss why there are so few
modern polymaths, and if there ought to be any at all.
Society visit to the
Foundling Museum
Saturday 9th June 4pm (£5/£4)
40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ
The Foundling Museum tells the story of
the Foundling Hospital, London's first home
for abandoned children and of three major
figures in British history: its campaigning
founder the philanthropist Thomas Coram,
the artist William Hogarth and the
composer George Frideric Handel. This
remarkable collection of art and social
history is now housed in a restored and
refurbished building adjacent to the original
site of the Hospital, demolished in 1926. Up
to a thousand babies a year were
abandoned in early 18th-century London.
In 1739 Thomas Coram established a
“Hospital for the Maintenance and
Education of Exposed and Deserted
Children” which looked after more than
27,000 children until its closure in 1953.
The Foundling Museum tells the story of
the foundlings, how they lived and displays
the many poignant objects relating to their
lives at the Hospital.
18
The Asiatic
Enlightenments of
British Astronomy
Simon Schaffer
Wednesday 23 May 5.30pm (Free)
Lecture Theatre 1, The Cruciform Building,
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT.
Followed by a reception in the Wilkins
North Cloisters
The crises of empire and their impact on
our own cultures are high on the
contemporary political agenda. The status
of western sciences plays a major role in
these debates. Some claim that their global
dominance demonstrates the supreme
value of one kind of knowledge; others that
their worldly rule depended on the militant
projects of imperialism. Complex
encounters between British astronomers
and scientists were played out in Bengal
where, in 1789, an Arabic translation of
Newton’s Principia Mathematica was
produced by a Shi’ite scholar and political
agent. How and why was this work
conducted?
How the media promotes the public
misunderstanding of science
Ben Goldacre
Tuesday 26 June 7.00pm–8.30pm (£8/£5)
Small Hall, Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

From MMR to the formula for the worst day of the year: every day in the media we are
bombarded with miracle cures, hidden threats, amazing breakthroughs, and wacky boffin
stories. But is there any evidence behind them?
Often there is none: but we can find patterns in the dirt, reflecting broader themes. If we are
charitable, the pace of medical development has changed since the golden age of medicine,
and the many smaller, incremental discoveries of modern medicine don't lend themselves so
readily to exotic headlines.
But there are also more sinister forces at work. Bizarre and bad science reporting in the
media may well be the product of ignorance among journalists, and the need to sell readers to
advertisers. But more than that, these stories are often planted by people with clear personal
and commercial interests, who exploit the flaws in the media's approach to science for their
own gain.
And if the stories weren't so funny, it would all be very upsetting.

Islam and Medicine Society Summer visit to

Aziz Sheikh, Salim Khan the Chelsea Physic
& Ehsan Masood Garden
Thursday 19 July 2007 7.00pm-8.30pm Date to be confirmed, please check the
(Free, but book in advance) Society website (£7/£4)
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, 66 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HS
NW1 2BE
Situated in the heart of London, this 'Secret
How do Islamic-era ideas of the human Garden' is a centre of education, beauty
body compare with Western medical theory and relaxation. Founded in 1673 by the
and practice? Join a doctor, a Hakim Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, it
(traditional physician) and a philosopher to continues to research the properties,
explore how two different medical systems origins and conservation of over 5000
are trying to live together in the modern species.
world. What implications do these different
views present for us as patients?
Speakers include Aziz Sheikh, Professor of
Primary Care Research and Development,
University of Edinburgh, Salim Khan,
Director, Mohsin Institute, Leicester. The
discussion will be facilitated by journalist
Ehsan Masood.

