1. Edition - June 2003
55.90 Euro
2003. XIII, 194 Pages, Softcover
19 Fig., 3 Tab. 
- General Reading -
ISBN-10: 3-527-30797-4
ISBN-13: 978-3-527-30797-5 - Wiley-VCH, Weinheim








Short description
What turns a new observation into a true scientific discovery and who may claim the credit? One of the greatest chemists of our times, Jerome Berson, presents a highly readable and highly survey of how discoveries in science, especially chemistry, are made and how this process has been perceived by its main protagonists, the scientists themselves.
Scientists of all ages, as well as many non-scientists, will find this a highly readable and unusual book.

From the contents
Introduction
Theories Built up from Observations. The Inductivist Ideal
Theories from Anywhere: Popper's Philosophy of Conjections and Refutations
Refutation by Internal Contradiction. Kekule's 'Hypothesis of Embarrassment' and the Theory of Benzene
Are Crucial Experiments Conclusive? Refutations: Permanent, Temporary, and Virtual
Farewell to Stasis, Welcome to Metamorphosis: Refutation of Kekule's Rule of Minimal Structural Change in the Discovery of Molecular Rearrangements
Some Non-Refutative Motivations in Science
False but Nevertheless Fruitful Theories. Speculations on the Biogenesis of Alkaloids
Epilogue