No. 105: october 2014

IsSN: 1751-8261 MAGAZINE OF THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

Contents

Blowing up the Basement 1-3

BSHS Prizes 3

Meccano Magazine 4

Little Hitlers 5

BSHS Grant Report 6-7

BJHS Themes 7

AIDS and YOU GAME 8-9 Conference Reports 10-14

Interview 15

BJHS, Viewpoint, BSHS info. 16

Editorial

I Welcome to my final issue as Viewpoint edi- tor: I have rather self-indulgently themed it around my own area of research, the history of science for children. Our feature article by Rebecca Onion (1-3) explores the dangerous consequences when juvenile experiments go wrong, and argues for the role of error and injury in histories of science at home. Peter Bowler continues the nostalgic theme, with his introduction to Meccano Magazine (4). Hannah Elizabeth reflects how our object of the issue, the AIDS and YOU GAME, introduced interactiv- ity to children’s sex education (8-9). “Dangerous Toys.” Life Magazine, November 12, 1971. I owe an enormous thank you to all who have read the magazine over the past five years, as well as to all who have contrib- uted to it. Your unstinting generosity and Blowing up the Basement extraordinarily kind words have made this task a pleasure to undertake. Rebecca Onion revists the joys and hazards of home experiments I wish my successor, Alice White, the in 20th-century America very best in the role: I leave the magazine in extremely capable hands and I am When I talk about my research into chemistry always says, to the kind of laughter that greets sure she will do an outstanding job! For a sets in the American interwar period, especial- a story so common that it’s clichéd. Likewise, glimpse into just one part of her research, ly at history of science conferences, I inevita- it’s fashionable in the press to mention the see her article on playground psychology bly hear from at least one audience member stripped-down chemistry set as a sad sign of (5). Contributions to her first issue should bemoaning the state of home laboratories these nervous times, and a major contribu- be sent to [email protected] by 15th and science play in today’s age of supervi- tor to children’s apparent disinterest in the December 2014. sion and safety. “I almost blew up my parents’ sciences. Melanie Keene, Editor [basement, attic, whole house],” somebody 2 Viewpoint No. 105

“Chemcraft, the Chemical Outfit,” n.d. Chemical Heritage Foundation, Object Collections, 2005.001.

Some of the most entertaining stories who stuffed a carbon dioxide cartridge and experiments into a larger context of changing in scientific biographies have to do with matchheads into a compartment destined to perceptions of children’s level of risk from the the messiness and transgression of child- propel a homemade rocket. Tait was tight- material world. The formal equipment of child- hood experiments gone wrong. In his Uncle ening the device in a vice in his basement hood experimentation - the chemistry set, the Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, workshop when it exploded, hitting him in model rocket - were part of a larger array of Oliver Sacks recounts an episode in which he the stomach. Tait’s younger brother, Terry, toys that were packaged and marketed as aids and a friend, left at home while his friend’s who had been sleeping upstairs, ran down to a child’s natural exploration of the world, parents travelled, gathered a mass of cuttle- and found his wounded sibling in a chair by from the 1910s to the 1950s. fish, which they intended to give to a favourite the telephone, where he had been trying In the 1960s, the easy ride these toys had teacher to use for in-class experimentation. to call for help. Tait died in the hospital. His been given for being associated with the The 13-year-olds didn’t know how to preserve father, a chemist for the J.W. Mortell paint magic word “Science” vanished. The regula- the fish, however, and the vats of it fermented manufacturer in Kankakee, had forbidden him tion of chemistry sets and other science toys and then exploded in the basement of Sacks’ to experiment with that type of rocket fuel; emerged (ironically enough) from a century- friend’s home. Faced with a basement draped the story’s headline read “Father’s Warning long movement enabled by the growth of with bits of fish carcass, the two cleaned up as Ignored; Blast Kills Rocket Fan, 13.” scientific expertise in government. Regulation best they could, and then used a large bottle Stories like John Tait’s, or those of the many came from the rise of public health profes- of coconut essence to try to cover up the other children who lost fingers, eyes, or skin sionals, advocacy groups, and the codifica- smell. This method, Sacks writes in laughing to chemistry sets in the mid-century period, tion of injury epidemiology as a profession. memory, created concentric rings of odour, show what a grip the humorous, light-hearted Worries about children’s physical safety in emanating out from the basement’s blast tale of childhood experimentation has on our the home grew steadily throughout the 20th zone: fish, coconut, fish, coconut. The family imagination. Why do we love a tale like Oliver century, as childhood accidents (slips, falls, had to move out of the house temporarily Sacks’ so much? I think that these stories of punctures, poisonings, burns) came to be per- while a better clean-up was effected. comic experiments reinforce a wistful, nostal- ceived as preventable, rather than acts of God. As a thought experiment, I like to com- gic sense that children of the past were better The attention of public-health professionals pare this “all’s well that ends well” story with at experimentation: smarter, with more fertile turned to accidental injury as more and more another mid-century tale of unsupervised imaginations, and more curious. childhood diseases came under control; for experimentation: the 1960 tragedy of John This picture is complicated if we put the example, thousands of poison-control centres Tait, a teenage student in Kankakee, Illinois, perceived hyper-regulation of children’s were opened around the United States in the Viewpoint No. 105 3

