Writing a book may seem like a solitary pursuit, but in my case it was deeply embedded in a social structure involving people who are also passionate about the topic at hand, or at least endowed with patience and generosity beyond the call. My agent, James Levine, helped me navigate the mysterious publishing world and gave me leave to tend to my writing without fretting about the process of turning my ideas into ink on pulp. Jim told me that my editor at Basic Books, T. J. Kelleher, was one of the best in the business when it comes to editing science books. I’m prepared to believe him. I thank T. J. for his cogent comments as the project took shape and his sharp edits. My editor at NPR, Joe Neel, also made many perceptive comments on a draft. I’m also grateful to Anne Gudenkauf, who runs the NPR science desk, for affording me the time to work on this project.
Most people quoted directly in this book talked to me in 2015 and 2016. Many gave me at least an hour of their valuable time, some considerably more. I’m grateful to all of them. I won’t list their names here since you have already met them in the course of the book, but I would particularly like to thank Richard Neve and John Porter for their ongoing conversations with me. Olaf Andersen, Mark Winey, and members of his lab graciously put up with a barrage of questions while providing me hospitality. Thanks also to Roger Peng at Johns Hopkins, who helped me sort through statistical matters. I’m especially grateful to Tom Murphy, Sally Curtin, and Stan Artman, who shared their personal stories.
All quotes from the Nature journals are reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. I use the copyrighted quotes from Stuart Firestein’s Failure: Why Science Is So Successful with the permission of Oxford University Press. I’m grateful that the Public Library of Science journals and eLife make their material freely available through the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to Dan Sarewitz at the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes of Arizona State University (ASU). He provided me a place to work in ASU’s Washington, DC, offices, as well as an appointment as a visiting scholar, which included financial support. (Interviews in Tempe with Anna Barker, Carolyn Compton, and Josh LaBaer took place on ASU-supported trips.) Most importantly, I value Dan’s many conversations with me as the book took shape and his insightful comments throughout.
RICHARD HARRIS,
September 2016