19
Science Policy: Throughout this era peer review alone was
used to regulate science, and the
Technocracy or autonomy of scientists was unchallenged
by those outside the scientific community.
democracy? Alongside this, a ‘deficit model’ postulated
that the public did not understand enough

Julia Flint to make science policy decisions, and that

any public resistance to science policy
Science policy decisions affect every one was due to their misunderstanding of the
of us. So, why should a government science.
department decide, for example, which
Cases of alleged fraud in science in the
vaccinations our children should have?
1980’s challenged the autonomy of
Nick Seeber’s article on popular science
scientists3. There began to be calls for
writing in the last issue of Phaëton, alerted
greater public scrutiny, as ‘science is too
us to the fact that the general public have
important to be left only to the scientists’4.
limited scientific literacy. They do not
In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield challenged
understand enough about the prevalence,
the technocracy. He published a paper in
aetiology and prognosis of childhood
‘The Lancet’ suggesting a possible
diseases to be able to make informed
causative link between the combined
decisions about vaccinations. In the past
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
this has led to a ‘technocracy’ where the
vaccination and autism. He concluded that
experts make the decisions, dismissing
single vaccines should be given instead,
the views of the ‘ignorant and uninformed
and in 2002 commented: "What
public’1. But does this lack of education or
precipitated this crisis was the removal of
understanding preclude any public
the single vaccine, the removal of choice,
involvement in scientific policy making? I
and that is what has caused the furor -
argue that ‘deliberation democracy’ could
because the doctors, the gurus, are
be used to effectively combine informed
treating the public as though they are
scientific opinion with values and beliefs
some kind of moronic mass who cannot
representative of the population, and
make an informed decision for
create responsible and respected scientific
themselves." The opinion that the public
policy.
should be more involved in scientific
Between 1945 and the 1980’s, the policy-making is now widespread.
predominant model for science policy was
the ‘Social Contract for Science’2. http://www.nsf.gov.od/lpa/nsf50/vbush194
5.htm)
3
E.g. Accusation of David Baltimore, an
MIT Nobel laureate, of deliberately
1
Science and Public Policy : from misrepresenting results
4
government to Governance Department of Trade and Industry (2000)
2
Vannevar Bush ‘Science: The Endless White Paper on ‘Excellence and
Frontier’ (Washington: United States Opportunity : A Science and Innovation
st
Government Printing Office: Policy for the 21 Century.

20
Furthermore, ‘unless the public’s values
and attitudes are recognised, respected
and weighted along with scientific and
other factors’5, there will be no public
support of any decisions reached.
Wakefield’s research however, was “fatally
flawed” 6 and ten of the thirteen authors
have since retracted their published
interpretations. But official statements and
further research dismissing his claims
could do nothing to relieve many mothers’
doubts and concerns. Understandably,
vaccination rates dropped considerably. Dr
Wakefield may have thought he was giving
parents choice, but ‘expert’ opinions were
conflicting and the average parent lacked
the scientific literacy required to analyse
the papers for themselves. How could a
parent know who to believe or trust?
5
House of Lords Select Committee on
Science and Technology’s report, ‘Science
and Society’, 2000
6 7
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3510721.
stm
21
In an environment of mistrust of expert
opinion, such as that created by the MMR
fiasco, there is a greater risk that activists
might ‘seize control of decisions on their
own terms’, and their unfounded
arguments might hold greater credibility
with the public7. Numerous groups and
websites currently proclaim the evils of
vaccination, reaching a wide audience to
whom these ‘expert’ opinions are just as
credible as those of the mainstream
medical profession.
Even now, after Wakefield has withdrawn
his statements and been discredited by
the medical profession, vaccination clinics
are full of mothers asking if the MMR
vaccination will make her child autistic.
Clearly parents require more explanation
about the vaccination policy, and
reassurance that their values and beliefs
Sheila Jasanoff ‘Technologies of
Humility: Citizen Participation in Governing
Science
are understood and have been taken into vaccination: not only because he does not
account by the ‘experts’. Evidently flooding see how it immediately affects him, but
them with options, without providing the also because he realises that his vote
education with which to make informed counts so little amongst the millions of
choices, is not the answer. voters – an example of so-called ‘rational
ignorance’8. Such a man might thus be
Of course, every parent has the right to
swayed easily by advertising or mass
refuse vaccinations, and so it could be
opinion (‘tyranny of the majority’) and
argued that it is up to individual parents to
would be unlikely to deliberate on his
satisfy themselves that they have made
decision before voting in a referendum.
the right decision. However, we have
Finally, it would be practically impossible
already heard how policy decisions lead to
to organise serious deliberation by the
restrictions of choices, exemplified by the
whole public and referenda on every topic.
withdrawal of the single Measles, Mumps
Although this is the only way that the
and Rubella vaccines. Furthermore it
whole public could be driven to reach
takes great courage for a scientifically
informed opinions, it clearly would not
illiterate parent to completely ignore the
work in practice.
strong recommendations of a medical
professional. I therefore believe that the So we have seen that both extremes – on
public needs more than just choices about the one hand a technocracy, on the other
the extent to which they follow policy; they the involvement of the whole public – have
need input into the creation of the policy. serious limitations with regards to scientific
policy making. But perhaps there is a
Collecting votes from the whole public (for
halfway house, a compromise that could
example by a referendum) is the only way
instil elements of democracy into science
to truly reflect the views of the public.
policy decisions, without compromising
However, we have already seen an
their veracity. Deliberative democracy has
example of the public having inadequate
been proposed as a solution to this
scientific expertise to make such
problem. It aims to include the views and
decisions. Education is needed before the
values of the public in science policy
public take any responsiblity for science
without holding a referendum for the whole
policy. Secondly, although it is obvious
public. Proponents of the process see its
that the public are able to inform
origins in ancient Greece: in Athens there
themselves when it is in their interests, for
was no place to gather together the whole
example during times of national crisis or
population for debate. Therefore a group
when considering vaccination of their own
of citizens, chosen by lot, would debate
child, there are plenty of scientific policy
the issues on behalf of the public. In his
decisions that do not enter the individual’s
paper, ‘Deliberative Democracy’, James
consciousness or concern. A currently
childless man may not see the need to
8
become informed about the MMR Anthony Downs, ‘An economic theory of
democracy’