1950s and 1960s: the period after the polio ruled out,” the anonymous author wrote. “Only vaccine gave hope that the scariest threats to under the direct guidance of a person with a children’s bodies could be contained. competent knowledge of chemistry, should The postwar emphasis on accidental injury, a child be permitted to design and carry out BSHS Prizes whether from toys or other household items, his own experiments—and thus be exposed was tied up with a growing perception that to the undeniable fascinations of empirical BSHS Dingle Prize the expanding material world of consumerism inquiry.” In a 1970 article about dangerous was psychologically and physically danger- toys in LIFE magazine, the gap between a par- The Dingle Prize, of £300, is awarded eve- ous. Parents began to perceive the marketing ent’s and a child’s knowledge of the chemistry ry two years to the best book in the his- of toys and children’s items as predatory, and set’s function was presented as a problem, tory of science, technology, and medicine, the objects themselves as unnecessary, ugly, not an attractive feature. “My mother doesn’t published in English, which is accessible and damaging to children’s imaginations. know it, but I can make nitroglycerine or stink to a wide audience of non-specialists. The The American toy safety movement in the bombs,” a “12-year-old chemist” boasts. BSHS is delighted that the 2015 judging late 1960s and early 1970s, which culminated While chemistry sets received an exemp- panel will be chaired by Professor Gowan in the passage (if not consistent funding or tion from regulation under the Toy Safety Dawson (University of Leicester). enforcement) of the Child Protection and Act, given their educational value, companies Toy Safety Act of 1969, was part of a set of reacted to the new climate with self-regula- The winning book should present some rear-guard actions, including regulation of tion, omitting glass alcohol lamps (some of aspect of the field in an engaging and children’s television, meant to separate child- which had been known to explode, prompt- comprehensible manner and should also hood from the marketplace. ing lawsuits) and some acids, and including show proper regard for historical methods This was a significant shift from the prewar more explicit safety warnings in their manuals, and the results of historical research: for years, when toy manufacturers voluntarily aimed at parents. Chemistry sets of today example, it might re-examine a well- self-regulated. The attitude toward children tend to be less wide-reaching and serious in known historical incident or achievement, as consumers in the early 20th century and their coverage, emphasising things that are or bring new perspective to previously the interwar years was a tempered one, with “gross” or “cool,” in the vein of Horrible Science. neglected figures or fields in the past. experts optimistic that children could learn (Though, to be sure, we should remember how to be informed and conscious in their that many interwar chemistry sets featured The winner will also have the opportunity consumer choices. Some such even argued “Chemical Magic” experiments that were not to give a public lecture, organised by the that boys, in particular, might know more very serious at all. One interwar A.C. Gilbert BSHS, on the subject of their book. about certain consumer items than their par- instruction manual instructed children to fol- ents did, and should be consulted in purchas- low the following “experiment”: wait until they Nominations for the Prize of books ing decisions. Likewise, marketing of chemis- were sick, then try eating certain foods to see published in 2013 and 2014 are invited try sets and other science toys assumed that if they got better.) from both individuals and publishers and children knew more than their parents about One last story, that of David Hahn, the should be made to [email protected]. science. In both cases, warnings to be careful “Atomic Boy Scout,” is instructive here. Hahn, uk no later than 30th November 2014. and move with deliberation—buy a bicycle a teenager in Michigan who tried to build a Please include full publication details with after doing all of the research and saving up; nuclear reactor in his mother’s potting shed nominations. carry out chemical experiments using careful in the 1990s, showed remarkable initiative in controls and with the intention of increasing impersonating adults in order to obtain his For further details, as well as instructions your knowledge, rather than making a big raw materials. Hahn worked with a single- for publishers, please see: www.bshs.org. bang—implied children’s ability to rationally mindedness that would look admirable in any uk/dingle-prize-2015. handle the material world. scientific biography. Yet he threatened his Interwar chemistry sets were marketed neighbours’ and his own health through his with parental optimism in mind, operating unsupervised experiments. Eventually forced on the theory that parents would like to think to stop his work, Hahn, who showed little of their children as competent enough to interest in any other academic topics, ended handle a miniature version of an industrial up in a dead-end job, and spent some time in BSHS Singer Prize laboratory. Manufacturers counted on parents prison. being charmed by the very concept of young Hahn’s story exemplifies the problems The Singer Prize, of up to £300, is awarded experimenters, and not reading the long and with looking at all childhood experimenta- every two years to the writer of an unpub- boring instruction manuals. Marketing—the tion with science with the same rose-tinted lished essay, based on original research imagery on box tops and manual covers, as glasses. A better story about the evolution of into any aspect of the history of science, well as the magazines produced by some of home experimentation is more complicated: technology or medicine. The Prize is the manufacturers—reinforced the idea that one that includes injury, mischief, failure, and intended for younger scholars or recent children would take their chemistry set into exclusion. entrants into the profession. the basement or the treehouse and do won- derful things, while parents carried on their Rebecca Onion Essays of no more than 8,000 words adult lives elsewhere. Ohio University/slate.com should be sent to [email protected] no It’s just this fantasy that consumer activ- [email protected] later than 15th December 2014. ists in later years would try to mitigate with warnings about safe conduct. In 1965, the For further details please see: www.bshs. magazine Consumer Reports, reviewing a Rebecca’s book, Innocent Experiments: org.uk/prizes/singer-prize. group of chemistry sets in its Christmas issue, Children and the Culture of Public Science tried to puncture this pleasant fiction. “Free- in the United States, will be published in 2016 style experimentation of any kind must be by the University of North Carolina Press. 4 Viewpoint No. 105

Meccano Magazine Peter J. Bowler reminisces about boys’ toys and popular science in the early 20th century

I always used to take the view that if I could the magazine appeared with the first of what science, with a regular admixture of more gen- remember something happening, then it turned out to be a wonderful sequence of full- eral scientific and geographical material. There couldn’t count as history. That position gets colour covers displaying various technical and were, of course, frequent articles on transpor- harder to sustain when one gets to the age natural wonders. Before Hawks gave up the tation systems around the world, including of retirement, and I now find my work on editorship in 1935 the circulation had reached occasional speculations about future develop- popular science routinely leading me into the 70,000 monthly (reduced to around 40,000 ments such as monorails and proposals for 1950s, when I was growing up in the Midlands. after the war). airports on the top of skyscrapers (which feed Like many boys at the time I had a Meccano Meccano Magazine had the obvious pur- into my own growing interest in the futurol- set, with which one could build models of pose of promoting the construction sets by ogy of the period). But there were also articles everything from the Eiffel Tower to aeroplanes providing new ideas for model-making (it on general science, on the geographical char- out of metal plates bolted together. I also had was also the focus for the Meccano Guild, a acteristics, peoples and economies of other a Hornby 00 electric train set and a collec- nation-wide association of clubs for enthu- countries, and even on archaeology. Hawks tion of Dinky cars. As it happens, I didn’t read siasts). When Hornby train sets were created thus turned Meccano Magazine into a general the Meccano Magazine, which by then had in 1920 they too were promoted, as were the interest-cum-popular science magazine, shrunk from what I now know to have been its Dinky models added to the company’s output exploiting his readers’ fascination with models heyday in the pre-war years – wartime austeri- in1934. But Hawks was a prolific writer of to stir their interest in the wider world and our ties having led to a smaller format and less popular science books – he was a fellow of efforts to understand it. In some respects it attractive printing. The magazine had been both the Royal Astronomical Society and the resembled the adult magazine Armchair Sci- created in 1919, originally as an advertising Zoological Society – and he had the idea of ence – and achieved a much higher circulation vehicle for the construction sets that Frank linking the firm’s models to accounts of real- into the bargain. Hornby had patented in 1901 and renamed life technical and scientific developments. He Examples of material on the earth sciences Meccano in 1907. In 1921 Ellison Hawks was realized that boys who were keen on model include articles on the Heaviside layer, the appointed advertising manager and editor of ships, planes etc. would be interested in the stratosphere and oceanography. In natural the magazine, which in November 1923 he real thing and would want to read more about history there were articles on animals and claimed he would make “the brightest and them. Most of the resulting articles were plants from both home and abroad, but also best paper for boys….” In the following month unsigned and seem to have been written by occasional descriptions of extinct animals Hawks himself. There including the sabre-toothed tigers from the were monthly columns Rancho La Brea tar pits. In anthropology there on railways, aircraft were accounts of the inhabitants of many and engineering, along parts of the world, including the Eskimos and with a ‘General Interest’ Maoris. Potentially controversial topics were feature collecting infor- occasionally raised, as for instance in a 1933 mation on a wide range series on ‘The Story of Prehistoric Man’ which of subjects and a book described the known fossil hominids. In reviews section. There general science there were series on coal and was also a column on its uses, on the applications of chemistry and stamp collecting, which on the history of discovery and invention. A – given the illustrations series on Meccano and science described how used on many stamps one could use the construction set to make – provided a window apparatus for home experiments, thus cleverly into geography, natural linking the magazine’s advertising and educa- history and even anthro- tional functions. pology on a world-wide Hawks was keen to promote awareness of basis. the natural sciences among his young readers In addition to these (mostly boys) and he cleverly insinuated this regular features there type of material into the regular features. were individual articles Boys would read the magazine to learn more on a wide range of sub- about the real-life machines they could model, jects. By the late 1920s but they were also encouraged to widen their at least fifty percent of experience of the world of science. the magazine’s contents was devoted to these wider studies rather than to the models that Meccano actually pro- duced. Hawks ensured that the topics covered the whole spectrum of Peter J. Bowler technology and applied [email protected] The cover of Meccano Magazine for March 1929, archive.org. Viewpoint No. 105 5

