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Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 610.9
EAN: 9781559708197
Edition: 1
ISBN: 1559708190
Label: Arcade Publishing
Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 408
Publication Date: March 09, 2007
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Studio: Arcade Publishing
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Editorial Review:
This is Morton Meyers' fascinating, entertaining, and highlyaccessible look at the surprising role serendipity played in some of themost important medical discoveries in the 20th century. Though within thescientific community a certain stigma is attached to chance discoverybecause it is wrongly seen as pure luck, happy accidents happen every dayand Meyers shows how it takes intelligence, insight, and creativity torecognize a "Eureka! I found what I wasn't look for!" moment and know whatto do next. Penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear,and Viagra were all discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in search ofsomething else. In discussing these medical breakthroughs and others, Dr.Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, ratherthan purely linear, approach to science.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent but limited.
Morton Meyers book, "Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs" is a thorough and well-written account of a diverse collection of medical events and discoveries in the applied science field of medicine. It is unclear if this was the author's intent or not, but most of the individual doctors, researchers, and scientists cited and discussed are Jewish. The role of Jewish intellectuals in fields as diverse as physics and psychiatry is well-documented. However, Dr. Morton misses ... Read More
Rating:  - It's this perspective which makes HAPPY ACCIDENTS a highly recommended pick
HAPPY ACCIDENTS: SERENDIPITY IN MODERN MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS tells of happy accidental discoveries in the world of science, documenting events and also providing insights into how these accidents came to be realized as beneficial. It's this perspective which makes HAPPY ACCIDENTS a highly recommended pick not just for general interest lending libraries, but for college-level collections strong in health science. Learning to recognize and assess unexpected and accidental results for their possible ... Read More
Rating:  - Uneven
About: How scientists discovered groundbreaking medical treatments when they were looking for something else
Pros: Interesting, bibliography included
Cons: Some stories are more interesting than others
Grade: B
Rating: - A light-hearted book with some serious suggestions
When I first started this book, I considered it nothing more than a bunch of fun anecdotes about medical discoveries. About two-thirds of the way through I realized that Meyers is making a serious point about how science really progresses. Huge projects are much less likely to make breathrough discoveries than scientists piddling around with whatever interests them. Some relatively minor changes in the way science is funded and organized could make a big difference in the return on research dollars. ... Read More
Rating: - Primarily A Book for Researchers
Viagra, Lipitor, antidepressants, chemotherapy drugs, penicillin and other antibiotics - all were discovered by accident, according to Meyers. Similarly, the Pap smear and cathertization of the heart arteries. "Happy Accidents" goes on to provide a number of examples of how this occurred, including new uses for aspirin, advances in ulcer treatment, thalidomine, etc.
Bottom Line: "Happy Accidents" provides researchers with a structure to help encourage beneficial serendipitous thinking.
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