Intuition: A review

Just finished reading a novel 'Intuition' by Allegra Goodman. Its a long time since I read a fiction. I happened to read an interview with Allegra Goodman somewher sometime back.

In the mind of general public scientists are 'crazy nuts'. A bunch of absentminded fellows who dont do what they think, who work in dark corners in isolation... Popular fiction and movies have contributed a great deal to generate such an image. Starting from Dr.Frankenstein to a variety of similar stereotyped characters in zillions of television dramas.

Such characters had attracted me as a child while reading comics, but not very much now-a-days. I can vouch that majority of us are not like that. We are just normal people trying to find some sense out of this insane world.Unfortunately scientists are not celebrities yet, so people generally dont care whats happening in thier world. For most of poeple discoveries happen as a result of flash of brilliance (just like Dr.House solve the medical mystery). That is not just true. Scientific discoveries are really excruciating experience. Long hours, lost sleep and lots of pain; that is lab life. No discoveris happen by fall of an apple on your head.

Discoveries take time. It is the result of systematic and planned work . You have to maintain your sanity (at least to some degree) to make a coherent story from the scrambled data sets. And (most of) scientists are just normal human beings with feelings, emotions and social interactions.

But you will hardly find realistic stories on science: Scientists are "regular" human beings. I decided to read 'Intuition' because it was such a story. Story with "humanized scientists" as characters. Its the story that happen in a cancer biology lab in fictictional Philpott Institute in Boston "very close" to Harvard university. The story begins with the depiction of Cliff, a frustrated post doc. Whose project for more than two years has not reached anywhere. The lab is running out of money and the PI admonish Cliff and suggest to change the project. However, things turn around when all of a sudden Cliff's project start working. The lab get funded due to the Nature publication out of the project. Everything goes well, until Robin, another postdoc in the lab and Cliffs ex-girl freind find some inconsistencies in the data and report them to authorities. Well, things go out of control of everyone involved. However, from what I understand it turn out to be an un intentional mistake, happened by over looking some data, a natural tendency of mind to favor your hypothesis. In the end all is well and life goes on with some minor changes.

Shallow ideas and funding crisis are the two major problems in science. Some people do science for the fun of doing it. It is a great experience. Any information gives happiness. Doesnt matter whether it fovour your hypothesis or not. But when millions of dollars are involved there have to have some trade offs. The life start to turn around the dark bands those appear on the X-ray films. Science became a means of life rather than fun. As many great scientists says, given a chance all scientists want to try out risky ideas. But when money comes with lots of pre-conditions you just cant do it. Science turn out to be the bread and butter for body rather than for mind.

Coming back to the the novel, overall it is an average novel. But gives more realistic picture about the way science is being done. I would recommend to read it if you have time. No need to find time to read it!!

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