Little Hitlers Alice White ponders psychology, politics and the playground in postwar Britain education of the youth of America too, where there was a ‘danger of emphasizing frontier ideals in a highly interdependent society.’ Freud had famously said in the inter-war period that even were it possible he would not psycho-analyse Europe to help solve her problems because “I never take a patient to whom I can offer no hope”, but other psycho- analysts and social psychologists were more optimistic about applying their science to the study of children in order to solve society’s ills. In the UK Anna Freud was working on how to instil democratic values in orphans liber- ated from Nazi concentration camps. Her rival, Melanie Klein, and other object-relations psy- choanalysts were using the “play technique” to uncover and solve disturbances. Klein was also working with evacuee patients and discover- ing “the Hitler inside” or the internal aggres- sive tendencies that children struggled with (see The War Inside by Michael Shapira), and her colleagues in the Children’s Department of the Tavistock Clinic were also studying and treating the psychological damage caused by Ten and eleven-year-old Berlin schoolchildren, 1934, Deutsches Bundesarchiv. displacement, for example due to evacuation. This scholarship argued for the importance of In ‘The Greatest Love of All’, Whitney Houston The work of Ronald Lippitt and Kurt Lewin good human relations in shoring up children’s belted out the lyrics “I believe the children offered nothing less than a potential techni- psychological defences and preventing their are our future/ Teach them well and let them cal manual for creating democracy produced submission to an authoritarian leader. lead the way”. This pop classic could easily during what seemed to many to be dark days The work of the British human relations have been the theme song for social scien- of the rise of totalitarian states. They created scientists, like Lewin, Lippitt and Lewin, tists working in the middle of the twentieth a scientific playground and experimented on offered scientific guidance on how to create century, with a better ring to it but the same the influence of different styles of leadership and manage a democratic state. Manage was message as their proclamation that ‘The chil- on groups of children. Under the guise of kid’s the operative word; these social scientists and dren of today are the custodians of the United clubs, they studied the effect of authoritar- their colleagues were working on ideas of Nations of tomorrow.’ ian, democratic and laissez-faire leadership, leadership and management in society more In June 1947, more than 100 scientists and argued that individual children weren’t broadly, and their studies of kids’ behaviour in two dozen nations had collaborated to inherently autocratic little Hitlers, but would was a practicality because, as stated in the produce a proposal for the establishment of switch their behaviour depending on the United Nations proposal, ‘to overlook children a United Nations Institute for the Human Sci- group they were put in. This implied that the is to be grossly inefficient from the standpoint ences. The first of all of the research projects scientific study of groups was the only way to of social engineering.’ Children were more that these scientists suggested was a project make sense of totalitarian states and human malleable and more easily formed through on human relations in childhood. They argued behaviour more generally. scientific manipulation into good democratic that ‘[n]ot only are children the future citizens Lippitt and Lewin’s work suggested that citizens. The scientific playground offered les- and neighbours of the world, they are also further research was required to ensure that sons for the leaders, and its focus on children that section of humanity which offers most children received the right (scientifically offered hope that those lessons might, for hope for constructive and ameliorative action.’ grounded!) education. One of the people to future generations, change the world. The optimism about what the scientific take up that mantle was Herbert Lewin (no study of children could achieve was, in part, an relation) who had conducted comparative optimism based in fear; there was huge scope studies of ‘Hitler Youth and the Boy Scouts of for change because change was so impera- America’. He made recommendations for the tive in order to prevent the catastrophic and re-education of German youths, to secure Alice White potentially apocalyptic devastation of another the peace ‘by getting the German people to University of Kent World War. Because of such fears, the will (and accept peace as a desirable and permanent [email protected] funding) was available to investigate how to goal rather than a necessary intermission change society for the better and promote between wars’. But he also suggested that good mental hygiene and, that favourite aim ‘we should not hesitate to learn even from From Feburary 2015 Alice White will be the new of beauty pageant contestants, world peace. our defeated enemies’ and argued for the re- editor of Viewpoint. 6 Viewpoint No. 105

BSHS Grant Report The RI, resurrected Flora Paparou introduces her recent initiative which recreated 19th-century lecture demonstrations in a history of science museum During the last decade, there has been of this culture in our times. For this reason, Athens University Museum. I chose to ‘revive’ increased interest in reviving the culture of I chose the RI as a place to visit and study. Hav- one corner of the scientific instrument exhibi- lecture demonstrations as a means of shed- ing watched the videos of the 2012 Christmas tion of the museum, where Crookes’ vacuum ding light on historical scientific instrument lectures delivered by Peter Wothers, I sought tubes, alphabet dial telegraphs constructed collections. Museums hosting such collections the roots and sources of his inspiration in the in Paris during the mid-19th century, and are confronted with one basic problem: while halls of the museum and the documents of acoustic instruments dating from the early these scientific instruments were constructed its archives. Historical lecture demonstrations 20th century were displayed. Having in mind to be used and to produce phenomena, were revived before my eyes through the the detailed notes of Lawrence Bragg, I began they cannot be used by museum visitors texts of Davy, Faraday, Crookes and Lawrence to weave my own scenario. Its focal point was themselves. Lecture demonstrations in these Bragg, which thanks to a BSHS grant I had the to use the Athens University Museum exhibits museums therefore constitute one means opportunity to study in the museum archives as a means to explore aspects of 19th-century of engaging the public with scientific topics. during July 2013. The hurried handwriting of scientific culture. The scientific instruments of During such public communication, events Davy and his references to ancient Greece, the museum display became the opportunity referencing historical experiments, experi- the calligraphic handwriting of Faraday, the to meet Victorian men of science and scientific ments performed before the audience, and interesting episodes in the correspondence of instrument makers, and to explore historical comments on today’s science all add inter- William Crookes, and the systematic manner experiments. They also became an opportu- activity to items more usually sequestered in in which Lawrence Bragg recorded the details nity to rediscover important literary figures glass cases. of his lecture demonstrations: all attracted my of that period, who, fascinated by similar The Royal Institution of Great Britain, which interest and imagination. instruments, included them in their fictional had a leading role in the development of the Back in Greece, I utilised the experience depictions. culture of lecture demonstrations during the of my visit to the Royal Institution for the I first focused on the vacuum tubes, a 19th century, has also pioneered the revival preparation of a lecture demonstration at the cutting-edge technology during the second