22
Fishkin uses three metaphors to defend such a blow by statistically insignificant
the principles of deliberative democracy – and inappropriately interpreted research.
the filter (deliberation to filter out
indefensible views), the mirror (political
equality as the group is representative)
and the mob (no tyranny of the majority as
debate is kept dispassionate) 9. The
tendency towards rational ignorance is
also removed as the vote of each
individual matters more. The decision
reached by the group is assumed to reflect
the decision that the entire population
would have reached had they deliberated
in this way. Policy makers then have the
chance to promote this representative
informed opinion rather than choosing
between following uninformed and
unreflective public opinion (no filter) or
ignoring public opinion entirely and
following their own single informed opinion
(no mirror).

It seems to me that the public would be

happier to co-operate with science policy
and follow mainstream expert advice if
they knew that some like-minded
individuals had had the opportunity to
assess and discuss all the available
evidence, and that the values and beliefs
used to make the decision reflected not
just scientists but the population as a
whole. Perhaps if a consensus conference
had been held for the MMR vaccine
debate, parents would have respected the
resulting policy and the vaccination
programme would not have been dealt

9
James Fishkin, ‘Deliberative Democracy’
in R.L. Simon (ed.), The Blackwell Guide
to Social and Political Philosophy’ (Oxford:
Blackwell), pp 221 - 238

23
 and two thousand lives were lost in the
Clocks, charts English Channel. In the public uproar
following this tragedy, particular
and almanacs: importance was placed on finding a

18th century solution to the problem of longitude: that

is, discovering the distance East or West

navigation of a meridian such as Greenwich or Paris.

