Investigative Pathways: Patterns and Stages in the Careers of Experimental Scientists (review)

The author of this book needs no introduction to scholars in the history of medicine and science. He has received numerous awards, honors, and prizes for his case studies in the history of the natural sciences. Moreover, for nearly a quarter of a century Holmes chaired the Section of the History of Medicine in the School of Medicine at Yale University. However, the book itself does require an introduction. This is necessary because the work occupies a unique place in the author's scholarly output. First of all, it represents his last major contribution to the field. Sadly, in fact, the book was not published until one year after the author's death in March 2003. As such, it can be called his swan song. Yet even more strikingly, the book is not typical of the work on which he based his reputation. Rather than a careful study of a single scientist or singular event based on a detailed analysis of laboratory notebooks and other archival materials, Holmes tries to draw some conclusions that can be generalized beyond the single case. As the subtitle makes clear, his goal is to discern the "patterns and stages in the careers of experimental scientists" that transcend the experiences of any individual scientist.

The book comprises an introduction, eleven chapters distributed over four parts, a conclusion, and an afterword written by Jed Z. Buchwald, professor of history at the California Institute of Technology. Part 1 consists of two chapters that discuss alternative ways of looking at discovery and creativity in science. In the first chapter Holmes provides an overview of various perspectives, including a discussion of "science studies," and in the second chapter he treats the materials and methods used to reconstruct the investigative pathways of eminent scientists. Part 2 contains six chapters dealing with various phases of distinguished careers in science. In particular, Holmes examines the period of apprenticeship (chapter 3) and domain mastery (chapter 4), the attainment of distinction, especially whether it is achieved or conferred (chapter 5), and the repercussions of maturity and aging for the successful scientist (chapter 6). Part 3, which contains three chapters, narrows the focus on the investigative life itself. In chapter 6 Holmes scrutinizes some complications in using the "pathway" metaphor; in chapter 8 he describes some of the complications in discussing the "episodic rhythms" of scientific inquiry; and in chapter 9 he examines the degree of predictability and unpredictability in the investigative life. The two chapters making up part 4 narrow the focus even more by treating the fine structure of research, first by looking at the interaction between thought processes and experimental operations and second by discussing how flashes of insight participate in scientific discovery. Although the author's conclusion is rather brief, the afterword somewhat compensates for this deficiency by placing Holmes's work in the context of the history of science.

What I found particularly striking about the book's central chapters was the manner in which Holmes integrated abstract findings and theories in the sociology and psychology of science with the particulars he has mastered regarding the life and work of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, Claude Bernard, Hans Krebs, Matthew Meselson, Franklin Stahl, and Seymour Benzer. In fact, Holmes begins many chapters with one or more generalizations drawn from outside the discipline of history and then explores their applicability, complexity, and limitations through a detailed analysis of the lives and careers of these six scientists. Furthermore, the sociologists and psychologists are not treated as straw men to be browbeaten by the nitty-gritty details of his historical case studies. On the contrary, Holmes gives each generalization a reasonably accurate presentation and fair evaluation. For example, on pages 85–86 he offers the best one-page summary I have ever seen of my mathematical model of creative productivity. He then investigates whether this model can be applied to the careers of Lavoisier, Bernard, and Krebs, examining...