Top, presenting the lecture demonstration. Bottom, interacting with the audience. Photographs courtesy of Flora Paparou. Viewpoint No. 105 7

half of the 19th century. I used excerpts from Crookes’ letters and historical scientific texts that referred to experiments on electric discharge in rarefied gas environments, in order to highlight the scientific scene of this period. I also used literary texts by Jules Verne and Edward Bulwer Lytton that were inspired by the beauty of glow discharge phenom- ena. The aforementioned texts were used as comments to a series of experiments, which were performed before the audience. These experiments were conducted with recently constructed instruments. As the instruments with which the experiments were conducted and to which the texts referred were opera- tionally similar to the historical scientific instruments in the museum showcases, the lecture demonstration provided answers to questions regarding the operation of historical scientific instruments in the exhibition as well as the scientific culture in which they partici- pated. The preparation and presentation of the experiments was assisted by a group of my students from the 1st Lyceum of Vrilissia, whom I involved in the project. The second part of the lecture demonstra- tion scenario focused on the scientific instru- ment manufacturing process. The stimulus for this approach was provided by the signature “Froment” that the manufacturer had placed upon the alphabet dial telegraph held by the museum. We projected excerpts from “The Wizards of Light”, a film directed by Serge Guyon and Christine Azémar that traces the history of the measurement of the speed of light. The film brings us to the workshop of Gustave Froment, where we can see Froment discussing with Léon Foucault the manufac- turing of a small part of the experimental set-up for the measuring of the speed of light. Part of this set-up is a Cagniard-Latour siren, Cagniard-Latour siren in the Athens University Museum which we could see both in the film, as part of exhibition. Photograph courtesy of Flora Paparou. Foucault’s rotating mirror experiment of 1862, and also in the Athens University Museum display. The two-hour lecture demonstration was attended by students of various schools of BJHS Themes Athens during 2013-14, and it forms part of the museum science education programme of 2014-15 as well. A discussion of the way that The BSHS is proud to launch BJHS Themes. of which will address a provocative theme. scientific facts have been interwoven with It is an annual sister journal to the British Now is the right time to launch a journal literary works was presented at a conference Journal for the History of Science, and will be of this kind, because there is a need for an this summer, and the whole project will once open access, free to read, and published by outlet through which edited collections of more be presented at the Hellenic History Cambridge University Press on behalf of the high quality history of science can reach a Philosophy and Science Teaching Conference BSHS. broad, scholarly audience. As a rigorously in November 2014. We are looking for proposals of the peer-reviewed, professionally-published, Flora Paparou highest quality for the first issue, with the open access journals, BJHS Themes meets [email protected] successful proposal to be decided through this need. competition. The deadline for submission of proposals is 31st December 2014. Publica- More information can be found here: Flora would like to thank Jane Harri- tion will be in early 2016. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/ son for her assistance in exploring the BJHS Themes aims to publish open access, displayJournal?jid=BJT. RI archives and Pierre Lauginie for his high-quality, scholarly, engaging collections permission to introduce excerpts of the of history of science papers, each collection film “Wizards of Light”. 8 Viewpoint No. 105

Object of the Issue AIDS and YOU GAME Hannah Elizabeth on thinking AIDS, teaching AIDS and playing games

If you go in search of sex educational materi- als for teenagers today, chances are that your first port of call would be the internet. It is also likely that the teenager you have taken it upon yourself to educate has already got there before you and knows what they want to: they have found an abundance of informa- tion aimed at audiences of all ages and edu- cational backgrounds. One prominent feature of the sex education for younger members of the population available through reputable sources on the internet today is the option for interactive learning. But when was such interactivity first introduced? With the internet we expect to find what we want after a bit of canny searching, and we also expect our teenagers to be fairly autono- mous, so it makes sense they would educate themselves and that educators would make interactive resources part of the materials available to them. But when did sex educa- tion stop being about protracted silences and ‘thou shalt nots’ and start focusing on the teenager as an agent who would be best served by materials that forced them to exer- cise their judgment rather than blindly follow rules laid-down by adults? The answer I would expect to hear to these questions would centre on AIDS. AIDS, so the argument goes, changed everything. To a large extent this is true. AIDS shifted the focus of sex education away from the prevention of unplanned pregnancies to sexual health; it provided sexual health educators with a new mandate to intervene in the school lives of children; and it forced the government to put sex education on the national curriculum (even if parents could still remove children from sex education classes). Institutions previ- ously tasked with quietly educating adults about sexual health, or children about ‘the The AIDS and You collection with playing cards and information booklets: 1987 edition facts of life’, were thrust into the awkward and booklet (bottom centre), 1988 board game (top left), 1991 edition booklet (top right), 1994 publicly prominent new role of sex educators Computerised board game (bottom right). to the nation by the AIDS crisis. Wellcome Archive, Boxes EPH 524, EPH 525.1. Image courtesy of Hannah Elizabeth. What AIDS did not do, however, is imme- diately change the attitude of policy makers and educators to teenagers and their unruly looks closer, it becomes clear that not only The case of the British Medical Associa- sexuality. Nor did it force policy makers to were there many more departments within tion (BMA) is useful because it is fairly typical, finally decide who should be in charge of sex government than those which faced the understudied and also gives a little insight education or what it should actually entail. public involved in the creation of AIDS educa- into the ‘and when did sex education get so Officially the government’s early AIDS tion policy, but that actors outside govern- interactive’ question. The BMA was involved education provision was provided by the ment had a formative effect on both policy in AIDS education from the start and proved Department of Health and Social Security and and practice in AIDS education. For instance, instrumental in the formation of the govern- the Health Education Council before its efforts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the British ment’s AIDS policies. AIDS education, the BMA were consolidated in the Health Education Medical Association provided briefings, policy argued, should be explicitly aimed at empha- Authority, and this is where most histories research, fact sheets and collaborated on sising the need of ‘every person’ to ‘avoid of AIDS policy have concentrated. When one specific projects with the government. practices that can lead to the spread of the Viewpoint No. 105 9

