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Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Major Medical Breakthroughs in the Twentieth Century
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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About this ebook
The eureka moments behind discoveries from penicillin to Pap smears: “A character-rich account of the role of chance in scientific research . . . Illuminating.” —Kirkus Reviews
What do penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear, and Viagra have in common? They were each discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in the search for something else.
In the 1990s, Pfizer had high hopes for a new drug that would boost blood flow to the heart. As they conducted trials on angina sufferers, researchers noted a startling effect: while the drug did not affect blood flow to the heart, it did affect blood flow elsewhere! Now over six million American men have taken Viagra in their lifetime.
Winston Churchill once said, “Men occasionally stumble across the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.” Within the scientific community, a certain stigma is attached to chance discovery because it is wrongly seen as pure luck. Happy accidents certainly happen every day, but it takes intelligence, insight, and creativity to recognize a “Eureka, I found what I wasn't looking for!” moment, and know what to do next. In discussing medical breakthroughs, Dr. Morton Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, rather than purely linear, approach to science—that may just save our lives.
“The anecdotes are lively and filled with miniportraits of important doctors like Paul Ehrlich (who pioneered the use of chemistry to develop medical treatments) and Arthur Voorhees (who stumbled onto the treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysms).” —Publishers Weekly
“Original and highly enjoyable.” —Robert Fuchgott, Nobel Laureate in Medicine
What do penicillin, chemotherapy drugs, X-rays, Valium, the Pap smear, and Viagra have in common? They were each discovered accidentally, stumbled upon in the search for something else.
In the 1990s, Pfizer had high hopes for a new drug that would boost blood flow to the heart. As they conducted trials on angina sufferers, researchers noted a startling effect: while the drug did not affect blood flow to the heart, it did affect blood flow elsewhere! Now over six million American men have taken Viagra in their lifetime.
Winston Churchill once said, “Men occasionally stumble across the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing has happened.” Within the scientific community, a certain stigma is attached to chance discovery because it is wrongly seen as pure luck. Happy accidents certainly happen every day, but it takes intelligence, insight, and creativity to recognize a “Eureka, I found what I wasn't looking for!” moment, and know what to do next. In discussing medical breakthroughs, Dr. Morton Meyers makes a cogent, highly engaging argument for a more creative, rather than purely linear, approach to science—that may just save our lives.
“The anecdotes are lively and filled with miniportraits of important doctors like Paul Ehrlich (who pioneered the use of chemistry to develop medical treatments) and Arthur Voorhees (who stumbled onto the treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysms).” —Publishers Weekly
“Original and highly enjoyable.” —Robert Fuchgott, Nobel Laureate in Medicine
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Reviews for Happy Accidents
Rating: 3.6153845846153847 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
13 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fast -reading very interesting history of scientific discovery that occurs while looking for something else. A dust mote of common mold makes its way to an unwashed petri dish and leads to penicillin. A common rye fungus and fortuitous weather conditions leads to the Salem witch trials and acid trips on LSD. A side-effect of a tuberculosis drug leads to a pill for delirious schizophrenics. The book is an ode to the nerdy loner scientists we all laughed at in middle school. Long may they prosper and discover!