Ending the Mendel-Fisher Controversy - by Allan Franklin & A W F Edwards & Daniel Fairbanks & Daniel Hartl & Teddy Seidenfeld (Paperback)

About the Book

Gregor Mendel's "Experiments in Plant-Hybridization," presented in 1865, became the foundation of modern genetics. Did his research follow the rigors of real scientific inquiry, or was Mendel's data too good to be true-the product of doctored statistics? In this book, leading experts present their conclusions on the legendary controversy surrounding the challenge to Mendel's findings by British statistician and biologist R. A. Fisher. In 1936, Fisher suggested that Mendel's data could have been falsified in order to support his expectations.This volume includes an overview of the controversy; the original papers of Mendel and Fisher; four of the most important papers on the debate; and new updates, by the authors, of the latter four papers, making this book the definitive last word on the subject.

Book Synopsis

In 1865, Gregor Mendel presented u201cExperiments in Plant-Hybridization, u201d the results of his eight-year study of the principles of inheritance through experimentation with pea plants. Overlooked in its day, Mendel's work would later become the foundation of modern genetics. Did his pioneering research follow the rigors of real scientific inquiry, or was Mendel's data too good to be true-the product of doctored statistics?

In Ending the Mendel-Fisher Controversy, leading experts present their conclusions on the legendary controversy surrounding the challenge to Mendel's findings by British statistician and biologist R. A. Fisher. In his 1936 paper u201cHas Mendel's Work Been Rediscovered?u201d Fisher suggested that Mendel's data could have been falsified in order to support his expectations. Fisher attributed the falsification to an unknown assistant of Mendel's. At the time, Fisher's criticism did not receive wide attention. Yet beginning in 1964, about the time of the centenary of Mendel's paper, scholars began to publicly discuss whether Fisher had successfully proven that Mendel's data was falsified. Since that time, numerous articles, letters, and comments have been published on the controversy.

This self-contained volume includes everything the reader will need to know about the subject: an overview of the controversy; the original papers of Mendel and Fisher; four of the most important papers on the debate; and new updates, by the authors, of the latter four papers. Taken together, the authors contend, these voices argue for an end to the controversy-making this book the definitive last word on the subject.

Review Quotes

The texts are all well written and cogently argued. Every author has something interesting to say; each has a different point of view, and all add to the story. Anyone wishing an informed introduction to the issues involved will find it here.-- "Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society"

About the Author

Allan Franklin is professor in the Department of Physics at University of Colorado. He is the author of numerous books, including Are There Really Neutrinos? An Evidential History; Selectivity and Discord: Two Problems of Experiment; and No Easy Answers: Science and the Pursuit of Knowledge.