infection’, not just specific target groups. They advice therein having percolated through extremely ambiguous, with no sexual organs suggested that it should ‘dispel harmful myths several stages of drafting, with information mentioned, and no explanation of what sex as well as provide factual information’ and deemed ‘risky’ omitted deliberately to prevent might actually be included. emphasised a ‘concern that some heterosexu- knowledge of certain behaviours (and so the Development of the AIDS and YOU series als may be excessively worried that they may thinking went, to prevent the behaviours continued into the 1990s with the release of have contracted HIV infection’. themselves). Leaving aside what was omit- a revised booklet in 1991 and a computerized The BMA identified young people as a key ted, the booklet was fairly explicit, covering version of the game based on the updated target group for education, suggesting to the a range of sexual activities, dissuading the text in 1994. Based very much on the board government, and (eventually) making good in public from engaging in ‘unsafe’ behaviour game, the 2nd edition still contained the their own practice, that ‘young people should and dissolving myths which had arisen around SAFE/UNSAFE activity cards which made up be told in a straightforward way the dan- the disease with varying degrees of sensitivity. the first edition, but within the computer- gers of AIDS before they have any chance of The game was designed to foster discussion ised version new activities and more explicit becoming sexually active.’ They then went on and ‘awareness’ through ‘non-competitive’ explanations had been added. The computer to suggest ‘This could be done at school.’ Note play, educating children about ‘safe and game allowed for a more independent learn- the tentative suggestion that children could be unsafe sexual and social behaviour’ as well ing experience once a password-protected told in school rather than the emphatic should encouraging ‘positive feelings towards those card selection had been made by an adult be which preceded it. The straightforward who are infected.’ This was achieved in the according to ‘the age of pupils, a specific topic’ declaration that young people should be told or ‘a cross-section of cards’. The game had two belies the controversy which surrounded sex modes, allowing pupils to decide if an activity education in the 1980s, which the unwilling- was SAFE or UNSAFE generally ‘in relation to ness to state emphatically by whom they getting HIV’ or ‘whether or not a person who should be told reveals. has HIV/AIDS would be likely to transmit the This ambiguity, typical of sex education virus through the activity.’ This second aspect policy, left the decision to treat adolescents as of the game was to a lesser extent available to either innocent children who need not know players of the board game, but the compu- about sex, or knowing teens who must be terised version explicitly instructs players to given knowledge of sex, at the discretion of ‘imagine you have HIV and decide... whether unnamed interested adults. This same ambi- you put others at risk by doing different activi- guity was enshrined in policy by the 1993 ties.’ Education Act. The Act made the provision of Of the new cards available in the compu- sex education in schools mandatory including terised version, some were merely activities education about HIV, AIDS and other sexually which were present in the original booklet, transmitted infections, but removed refer- but taken out in the board game edition of ences to HIV and AIDS from National Cur- the game. For instance ‘Oral Sex’, deemed riculum Science, and gave parents the right unsafe in the 1987 edition of the booklet, and to withdraw their children from sex education unsafe without a condom in the 1991 edition, classes entirely. In this way, it admitted the is added to the UNSAFE card pile in the com- government and schools had a responsibility puterised game. But the computer game was to provide AIDS education, casting children also more nuanced as well as more explicit. potentially as agents able to make informed Whilst it declared ‘Oral Sex’ to be uncompro- decision about their health and sexuality, but misingly UNSAFE in the simpler mode and left the final decision of its necessity up to the use of condoms remained unmentioned – parents, casting children as innocents. 1988 AIDS and YOU GAME ‘SAFE’ cards, presumably to discourage oral sex altogether At the level of AIDS education material Wellcome Archive EPH 225.1. – the activity is also described as ‘a fairly low production, the conflict between the idea of Image courtesy of Hannah Elizabeth. risk’, whilst entreating the player to ‘remember children as vulnerable innocents or capable semen and vaginal fluid can contain HIV’. moral agents, and knowledge as protective or game mainly by leaving out the more stigma- To conclude by answering the question dangerous, manifested in repeated decisions tising elements of the original text along with I started with then; sex education became by the producers of sex education media to anything deemed too explicit. The game was interactive during the late 1980s, but this either censor certain knowledge or foist the played by picking ‘SAFE’ and ‘UNSAFE’ activi- change was less to do with changing attitudes decision to provide it onto others – that is the ties from a card pile and allowed for the pos- to teenage autonomy and more to do with parents or teachers in most cases. Thus educa- sibility of independent play as teachers could adult anxiety. Interactivity meant flexibility tion was typically provided by producers so add or remove cards ‘as appropriate’ then and complexity; allowing adult producers to that it could be used without going so far as leave the children to it. Thus teachers could encompass both the two key conceptions of to say it should be used. For the BMA this sort decide how dangerous or useful information the child operating in the construction of sex of education provision first took the form of a was to their innocent or knowing pupils. This education policy – innocent/knowing agent; non-competitive AIDS board game released flexibility was far from total; the few cards the two core aims of education – to protect in1988. provided gave scant opportunity to discuss innocents/to empower future moral citizens; The AIDS and YOU GAME was based upon ‘safe’ or ‘unsafe’ activities in comparison to the and the perception of knowledge as both a 1987 booklet originally designed for the explicit source material of the original booklet. protective and dangerous. general public (though its use with children In striking the balance between explicit was suggested only through an adult media- explanations of sex and avoiding danger- tor). The text for the booklet had its genesis ous knowledge it would seem the producers Hannah Elizabeth in early briefing documents designed by the of the AIDS and YOU GAME felt caution was University of Manchester BMA for the government, the information and the better part of valour; the language is left [email protected] 10 Viewpoint No. 105

