An esteemed historian of science explores the diversity of scientific
experimentation.
The experiment has long been seen as a test bed for theory, but in
Split and Splice, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger makes the case, instead, for
treating experimentation as a creative practice. His latest book
provides an innovative look at the experimental protocols and
connections that have made the life sciences so productive.
Delving into the materiality of the experiment, the first part of the
book assesses traces, models, grafting, and note-taking--the conditions
that give experiments structure and make discovery possible. The second
section widens its focus from micro-level laboratory processes to the
temporal, spatial, and narrative links between experimental systems.
Rheinberger narrates with accessible examples, most of which are drawn
from molecular biology, including from the author's laboratory notebooks
from his years researching ribosomes.
A critical hit when it was released in Germany, Split and Splice
describes a method that involves irregular results and hit-or-miss
connections--not analysis, not synthesis, but the splitting and splicing
that form a scientific experiment. Building on Rheinberger's earlier
writing about science and epistemology, this book is a major achievement
by one of today's most influential theorists of scientific practice.
