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From Booklist
This is the second book (the first was Cantor's Dilemma) in what chemist Djerassi projects will be a tetralogy about what makes scientists act like scientists. The Nobel laureate calls his efforts science in fiction to distinguish them from science fiction, and in this novel, he portrays, rather than the adventurous and speculative concerns of most sf, the scientist's desire for recognition by his peers, the inherent collegiality of science, and the current aging of so many of the great practitioners of Western science. Max Weiss has recently been "retired" as a professor of biochemistry. He comes up with the idea of creating a contemporary small group of scientists modeled after the real-life gathering of French mathematicians who publish under the name Nicolas Bourbaki. Weiss' group will show that scientific altruism is workable and that creative work can be done by retired or elderly scientists. The group fares fairly well until one of its members discovers a major new method. Djerassi perceptively explores his characters' motives and their changing attitudes and relationships. William Beatty
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
From Kirkus Reviews
In Stanford chemistry professor Djerassi's second attempt (following Cantor's Dilemma, 1989) at a genre he calls science- in-fiction, science thrives but fiction is anemic. His themes, announced in a rather didactic foreword, are the graying of Western science and the conflict between collegiality and individual scientists' personal ambition. The narrator, Max Weiss, professor emeritus of biochemistry at Princeton, seeks revenge against a system that forces retirement on people who are still productive. Borrowing an idea from a group of French mathematicians who for years published collectively and anonymously under the pen name Nicolas Bourbaki, he conceives of a stunt designed to show the establishment just how creative oldsters can be. Abetted in this venture by Diane Doyle-Ditmus, a driven feminist historian with access to grant money, Weiss gathers a diverse group of aging scientists with similarly bruised egos: Hiroshi Nishimura, a Tokyo biochemist with a penchant for poetry; Sepp Krzilska, an Austrian molecular biologist; and Charlea Conway, a mathematical biophysicist from Chicago and the group's only female scientist. After establishing the reputation of Diane Skordylis, their chosen pseudonym, with a number of papers in selected journals, they hit the jackpot with a revolutionary technique for replicating fragments of genetic material. (This advance brought its real-life developer, Kary B. Mullis, a Nobel Prize in 1993.) Success spawns problems, however, as the egos of individual scientists resist being submerged, and Skordylis's true identity is soon revealed before an appropriate audience. Unlike Djerassi's memoirs (The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse, 1992), which were filled with engaging stories, not much happens here, and when it does, it happens slowly. Moments that should be dramatic have a static quality, and the dialogue frequently sounds stilted. Djerassi takes pains to make the science clear, however, and the announced themes are developed fully. No Michael Crichton thriller, but an interesting picture of how real science operates. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.
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2 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Taschenbuch
This excellent book explored the collaborative process of science in the framework of an interesting story. It is a must read for scientists who should learn lessons from this book. It should be noted however that the author is not a nobel prize winner as the first review would have us believe.
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3 Rezensionen
3 von 3 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Excellent premise, but not as well crafted as "Cantor's Dilemma"
2. März 2009
Format:Taschenbuch
Djerassi is once again to be commended for writing an entertaining novel to educate the general public about the forces that really drive scientists as individuals, and the world of scientific research in general. If the public is to make intelligent decisions about how to fund, teach, and promote science, then this kind of insight into the (sometimes messy) realities of the research world is a must. For this purpose, a well-told story is worth a hundred dry, factual reports.
The premise of "The Bourbaki Gambit" is excellent. (The title of the book comes from the pseudonymous mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki, although only one character in the book is a mathematician.) An older and highly successful biochemist, feeling that he has been prematurely put out to pasture, seeks revenge by recruiting three other like-minded colleagues to form a pseudonymous and anonymous collaboration. Their goal? To expose the ageist prejudices of the scientific world by publishing outstanding research under a pen name and then, after the kudos roll in, to reveal their true identities. The plan seems perfect---until paradoxically, they become victims of their own success.
In a world where people are living increasingly long and healthy lives, and where collaboration is becoming increasingly important even in traditionally "solitary" fields (as I write this, the renowned mathematician Tim Gowers is experimenting on his blog with "Polymath," a large-scale pseudonymous---but not anonymous---wiki-style collaborative research entity), the premise of "The Bourbaki Gambit" is extremely relevant. Scientists themselves (and not just the general public) would do well to grapple more directly and openly with the problems and issues that are highlighted in this book.