BSHS Annual Conference University of St Andrews, 4-6 July 2014

This year’s annual BSHS conference took place in the historic Scottish university town of St Andrews. Almost 180 members of the Society, including historians, scientists, teachers and postgraduate students, gathered in this beau- tiful medieval town, their appetites whetted by a memorable 50-kilometre journey from the capital Edinburgh – crossing the Forth Rail Bridge (a technical marvel of the 19th century, spanning the Firth of Forth) and continuing along the stunning coastal route. The conference organizing committee was enthusiastically headed by Aileen Fyfe, ably assisted by the programme coordinator Jenny Rampling, the “cool” committee chair Ben Marsden and many others. The conference itself consisted of a unique mix of papers, discussions on the history of science and present-day developments, and postgradu- ate workshops – accompanied by sightsee- ing tours (Museum of the University of St Andrews, scientific treasures of the University of St Andrews Library, a tour of the Bell- Pettigrew Museum of Natural History), social events (at the St Andrews Brewing Co. pub), delicious food (the conference dinner), won- Aileen Fyfe ensured conference-goers were The opening plenary was introduced by derful drink (a whisky tasting) and a magical given a warm welcome to St Andrews. the BSHS President Hasok Chang, followed by evening of traditional Gaelic dance (a ceilidh) Photograph courtesy of Jenny Rampling. Sally Shuttleworth’s lecture entitled “National featuring a four-man band wearing kilts. Health is National Wealth: Victorian Visions”. The papers during the following days show- cased a wealth of new knowledge on figures who devoted their careers to alchemy, chem- istry, medicine, astronomy, botany, histori- cal geography and more (including famous names such as Brunschwig, Thurneisser, Duhamel du Monceau, Airy, Squire and Gor- don), each contributing their own piece to the colourful mosaic of the history of science. Par- ticularly fascinating for me were presentations on alchemists’ laboratories, observatories and cabinets of curiosities; on the research carried out by Pacific voyages of discovery (the ships Terror and Erebus); and on the implementa- tion of the Victorian health reforms in the Royal Navy between 1880 and 1910. There was also an interesting analysis of research into technological convergence, of key impor- tance for the telegraph line built to connect North America, Ireland and Great Britain in 1850–1866. Other papers focused on a range of subjects including the work of astrono- mers at the Greenwich Royal Observatory in the late 19th century; Colonial and Imperial science; and British experimental agricultural science in the 20th century. Lively discussions The opening reception was held throughout the Museum of the University of St Andrews, followed presentations on the development including its sun-drenched roof terrace. Photograph courtesy of Melanie Keene. Viewpoint No. 105 11

of the British electricity supply system, the construction of roads and railways in British towns and cities during the 20th century, and the development of the first computers – all of which were accompanied by public apprehen- sion in the face of these new technologies. Throughout, presenters used audio and video recordings from films and radio broadcasts to illustrate their points well. There were a huge number of papers in the conference’s various themed sessions, so it was essential to choose carefully. The final day continued at a high standard, with fascinating presentations on the medical and techno- logical development of hearing aids for deaf people; scientific management as promoted by the American industrialist Charles Bedaux; the development of psychological testing in the British Army after the Second World War; a fascinating reconstruction of the working methods of Isaac Newton (based on his hand- written manuscripts on alchemy, theology and ancient history); and a revealing presenta- tion on the foundation of the European Space Agency and the “space race” between the West and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. There were many opportunities to see behind the scenes of local collections in both the The conference also included several University library and museum: here on a tour of the museum stores, which introduced workshops for doctoral students, roundtable an interdisciplinary treasure-trove of objects, from portraits with missing faces to aca- discussions and meetings – as well as an demic robes and early modern gloves, as well as an array of scientific instruments and introduction to the new BSHS President Greg demonstration devices, not to mention a stereoscopic portrait of David Brewster. Radick. Photograph courtesy of Melanie Keene.

Just as the Forth Rail Bridge links two distinct regions of Scotland, this four-day convention brought together different worlds, and even the past and present. The BSHS proved itself to be a scholarly orchestra, bring- ing together researchers in a shared desire to gain a deeper historical knowledge and understanding of the phenomena and regu- larities which have helped shape the stories of the sciences. The conference offered a valua- ble forum for sharing knowledge and opinions on the methods of scientific endeavour – as well as giving rise to a wealth of “everyday” stories of exceptional human contact. I am confident that the BSHS will continue to foster this kind of coming-together in the future, as we look forward to next year’s annual confer- ence in Swansea.

Aleš Materna University of Ostrava, Czech Republic [email protected]

Conference-goers explored local attractions, including the ruined Cathedral. Photograph courtesy of Jenny Rampling. 12 Viewpoint No. 105 Conference Reports Revolutions and Continuity in Greek Mathematics Birkbeck College, University of London, 10th-11th May 2014

The community of the historians of ancient Furthermore, Henry Mendell challenged the revolutionary viewpoint of semiotic model Greek mathematics is rather small. Moreover, prevalent idea of the previous century that theory. its members are scattered throughout the Greek number theory emerged after a founda- There were also lively discussions on an old world and, due to lack of specialised academic tion crisis, by closely examining some of its problem: the ways in which ancient philo- departments, most of them are employed in characteristics, among which the develop- sophical texts prove useful for the historians broader fields such as classics, philosophy, ment of ratios and the omission of fractions. of Greek mathematics. Vassilis Karasmanis and mathematics, to name just a few. As a Other scholars offered a different approach compared the theories of knowledge found consequence, they seldom assemble—and to ‘continuity’: A E L Davis tried to identify the in the Meno and the Republic, highlighted when they do, it is usually in the margin of a ancient Greek origins of the notion of ‘focus’ their differences, and concluded that histo- conference on a broader subject. By virtue of as it appears in the much later works of Kepler, rians of mathematics should not treat Plato’s the above, this two-day international confer- while Elizabeth Kosmetatou looked at some works as a homogenous corpus. Additionally, ence was a rare and memorable event. of the available evidence on Hypatia and con- Naoya Iwata revisited a much discussed geo- The opening keynote was delivered by cluded that irrecoverable textual losses will metrical problem in the Meno (86e4-87b2) by Sabetai Unguru, the very scholar whose 1975 always prevent us from constructing continu- exploring the implications of Cook Wilson’s paper ‘On the Need to Rewrite the History of ous narratives. 1903 interpretation, while Gabriele Galluzzo Greek Mathematics’ caused a series of heated Another key topic of the conference was thoroughly examined Aristotle’s claim that debates over the ambiguous algebraic charac- the so-called ‘non-textual’ aspect of ancient numbers are not aggregated of units. Finally, ter of ancient Greek mathematics. Picking up Greek mathematics. Serafina Cuomo encour- Stylianos Negrepontis proposed that the the threads of these older discussions, Unguru aged us to investigate not only the extant method of anthyphairesis as described in coined the term ‘counter-revolutions’ and, texts but also the available material evidence Euclid’s Elements is fundamental in Plato’s through this, he criticised a number of recent so that to gain a better understanding of whole philosophical doctrine. publications which promote the idea of non- the role of numeracy in Greek mathematical The interested reader will find more infor- Hellenic ancient mathematical proofs. culture. In this line of thought, Ellen Harlizius- mation on the aforementioned presentations As it was expected, the notion of ‘continu- Klück presented what she termed the ‘culture here: www.bbk.ac.uk/history/migrated-con- ity’ was a central theme in several papers, of computation within ancient weaving’ and tent/events/revolutions-and-continuity-in- especially those of Andrew Gregory, Jean suggested its possible impact on the formula- greek-mathematics. The proceedings of the Christianidis, and Henry Mendell. While Gre- tion of Greek mathematics. Michael Weinman ‘Revolutions and Continuity in Greek Math- gory cast doubt on the usefulness of applying identified mathematical patterns used in the ematics’ conference will be published as Vol. Thomas Kuhn’s 1962 theory of scientific revo- designing of the Parthenon, while Courtney III: of de Gruyter’s series: Science, Technology lutions in history of mathematics, Christianidis Roby argued convincingly that the division and Medicine in Ancient Cultures. compellingly argued for the need to set out of Greek mathematics into ‘pure’ and ‘applied’ a continuous narrative of the development is, at large, artificial. Lastly, Claas Lattmann, Dr Michalis Sialaros of algebra from Diophantus to al-Khwarizmi, shifting focus from the text to the accompany- Birkbeck College, University of London to the revaluation of medieval algebra. ing diagrams, explored their relation from the [email protected]

A ‘rare and memorable’ gathering of historians of ancient Greek mathematics. Photograph courtesy of Danae Baffa. Viewpoint No. 105 13

The multi-disciplinary audience in Exeter this June. Photograph courtesy of Jim Lowe. The ‘Artificial’ and the ‘Natural’ in the Life Sciences Byrne House, University of Exeter, Thursday 26th-Friday 27th June 2014.

