Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog - by Harry Collins (Paperback)

About the Book

"Among other things, this volume contains the paperback edition of Gravity's ghost, which is included unaltered as the first part of the book. The original pages of the hardcover are reproduced with the same page numbers, though the acknowledgments, references, and index have been shifted to the end of the volume. The new edition is twice as long as the original Gravity's ghost. ... The new material was initially written as a separate book, but the story is so closely related to Gravity's ghost that it seemd more sensible to bundle the two together. The additional material, the second section of this edition is entitled Big dog"--Preface to the Enlarged edition.

Book Synopsis

Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog brings to life science's efforts to detect cosmic gravitational waves. These ripples in space-time are predicted by general relativity, and their discovery will not only demonstrate the truth of Einstein's theories but also transform astronomy. Although no gravitational wave has ever been directly detected, the previous five years have been an especially exciting period in the field. Here sociologist Harry Collins offers readers an unprecedented view of gravitational wave research and explains what it means for an analyst to do work of this kind. Collins was embedded with the gravitational wave physicists as they confronted two possible discoveries-"Big Dog," fully analyzed in this volume for the first time, and the "Equinox Event," which was first chronicled by Collins in Gravity's Ghost. Collins records the agonizing arguments that arose as the scientists worked out what they had seen and how to present it to the world, along the way demonstrating how even the most statistical of sciences rest on social and philosophical choices. Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog draws on nearly fifty years of fieldwork observing scientists at the American Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory and elsewhere around the world to offer an inspired commentary on the place of science in society today.

Review Quotes

"Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog is a fascinating and thought-provoking study of twenty-first century pioneering science, charting several years of significant recent developments in the worldwide effort to detect gravitational waves. The unique insider's perspective that Harry Collins brings to the narrative is a key strength, skillfully interweaving sociological insight and astronomical detective story. His reflections on the denouement to the 'Big Dog' event capture very clearly both the inspiration and perspiration that underpin modern scientific discovery."
--Martin A. Hendry, University of Glasgow

"[T]he physics junkie or philosophy of science enthusiast . . . will find lots to mull over."-- "Science News"

"Written in Harry Collins's usual accessible and readable style, Gravity's Ghost and Big Dog makes for very entertaining reading."
--Daniel Kennefick, University of Arkansas

"In part an account of sociological fieldwork among scientists in the field and part astronomy-history mystery, Collins's book is a terrific read informed by almost forty years of research."--Marianne de Laet "Nature"

About the Author

Harry Collins is the Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and director of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge, Expertise, and Science at Cardiff University, and a fellow of the British Academy. Among his numerous books are Gravity's Shadow, Rethinking Expertise, and Tacit and Explicit Knowledge, all published by the University of Chicago Press. He lives in Cardiff, UK.