I must confess, however, that I found "The Bourbaki Gambit" to be less well-written than Djerassi's more famous book, "Cantor's Dilemma." One gets the feeling that the author overindulged himself by inserting a lot of trivia about his favorite hobbies and pet interests. These details can be interesting if you happen to share the same interests---for example, even though I am a mathematician and know about Hy Bass, I did not know that he contributed to Bourbaki---but too often they fail to enliven the characters or plot, or contribute to the underlying social commentary, and thus they cause the book to drag. The characters in "Cantor's Dilemma" are more believable, three-dimensional, and likable. So if you have never read Djerassi before, I recommend you start with "Cantor's Dilemma."
By the way, the characters' main scientific discovery in the book is in fact a real piece of science, and the true story of its discovery is quite fascinating in its own right. Be sure to check it out after finishing Djerassi's book.
The premise of "The Bourbaki Gambit" is excellent. (The title of the book comes from the pseudonymous mathematician Nicolas Bourbaki, although only one character in the book is a mathematician.) An older and highly successful biochemist, feeling that he has been prematurely put out to pasture, seeks revenge by recruiting three other like-minded colleagues to form a pseudonymous and anonymous collaboration. Their goal? To expose the ageist prejudices of the scientific world by publishing outstanding research under a pen name and then, after the kudos roll in, to reveal their true identities. The plan seems perfect---until paradoxically, they become victims of their own success.
In a world where people are living increasingly long and healthy lives, and where collaboration is becoming increasingly important even in traditionally "solitary" fields (as I write this, the renowned mathematician Tim Gowers is experimenting on his blog with "Polymath," a large-scale pseudonymous---but not anonymous---wiki-style collaborative research entity), the premise of "The Bourbaki Gambit" is extremely relevant. Scientists themselves (and not just the general public) would do well to grapple more directly and openly with the problems and issues that are highlighted in this book.
I must confess, however, that I found "The Bourbaki Gambit" to be less well-written than Djerassi's more famous book, "Cantor's Dilemma." One gets the feeling that the author overindulged himself by inserting a lot of trivia about his favorite hobbies and pet interests. These details can be interesting if you happen to share the same interests---for example, even though I am a mathematician and know about Hy Bass, I did not know that he contributed to Bourbaki---but too often they fail to enliven the characters or plot, or contribute to the underlying social commentary, and thus they cause the book to drag. The characters in "Cantor's Dilemma" are more believable, three-dimensional, and likable. So if you have never read Djerassi before, I recommend you start with "Cantor's Dilemma."
By the way, the characters' main scientific discovery in the book is in fact a real piece of science, and the true story of its discovery is quite fascinating in its own right. Be sure to check it out after finishing Djerassi's book.
Issues in science and mathathics: age, gender and originality
3. August 2008
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
The collective Individual of the French mathematical community Nicolas Bourbaki is the inspiration for four people in biochemistry: they form the collective individual Diana Skordylis and publish research papers under that name. What breaks up the association is not failure, but success.
The book is slow and almost too literary, but the character development is better than many faster or more interesting novels.
Had they developed a biotoxin or a weapon of some kind, it might have
had spies and intrigue that would
have gained the book a wider audience.
Instead it became a polemic against sex and age discrimination in the
scientific and educational community.
The fact that one gets paid more for getting more published under an individual name and that individuals can't get published without some recognized sponsorship makes the system system somewhat secure
from raging originality and not all an open form. It is not at all clear why older successful people would be threatened by being retired
so that younger people can get at least a chance
should be much of an issue:
a more important issue is the voices who are never heard or even allowed to speak or publish their work or ideas.
The book is slow and almost too literary, but the character development is better than many faster or more interesting novels.
Had they developed a biotoxin or a weapon of some kind, it might have
had spies and intrigue that would
have gained the book a wider audience.
Instead it became a polemic against sex and age discrimination in the
scientific and educational community.
The fact that one gets paid more for getting more published under an individual name and that individuals can't get published without some recognized sponsorship makes the system system somewhat secure
from raging originality and not all an open form. It is not at all clear why older successful people would be threatened by being retired
so that younger people can get at least a chance
should be much of an issue:
a more important issue is the voices who are never heard or even allowed to speak or publish their work or ideas.
1 von 4 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Djerassi did not win a nobel prize.
3. September 1999
Format:Taschenbuch
This excellent book explored the collaborative process of science in the framework of an interesting story. It is a must read for scientists who should learn lessons from this book. It should be noted however that the author is not a nobel prize winner as the first review would have us believe.
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