Attended by scientists, historians and philoso- naming. Nick Binney (University of Exeter) significant heterochrony becomes possible. phers of science, this workshop represented a argued that diseases should be considered as Discussion of embryology and heterochrony bold attempt to integrate multiple disciplinary things that are both natural and artificial, and introduced the last theme that emerged from perspectives on a single question which influ- Guilia Frezza and Mauro Capocci (Sapienza the workshop: the importance of variation ences each of these disciplines. The central Universita di Roma) showed how T.H. Morgan in biology. Jim Lowe (University of Exeter) aim of this workshop was to reflect on the used an artificial construct of an ‘invisible highlighted how methodological norms and traditional dichotomy between things consid- gene’ to discover natural genetic phenomena. assumptions have influenced the study of ered ‘artificial’ and things considered ‘natural’, As the use of the artificial makes possible the embryological variation, and suggested that in an attempt to draw out how this dichotomy experience of the natural, the strict opposi- such historical work can open up possibili- has shaped scientific investigation in a variety tion between the natural and the artificial was ties for the re-evaluation of methodological of scientific contexts from 1850-1950. again called into question. norms used in embryology today. Helen Curry Four themes emerged from the talks. The Frezza and Capocci’s presentation raised (University of Cambridge) discussed radia- first, introduced by S. Andrew Inkpen (Univer- another theme: the role of the artificial in tion induced mutation in the early twentieth sity of British Colombia) and Tarquin Holmes making the natural intelligible. Jon Hodge’s century, and how the acceptance of this tech- (University of Exeter), explored the opposition (University of Leeds) talk showed how promi- nique depended upon the perceived similarity between the ‘wild’ and the ‘domestic’. Inkpen nent figures in the history of evolution made between artificially induced and naturally showed how contingent decisions about the use of analogies between the natural and the occurring variation. species of fruit fly were viewed as ‘wild’ or artificial informed. Tom Quick’s paper explored Thanks to the effort of all those attending, ‘domestic’ fundamentally shaped genetics. how the use of artificial tools, like the micro- papers on wildly different subjects, from dif- Holmes concentrated on species designated scope, enabled women to become accepted ferent disciplines, were related to one another, as ‘wild types’, which play an essential role in as competent observers of nature. and contributed to the discussions which genetics by acting as a control against which A particular highlight of the workshop was started in the post-presentation questions, deviation is measured, despite there being the combined presentation by three biolo- and continued into the breaks. Many contacts very little that could be considered ‘wild’ gists (from Plymouth University). John Spicer were made at this event, and the discussion about them. These talks show that decisions used the late nineteenth century work of and cross-fertilisation will surely continue about what was ‘wild’ (i.e. natural) and ‘domes- Walter Garstang to problematize the biogenic beyond it. ticated’ (i.e. artificial) have had a significant law, which holds that ontogeny recapitulates The organisers of the event gratefully influence on genetics in the period of interest. evolutionary development. Simon Rundle acknowledged the support given by Egenis, These talks also introduced another impor- explored how the early development of the the Centre for the Life Sciences, who hosted tant theme that emerged from the workshop: biogenic law was supported by the use of and publicised the event, and the British Soci- the collapse of the distinction between the artifice in the form of drawings to represent ety for the History of Science and the British artificial and the natural. This theme was the stages of embryological development. Society for the Philosophy of Science, both of prominent in many of the presentations. These stages came to have a regulative role whom contributed significant funds, without Robert Brain (University of British Colombia) in observation of the developing embryo, which the event could not have taken place. presented a biography of 'protoplasm' from and reduced the ability of scientists to see 1850 to 1950, and showed how the division variation in development and heterochrony. between what is natural and what is artifi- Oliver Tills concluded by presenting quite cial is blurred by this story. Joeri Witteveen magnificent high resolution video of develop- (University of Utrecht) argued that Linnaeus, ing embryos, and linked them to a discussion Nick Binney in promoting a natural system of classifica- of how, if different assumptions about how to [email protected] tion, also promoted an artificial system of look at development are made, observation of University of Exeter 14 Viewpoint No. 105

