Drive and Curiosity

""Is there a recipe for research successes reaching the highest pinnacles? What are the common characteristics of discoveries that profoundly alter the world we live in? Drive and Curiosity presents fifteen case studies that explore these questions in a manner both inviting and at once accessible to readers having all different backgrounds.”—Richard N. Zare, Stanford University; Wolf Prize laureate; King Faisal International Prize laureate“Scientific discoveries that change the existing paradigm of their fields are few and far between. By examining the individuals and circumstances at the center of fifteen such breakthroughs, Istvan Hargittai has revealed in an elegant and personalized way the differing motivations and compulsions that drove the discoveries. His study reveals how curiosity, passion, persistence, resiliency, competitiveness, and the pride of accomplishment undoubtedly contributed to these monumental discoveries. Throughout each, the underlying driving force is what Horace Judson once referred to as ‘the rage to know' and the ‘acute discomfort of unknowing.' So long as science remains a difficult, exciting, and beautiful pursuit, confronting the limits of what is knowable will flourish.”—Paul Berg, Nobel laureate, Stanford University“What a variety of ways people have found to be creative! Hargittai's most readable account of some of our scientific heroes and heroines focuses on their motivations, what drove them. Sorry, no secret to success, no philosopher's stone—just some smart, hardworking people trying to do their darndest to understand the world. I find this very encouraging.”—Roald Hoffmann, Nobel laureate, chemist, writer“I read this fascinating book in an evening, intrigued by the varied backgrounds and motivations of the fifteen scientists portrayed. ‘Drive,' yes, but for what? Sometimes for fame, but as often, it seems, to do good work, to merit the name, ‘scientist.'" —Richard L. Garwin, IBM fellow emeritus; recipient of the National Medal of Science“Perhaps nothing honors the spirit of the human race more than scientific discovery. Unlike other cultural achievements, science is universal; it is the result of the highest imagination and the deepest thinking. Hargittai's book tells the fascinating details of the work of fifteen leading modern scientists who have changed the world. The book is, incidentally, an ideal gift to adolescents who show an interest in science.”—Peter Lax, professor emeritus of mathematics, Courant Institute, New York University; recipient of the National Medal of Science and the Abel Prize“Istvan Hargittai has done it again. His analyses of Nobel-class scientists provide a unique perspective on the sources of creativity in science.”—Eugene Garfield, chairman emeritus, ThomsonReuters Scientific (formerly ISI); editor emeritus, The Scientist