In 1826, the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was founded in London, with the aim of counteracting the spurious and politically radical output of the so-called pauper presses, and to disseminate useful knowledge among the middle and working classes. This is not one of the facts included in Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science, but it undertakes a similar mission. The book is a celebration of scientific fact in an era characterised by nebulous subjectivity. In it, immunologist and chair of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, Prof Luke O’Neill, attempts to refocus the reader on what we might objectively know, and how that knowledge could be used for good.

Source: The Irish Times October 04, 2020 04:52 UTC