Did you know that general George Washington’s decision to inoculate his troops against smallpox was a decisive factor in the Revolutionary War? In 1775, Washington knew that the British troops in Boston were riddled with the disease. He handpicked a thousand men who reported that they had previously endured smallpox and sent them in. British general William Howe, with his division weakened, was forced to retreat and Washington’s thousand men – immune to the scourge – soon secured Boston.
Around that same time, a few people were trying a new procedure to inoculate against the disease. Admittedly, it was a bit sketchy, as it was done by taking fluids from smallpox pustules and sticking them up your nose. Fearing it would spread the disease, the Continental Congress banned the procedure in 1776. Washington told the members of Congress that they were wrong and ordered mass inoculations of his troops, which helped to secure many a future battle.
This is just one of the many fascinating stories in “I Told You So: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled and Imprisoned for Being Right.” Author Matt Kaplan, a veteran science reporter for The Economist, brings these stories to life, explaining complex technical concepts in a conversational tone.
He also raises important questions about how science has been taught, funded and conducted in the past and today. These include issues such as how does bias – personal, cultural, systemic – interfere with or even shut down critical thinking and acceptance of new ideas? Is it important for scientists to know how to “play the game” when it comes to paving the way for acceptance of their ideas? Do institutional funding cycles and peer review systems favor accepted dogma rather than innovative thinking? And how does competition for fame or funding drive or hinder scientific innovation? This last question is partially illustrated by a heartbreaking story of two institutions vying to save the nearly extinct white rhino yet refusing to share their findings with each other.
The book covers many scientists you may have heard of, including Galileo Galilei, Louis Pasteur and Charles Darwin, along with others less well known but no less compelling. One example of the latter is Mary Schweitzer, who in 1990 discovered – against all accepted wisdom at the time – that red blood cells can be preserved in fossils. The book also covers a range of topics from paleontology to astrology to medicine.
This comprehensive approach adds depth. Unfortunately, as Kaplan tries to draw conclusions from this range, he spreads stories across multiple chapters with often jarring juxtapositions. With a little patience, the reader can find the thread again and appreciate the layers of each story as they accumulate over the course of the book.
Perhaps the most incredible tale – and one that illustrates the themes and issues raised by the book – is that of molecular biologist Katalin Kariko. (Kaplan calls her Kati.) After earning her doctorate and with no money for research in her native Hungary, Kati moved to the United States. She went through a series of university research positions, along the way being mistreated, berated, demoted, starved of resources and nearly deported. Even though several of her colleagues at these institutions appreciated the importance of her work and championed her, the powers that be did not. Was it bias because she was a young woman? A foreigner who didn’t have the connections or the language skills to play academic politics? Or just that her research timeline didn’t fit neatly into standard grant cycles? Kaplan believes it was a combination.
Ultimately, Kati was dismissed from her university lab, her stuff literally dumped into garbage bags and tossed in the hallway. Enough was enough, and Kati sought work in the private sector, where she and a colleague went on to develop the first vaccine for Covid. They later won the Nobel Prize. Now that’s an “I told you so!” if ever there was one.
A version of this story appeared originally on the Porter Square Review of Books. Buy “I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled and Imprisoned for Being Right” from Porter Square Books.
