The Golem

What You Should Know about Science

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by Harry M. Collins and Trevor Pinch

Cambridge University Press

Due/Published November 1998, 212 pages, paper

ISBN 0521645506

In the very successful and widely discussed first volume in the Golem series, The Golem: What You Should Know About Science, Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch likened science to the Golem, a creature from Jewish mythology, a powerful creature which, while not evil, can be dangerous because it is clumsy. In this second volume, the authors now consider the Golem of technology. Using the same successful format, in a series of case studies they demostrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science described in the first volume.