The Same and Not the Same

Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann explains the world of chemistry in this book.

When we wash an apple before we eat it, we are thinking not merely of the dirt that may still be on it but of the pesticides used in agricultural production.

When we take medication for sickness, we may fear side-effects as much as we anticipate relief of the symptoms.

Chemicals pervade our modern world - yet most of us are ignorant of how they work.This study confronts some of the major ethical controversies in chemistry today, taking on such touchy subjects as the use of thalidomide, a tranquillizer once given to pregnant women and later found to cause serious birth defects.The book also explores the pressing environmental and ecological issues of our day.

Hoffmann discusses trends of political correctness that have begun to filter into the ostensibly "objective" scientific discourses as much as they have in the humanities and social sciences.