International Conference on BSHS the History of Physics Conferences Trinity College, Cambridge, 4th-5th September 2014 Postgraduate Conference History of physics: what is it good for? This less successful. Many issues were raised, but 2015 - UCL was the question John Heilbron attempted to an inappropriate venue (a lecture theatre) answer in his opening tour de force; and if you and the inordinate amount of time given to The next BSHS Postgraduate Conference didn’t have an answer at the beginning, you the two speakers – both museum directors – will take place at University College certainly did after two days packed with talks militated against its success. Still, I was glad London from 7th-9th January 2015. The and other activities – a programme that, sadly, to hear a major concern of mine – the lack of registration deadline is 5th December left little time for actual “conferring”. liaison between scientists with equipment 2015, and further information can be The leading topic was “Electromagnetism – to dispose of, and museums keen to have it, found here: www.bshs.org.uk/ the Road to Power”. The 120 delegates came often resulting in the loss of the kit – raised by conferences/postgraduate- from several distinct communities, including someone with considerably more clout than conference/2015-postgraduate-confer- practising and retired physicists, professional me. Not that the speakers’ response – “give ence-ucl. historians of science, and museum cura- me a ring” – was terribly comforting; in my tors, providing a rare opportunity for these opinion, curators must be far more proactive communities to interact. I have no idea how than that, blagging their way into laboratories successful it was in this respect, but there was and sniffing out kit before scientists bin it. Annual Conference 2015 - certainly quite a buzz in the coffee breaks. Hardly a talk went by without the name of Swansea I can’t begin to summarise everything, so James Clerk Maxwell cropping up. Maxwell what follows is a very personal and impres- spent a large part of his all-too-short life edit- The next BSHS Annual Conference will sionistic account of the conference. ing the electrical papers of Henry Cavendish, take place in Swansea from Thursday As a former telecomms engineer I was and Isobel Falconer explained that this was 2nd to Sunday 5th July 2015. Watch interested to hear Helge Kragh give an to some extent a restoration job, following an out for the call for papers and further account of the mid-19th century problem with earlier attempt by William Snow Harris, which details, which will be announced soon. underwater cables. It is a familiar story, usually had “put a spin” on Cavendish’s experiment associated with the names of Faraday and reports and diagrams. Maxwell also wanted to Thomson; but this version went on to include highlight Cavendish’s meticulous documenta- Ludvig Lorenz’s ultimately successful struggle tion of method, for the benefit of others. to convince the engineers that the problem A name heard almost as often was that of of delayed and distorted pulses could be Faraday, and I was intrigued to learn from corrected by increasing the inductance rather Friedrich Steinle that in 1851 Faraday had Notice than reducing it. The practice of inserting “recanted” on his earlier identification of “loading coils” into telephone circuits at lines of force as physical entities. I wasn’t so Wittgenstein and Physics regular intervals continues today, but Lorenz’s sure, though, about Steinle’s assessment of Conference - Oxford initial suggestion was for continuous loading, Ampère’s work as “a success”, given that his with iron wire wound around the copper, and law for the force between current elements 22nd November 2014, St Cross College, this too actually worked. was quickly forgotten, and, despite his vision- Oxford. The conference will discuss Graeme Gooday raised the temperature ary early assertion that magnetism could be Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy and somewhat by advancing a familiar thesis from explained entirely in terms of currents, it was his influence on the emerging physics at the historians’ camp, namely that the norm in still being taught 140 years later as primarily a the time. Topics will cover his early years the history of science is for pure and applied property of magnets. in Boltzmann’s Vienna, then his study science to go hand in hand rather than for Watch out for ICHP 2016, which will be held in Planck’s (and then Einstein’s) Berlin, the former to precede, and be superior to, in Austria. then his move to Rutherford’s Manches- the latter. Since WW1 state funding, spe- ter and eventually his arrival to join the cialisation and “big science” have effectively cohort of great physicists in Cambridge squeezed out the patent-holding inventor, but in the 1930s and 1940s. Registration before that there was a far closer relationship and attendance at the conference are between research in physics and its applica- FREE. tions, as evidenced by a study of figures such Details of the conference and how to as Lord Kelvin and Oliver Lodge, although register are at http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/ Lodge’s “revisionist” autobiography, and happ/events/wittgenstein-and-physics- other documents from the time, reveal that one-day-conference. entepreneurial aspects of physics were often suppressed. A debate on contemporary issues around Jim Grozier “the presentation of science and its history in University College London museums, galleries and science centres” was [email protected] Viewpoint No. 105 15

The Viewpoint Interview

Sally Shuttleworth is Professor of English Literature and a Fellow of St Anne’s College at the University of Oxford.

Who or what first turned you towards the I stepped down from being Head of the Which historical person would you most history of science? Humanities Division at Oxford, I felt duty like to meet? bound to follow my own words of encour- I studied English and Sociology at York as an agement to others, and to apply for grants. This shifts with whatever I am working on, undergraduate, and found the two depart- I was in Germany, for our niece’s wedding, and at the moment it would have to be ments at war, with Leavisite English tutors checking emails in the hostel when I discov- the wonderful, idealistic Victorian medical on one side, and structural functionalists on ered, in two consecutive emails, that I had reformer, Dr Benjamin Ward Richardson, the other. I was informed by one particu- been successful for both the large AHRC who had enough enthusiasm and energy larly disgruntled tutor in Sociology, that if Science in Culture grant for ‘Constructing for twenty. I did not believe Sociology was a science, I Scientific Communities’, and also the ERC should get back to the English Department. Advanced Investigator for ‘Diseases of What are your favourite history of science This stimulated a life-long interest in ques- Modern Life’. Minutes later we were in the books? tions of what constitutes a science, and the Church, with the bride’s father, an ex-opera relationship between science and language. singer, singing his heart out for his daugh- Early on it was Foucault’s Order of Things, In my doctorate, which initially focused ter. We were all awash with emotion. Canguilhem’s Le Normal et le Pathologique, on George Eliot and Durkheim, I explored and Anthony Wilden’s, System and Struc- the rise of organicist thinking in different And worst? ture. In the history of psychology I am a big disciplinary forms. I worked initially with admirer of Roger Smith, from his early Trial Raymond Williams, before transferring to The first review of my first book, George by Insanity, to his latest, Between Mind and work with Gillian Beer, which was an excel- Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Science. I had Nature, whilst Jim Secord’s Victorian Sensa- lent move. Although I am obviously a liter- wondered why my colleagues were giving tion is a superb model for anyone working ary scholar, history of science has informed me kindly but pitying looks, until one com- in print culture and science. virtually all my work from then on. miserated with me and I discovered there had been a vicious review (either TLS or What would you do to strengthen the his- What has been your best career moment? THES, I can’t remember which). It started tory of science as a discipline? off by saying that there used to be a fashion On the teaching front, it can be receiving for tracing nautical metaphors in Shake- Why is it that the media tend to turn to letters/emails, often years after the event, speare, and proving that he was a sailor, scientists, rather than historians of science, saying how important a class had been for and that my work was of that order. Luckily to discuss issues in the history of science? that student’s development. I think stu- it also concluded that my work had all the If we could crack this question, and ensure dents generally have no sense of how much flaws of Gillian Beer’s work, so at least I was that it is always a historian discussing the academics value such communications. On in good company. Nonetheless it still hurt; issues, it would give the discipline a much the more public front, I suppose receiving thankfully all the rest were good, but such higher public profile, and greater influence news that I had been awarded two large venom leaves its mark. with the research councils, helping to break grants last summer was quite special. After through current ‘presentist’ thinking . 16 Viewpoint No. 105

The British Journal for the History of Science The December 2014 issue includes:

Vidar Enebakk, ‘Hansteen’s magnetometer and the origin of the magnetic crusade’

Rebekah Higgitt, ‘A British national observatory: the building of the New Physical Observatory at Greenwich, 1889–1898’

Michael Kershaw, ‘”A thorn in the side of European geodesy”: measuring Paris-Greenwich longitude by electric telegraph’

Ron Naylor, ‘Paolo Sarpi and the first Copernican tidal theory’

Doris T. Zallen, ‘The power of partnerships: the Liverpool School of Butterfly and Medical Genetics’

Alan Jones, ‘Elite science and the BBC: a 1950s contest of ownership’

www.bshs.org.uk/publications/bjhs

Viewpoint: the Magazine of the BSHS

Contributions All contributions and correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Alice White, School of History, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NX; [email protected]. Electronic communication is preferred. Viewpoint is issued three times a year – in February, June and October. The next issue will be in February 2015 and the deadline for copy is 15th December 2014.

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