In theory, this is a fairly simple problem, as
it only requires precise knowledge of the
Nick Seeber time difference between the meridian and
10
the current location ; but early 18th
century reality was that sea-borne
During the 18th century, the colonial
chronometers were too inaccurate, and
expansion of the major European powers
using astronomical observations to tell the
(Britain, France, Germany and others) put
time required a predictive astronomy (ie
a premium on navigational expertise that
knowing exactly where stars and planets
would allow successful trade and conquest
would be at a precise time in the future)
across the globe. In particular, determining
which was at that time inadequate. Thus,
longitude whilst at sea was seen by the
maintaining an accurate knowledge of
British government as an especially
meridian time presented a challenging
relevant problem which justified vast
problem. Stimulus for its solution was
investment to find a solution through any
provided by the Longitude Act of 1714,
reliable means. In addition, accurate
which offered lucrative prizes for
astronomical observations both on sea
techniques which would allow the reliable,
voyages and at home were critical: these
accurate and practical measurement of
allowed, respectively, a charting of the
longitude at sea, administered by the
globe and the creation of nautical
‘Longitude Board’. The brilliant work of the
almanacs, both essential for the
self-taught Yorkshire clockmaker George
establishment of a successful maritime
empire. At the same time, as astronomy 10
Longitude (distance East or West of an
served navigation, navigation was being established meridian):
Since the earth performs one complete rotation
used by astronomers: for example, per day, 1 day = 1440 minutes
observations of the transit of Venus were = 1 revolution of the earth
= 360° degrees of longitude
the purpose of several simultaneous
Therefore, 4 minutes = 1 degree of longitude
voyages in 1761 under the auspices of the So if ‘local noon’ (when the sun is highest in the
Royal Society of London (of which more sky, measured using a sextant) is at 1.55 pm
according to a chronometer set to Greenwich
later). time, you are 115 minutes or 28° 45’ West of
the Greenwich meridian.
Deficiencies in navigation had been Latitude (distance North or South of the
Equator) can be calculated from a
brought into sharp relief in Britain by the
measurement of how far the sun is from the
Shovel disaster of 1707, when four ships horizon at ‘local noon’ and does not require a
chronometer.

24
Harrison – “the lone genius who solved the
greatest scientific problem of his day” – in
building immensely accurate individual
marine chronometers has been publicised
in popular science writing – most notably
Dava Sobel’s ‘Longitude’ (1996).
It has been argued, though, that the
compilation of accurate lunar and celestial
almanacs under the aegis of the Longitude
Board was of far greater value
navigation during the latter half of the 18th
century, and I am inclined to feel that this
is justified. An almanac allowed repeated
corrections to be made to even an inferior
chronometer by frequent astronomical
observations, resulting in acceptable
accuracy whilst avoiding the cost and time
required to construct and care for a
exquisitely constructed one-of-a-kind
mechanism that required no adjustments
during a prolonged sea voyage. However,
the idea that there was a binary ‘either/or’
struggle between chronometers
almanacs during the mid-18th century is a
naïve and erroneous reading of a more
complex situation: the reality is that both
components were required to construct a
workable solution that would benefit British
naval and mercantile interests.
astronomical component of this solution
was the measurement of ‘lunar distances’.
The motion of the moon is comparatively
faster than the apparent motion of the
fixed stars, which allows the moon to be
used as a clock if its motion can be
predicted in advance and detailed in
tables. To do this needs three things:
sufficiently complete tables of celestial
observation; an accurate instrument for
measuring angles between the moon and
a celestial point of reference from aboard
a ship; and mathematical equations to
predict the motion of the moon in the
future. The exhaustive, accurate and long-
term observations of the Astronomer
Royal John Flamsteed provided the frame
of fixed stars in the heavens, whilst the
reflecting quadrant of John Hadley allowed
sufficiently accurate observations to be
to
made. Finally, in 1755, James Bradley,
another Astronomer Royal, compared the
tables made by the German
mathematician Tobias Mayer using
Eulerian equations with his own
observations, and found them to be
adequate for the purposes of navigation.
This set in motion a British effort to
develop a nautical almanac, which was
accomplished through the work of Nevil
Maskelyne, who tested Mayer’s tables on
several voyages and later implemented
the production of the subsequently annual
and
Nautical Almanac and Astronomical
Ephemeris, a publication which allowed
reliable and consistent measurement of
longitude to an accuracy of less than 1
degree.
The In real terms, however, the contribution of
astronomy to navigation was far more than
providing the material for almanacs. Being
able to know fixed positions on the globe’s
surface allowed more accurate geography
to be performed, and in turn enhanced the
performance of other endeavours, such as
cartography. Writers have argued that the
ship can be considered an eighteenth
century instrument of discovery, as it
shaped the ways in which European
voyagers interacted with the locations that
25
they visited. In particular, the way Cook Maskelyne to observe and measure the
charted the Pacific Islands is very strongly transit of Venus across the face of the sun.
influenced by his method of sailing around This would allow the measurement of a
the islands whilst triangulating the quantity which was at the heart of
distances which separated points on the planetary astronomy: the distance of the
land and constructing a cohesive map Sun from the Earth. By measuring the
from these data, combined with apparent differences in angle which
measurements of latitude and longitude at Mercury made with the Sun at different
certain locations. These “marks on maps” locations across the world, a numerical
could be made even more precise with value could be given to this ‘constant’.
observations of eclipses or transits (which Multiple expeditions were equipped with
could be used to determine a very precise instruments and sent to various points on
‘local time’). The charting of the oceans the globe, to maximise the chances of
which occurred during the late 18th obtaining useful data; a vital ploy as the
century was another product of astronomy, transit only occurred twice every 113
aiding navigation and, as a consequence, years.
the travels of Europeans.
Maskelyne’s expedition to the island of St.
Helena was not an unqualified success,
due to the cloudy weather which he
experienced, as he recounted to Lord
Macclesfield in a letter to the Royal
Society. However, he did obtain several
measurements of the transit, which he
relayed in his letter, apologising in addition
that he had not made an accurate
measurement of the longitude of the
location from which he made his
observations. In any case, that an
expedition was sent to make this
observation is very interesting. As
Maskelyne stated:

“I cannot conclude, my Lord, without

Nevil Maskelyne
making one remark, that if the late noble
Dr. Halley were now alive, he could not

Expeditions, too, made important receive greater pleasure from seeing the
observation of the transit of Venus
observations and gathered data which was
undertaken by astronomers of different
physically impossible to obtain without
nations, conformably to his proposal, than
travel. The prime example of this
from finding it so warmly espoused by your
phenomenon is the expedition led by Nevil Lordship, and the Royal Society, to whom,

26
 as a perpetual body, whose care it would distributed navigators formed a network of
always be to watch over the interest and contacts who acted for each others mutual
advancement of science, he particularly benefit, controlled by patronage from the
recommended it.”
state or natural philosophical societies.
The result of this cooperation was the
Treating the practice of expeditionary
establishment of a reliable framework
observations as an essential component of
which the state could use to its
astronomy demonstrates how great the
commercial advantage, whilst the new
value of navigation was: it allowed a virtual
planetary knowledge benefited the
extension of the eyes of the astronomer in
discipline of astronomy. With reference to
London or Paris to anywhere on the globe,
Britain, the navigational advances directly
in the same way that 18th century
led to the pattern of conquest and the
collectors could delegate the task of
subsequent establishment of a global
collecting specimens to others who had
empire linked by maritime routes and
been trained and thus would be
guaranteed by naval force. In some ways,
appropriate witnesses of ‘matters of fact’ in
then, Maskelyne’s Almanac, not George
distant locations.
Harrison’s marvellous chronometer, was
In the eighteenth century, a complex and the basis on which the British Empire was
reciprocal relationship emerged between built.
the practices of astronomy and navigation
which effected changes in the ways both
the world and the heavens were
visualised. Centralised astronomers and

27
 arts combined with the all-consuming
Book Review nature of either enterprise. The average
novelist is unlikely to see the relevance of

