{"product_id":"i-told-you-so-by-matt-kaplan-9781250372277","title":"I Told You So!","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the \u003cem\u003eEconomist\u003c\/em\u003e. He's seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behaviour of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don't conform or have the right connections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th-century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realised that Childbed fever—a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth—was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA—a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47550344167660,"sku":"9781250372277","price":49.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781250372277-i-told-you-so.jpg?v=1776801480","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/i-told-you-so-by-matt-kaplan-9781250372277","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}