杏吧原创

The Ozone Layer by Maureen Christie, Cambridge University
Press,拢40/拢14.95, ISBN 0521659086

鈥淟OOKERS-ON many times see more than gamesters,鈥� wrote the 17th-century guru
Francis Bacon in his Essays. So it was a relief to find, at the end of
Maureen Christie鈥檚 survey of the discovery of the ozone layer, that some of our
investigations were deemed 鈥済ood鈥� science. But then I recalled Littlewood鈥檚
Miscellany, which cites a remark of A.S. Beicovitch鈥斺�滱
mathematician鈥檚 reputation rests on the number of bad proofs he has
given鈥濃�攇lossing it with 鈥淧ioneer work is clumsy.鈥� Gaining scientific
insight is rarely an elegant or straightforward business as any philosopher of
science should surely recognise.

Christie鈥檚 The Ozone Layer offers a thorough and accessible history
of the ozone layer, and an excellent introduction to the philosophy of science.
She also raises interesting questions on the use of powerful computers, but
ignores an important point鈥� transparency. Software of the complexity
required for atmospheric modelling falls, in practice, outside the scope of peer
review. The rest of this section is marred by repetition, inconsistencies and an
uneven tone.

This isn鈥檛, in short, one of those cases where the spectator has seen more of
the game.