Joseph Nevard quantum theory to her explorations of

‘human nature’ while the mathematician is
unlikely to see the point of using mere
words to communicate that which is more
Primo Levi - The Periodic Table
clearly expressed in elegant equations.
(1975, Italian)
Primo Levi is best known as a writer - ‘If
Trans. Raymond Rosenthal, 1984 This Is A Man’, his memoir of Auschwitz, is
one of the seminal works of Holocaust
literature - but he was a working chemist
throughout his life. ‘The Periodic Table’ is
a collection of autobiographical fragments
(with a few short fictions) organised
around Mendeleev’s organisation of the
elements. In his words, it is more precisely
“a micro-history…of a trade and its
defeats, victories and miseries”. As a
result his personal life is almost completely
passed over, and even the interruption of
Auschwitz is not given special
prominence. Instead he describes long
hours of painstaking analysis, failed
experiments and occasionally the
solutions to tricky chemical problems. The
© Penguin 1995 book also contains the author’s reflections

Literature and science have rarely met on broader concerns and it is thus that is

happily: the gulf between them seeming as makes its claim on the realm of literature.

deep as that between fantasy and fact.

Levi’s structuring conceit, in which each
There are of course exceptions. The
chapter is named after an element, proves
essays of Francis Bacon are read for their
surprisingly flexible and provides the key
literary merit, for example, while Tom
to the text. Chemistry is a metaphor for
Stoppard and Thomas Pynchon, among
life. But Levi is to good a writer to stop
others, have shown a rare ability to
there. Like all great metaphors, this one
translate scientific theory into drama and
can be reversed - life is a metaphor for
fiction respectively. The problem
chemistry - and ultimately collapses:
presumably lies in the mutual distrust
chemistry is life / life is chemistry. This is
which exists between the sciences and the
fully expounded in the last chapter,

28
‘Carbon’, which imaginatively traces the
journey of a carbon atom from limestone
to falcon to wine, etc. This exhilarating tale
reveals the truth that chemists know,
despite all the pontifications
philosophers: life is simply a question of
this one humble element.
The young Levi regards the Periodic Table
as “poetry” and chemistry as “the missing
link between the world of words and the
world of things”. (Words concern Levi. On
one occasion he pursues etymologies with
the same rigour in which he pursues his
analyses. The analogy is implicit but
clear.) Chapters spin off from
associations of each particular element to
a more metaphorical level. Some of these
connections are conventional - mercury
naturally leads to alchemy, and lead is the
metal of death - but many are deft and
unexpected. Gold, for example, might be
expected to tell a tale of the evil of avarice
like Chaucer’s ‘Pardoner’s Tale’, but for
Levi it represents the dream of freedom
whilst imprisoned as a partisan. Heavy
uranium, generally carrying the weight of
apocalyptic destruction, here serves as the
catalyst to an airy meditation on self-
delusion.
Chemistry also provides political lessons.
Growing up in Mussolini’s Italy, Levi sees
in his science a riposte to the “stench of
Fascist truths which tainted the sky”. Real
science, “clear and distinct and verifiable
at every step” stands, firm as matter itself,
as the bulwark against Fascism’s pseudo-
science of “unproved affirmations” and
outright lies. A student experiment to
produce zinc sulphate reveals that pure
zinc will not react with sulphuric acid; an
of impurity is needed. As a Jew Levi was,
according to the prevailing dogma, just
such an impurity. Yet the impurity is vital
for the reaction, for a change to take
place: “in order for the wheel to be turned,
for life to be lived, impurities are needed”,
and even soil must contain impurities to be
fertile. This moral is, of course, perennial.
As multi-culturalism comes increasingly
under attack it might be worth considering
that chemical reactions are often violent
the
but without them there is no change, only
the stasis which is death.
Further to this, Levi later speaks of matter
as often manifesting “a cunning intent
upon evil and abstraction, is if it revolted
against the order dear to man”. Thus his
trade teaches him (and us) the folly of
hubris and the necessity of tolerating flaws
and imperfections both in chemical
processes and in human beings. To draw
such a counter-intuitive lesson from the
study of a strictly rational and supposedly
predictable science is typical of Levi’s
wisdom and his ability to compound the
concerns of literature and science. It is not
the depth of his moral and political
observations but his ability to reach this
profundity without neglecting his original
intention “to convey to the layman the
strong and bitter flavour” of his trade which
is his greatest achievement as a writer.
29
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