Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch liken science to the Golem, a creature from Jewish mythology, powerful yet potentially dangerous, a gentle, helpful creature that may yet run amok at any moment. Through a series of intriguing case studies the authors debunk the traditional view that science is the straightforward result of competent theorisation, observation and experimentation. The very well-received first edition generated much debate, reflected in a substantial new Afterword in this second edition, which seeks to place the book in what have become known as 'the science wars'.
In Artificial Experts, Collins explains what computers can't do, but he also studiesthe ordinary and extraordinary things that they can do. He argues that the machines we create arelimited because we
"In this unusual, challenging, interdisciplinary book, Collins and Kusch have provided us with the best analysis we currently have of the determinants of the possibilities of automation." -- Donald Ma
A creature of Jewish mythology, a golem is an animated being made by man from clay and water who knows neither his own strength nor the extent of his ignorance. Like science and technology, the subjec
Good call or bad call, referees and umpires have always had the final say in sports. Bad calls are more visible: plays are televised backward and forward and in slow moti
