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Summary: A fantastic review of modern research
Review: A riveting account of the scientific world related in layman's terms. Science does not have to be boring as Dr. Mullis has esaily demonstrated!
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Summary: Most important Philosophy of Science work of the decade.
Review: Kary Mullis captures today's science world as no one else could. While the lay audience will probably enjoy this work as a good read, the scientific community should take special interest in that Mullis has written a book that should cause them to remember why they became scientists in the first place. If I am ever required to teach a Philosophy of Science course at either the undergraduate or graduate school level, this book will certainly be required reading. In my opinion, this might be the most important treatise on the philosophy of science and the scientific method since the writings of Karl Popper several decades ago.
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Summary: Refreshing, Informative, Funny, Sexy
Review: A candid look into one of the brightest minds in the world. Kary Muller tells it like he sees it. He might be a Nobel prize winner, but he is not the perfect human being that society expects him to be - nor does he live up to society's foolish expectations. I savored his views on HIV, spiders and alien abductions - not because they taught me anything, but because of his adventurous spirit - he is out there questioning everything, trying anything. I could not put it down!! He is funny and oh so sexy!!
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Summary: amusing, annoying, poorly written
Review: Kary Mullin wishes he were Richard Feynman. Surely you're joking, Mr. Mullin.Amusing anecdotes alternate with strangely self-contradictory rants about government-sponsored science and medicine. Luckily, there aren't very many pages and the type is pretty big, so it goes quickly.
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Summary: Mullis' imagination makes the discovery of PCR a certainty.
Review: Most scientists are merely technicians without a sense of humor. Mullis has a mind that a child would envy because he rejects the selfserving pomposity of conventional wisdom and he appears only full of himsef. In 1985 when I first heard of the simple idea of a polymerase chain reaction the concept was as amusing as the application. After talking to Kerry Mullis and reading his book I think I know where both are coming from. The book is funny, irreverant, right and wrong and wonderful!
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Summary: An extremely funny look into the life of Kary Mullis.
Review: One of the best books I've read in a long time. An easy read, even for those without a science background. In fact there isn't that much science in it. It's all about his life and his experiences with aliens, drugs, and winning the nobel prize in chemistry. I LOVED IT.
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Summary: Beware the scientific-governmental complex
Review: Kary Mullis has the open mind of a true scientist demanding that we examine our assumptions. He explains why complex scientific issues - health and the environment especially - are handed over to bureaucracies that, due to the lack public understanding of science, and a need for self preservation, try to scare us to death. If our weather forecasters can't predict tomorrow's weather - how can they purport to understand long term issues like global warming? We have had Ice Ages before, did we cause those? Who said we should preserve today's weather even if we did understand how? Who is the omniscient benevolent king watching the store? What checks and balances apply to the EPA? Anyone with lab or industrial facilities experience will particularly like the Sodium Chloride Material Data Safety Sheet story- "If you want Sodium Chloride in your lab you need safety equipment appropriate for Sodium Metal and Chlorine Gas (two extremely dangerous compounds). If you want it in a restaurant, you only need a salt shaker" Witness the ridiculous signs in all California commercial buildings and schools: This facility houses chemicals known to the State of California to cause reproductive harm, etc... another well meaning law that does not differentiate between soap and Cyanide. Scientist surfers will really love it, but open minded lay people will like it too - we all could learn from it. This is a great book. Read it!
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Summary: Not worth 5 stars
Review: I bought this book based on the 5 star reviews and was disappointed. The funny parts did not counterbalance the lack of science and excessive opinion and ego. I ended up feeling that I had just paid more than $6000 for a no-show.
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Summary: The anatomy of a genius
Review: A Nobel laureate with an appetite for life that would make most college fraternity's collective heads spin, Mullis is one of the most engaging authors I've come across in a long time. After reading Dancing in the Mind Field in exactly one day, I was left wanting to know more about this strange genius. Never has an autobiography been so captivating to read without being pedantic. Cavalier, rambunctious, and definitely original, Mullis reminds us all of the value of free thinking. A must read for both scientist and non-scientist alike.
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Summary: Proof you can win a Nobel and still be a dimwit
Review: I'm wary of people who write outside their area of expertise, and this book is a good example. Mullis is a big fan of astrology, yet he ignores the fact that astrology uses such sweeping generalizations that it could (and does) describe anybody. He also advocates exterminating a type of spider and says that environmentalists are liars. Why? A spider bit him, and he didn't like the explanation for why spiders bite. The one good thing about Mullis is that he made me want to make a few calls to the local university and find out the other flaws in his thinking.
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