A creature of Jewish mythology, a golem is an animated being made by man from clay and water who knows neither
his own strength nor the extent of his ignorance. Like science and technology, the subjects of Harry Collins and
Trevor Pinch's previous volumes, medicine is also a golem, and this Dr. Golem should not be blamed for its mistakes�they
are, after all, our mistakes. The problem lies in its well-meaning clumsiness.
Dr. Golem explores some of the mysteries and complexities of medicine while untangling the inherent conundrums
of scientific research and highlighting its vagaries. Driven by the question of what to do in the face of the fallibility
of medicine, Dr. Golem encourages a more inquisitive attitude toward the explanations and accounts offered by medical
science. In eight chapters devoted to case studies of modern medicine, Collins and Pinch consider the prevalence
of tonsillectomies, the placebo effect and randomized control trials, bogus doctors, CPR, the efficacy of Vitamin
C in fighting cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, AIDS cures, and vaccination. They also examine the tension between
the conflicting faces of medicine: medicine as science versus medicine as a source of succor; the interests of
an individual versus the interests of a group; and the benefits in the short term versus success rates in the long
term. Throughout, Collins and Pinch remind readers that medical science is an economic as well as a social consideration,
encapsulated for the authors in the timeless struggle to balance the good health of the many�with vaccinations,
for instance�with the good health of a few�those who have adverse reactions tothe vaccine.
In an age when the deaths of research subjects, the early termination of clinical trials, and the research guidelines
for stem cells are front-page news, Dr. Golem is a timely analysis of the limitations of medicine that never loses
sight of its strengths.