Chapter 14 DS summary

Science has often been dictated by money and those with enough to afford all the equipment. But for centuries it was a more of a hobby than a profession and some, like Goethe wrote about science in their great literary works, completely unhindered by real, actual science. Goethe did make one contribution to the periodic table, albeit indirectly. Because of his prominence he was elected to choose a scientist for the open chair in the chemistry department of the University of Jena. Goethe chose J.W. Dobereiner who made significant progress in exactly weighing the elements and discovered that they often fit into groups of three, although this idea took hold and was carried a bit past where it was warranted. Maholy-Nagy later developed a theory about the difference between "forced obsolescence" and "artificial obsolescence" about the development of certain things in society. An example of artificial would be humans creating new things out of want and fads rather than need, like the Parker 51 pen that was wildly popular, even though it was just a pen. Science has often been used in literary works as in Twain's short story that characterizes Satan as made of radium. Lithium has also influenced literary works in a different way - after being prescribed to Lowell, whose life was being completely ravaged by bipolar disorder, Lowell began to get better although perhaps lithium deadened the part of him that was responsible for his literary genius.