The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean Chapter 15 Summary/Reflection

1. He is the first scientist mentioned in the book, didn't teach at a University or College
2. Reports ovary, no clear evidence has arisen of its existence today.  Differences are that the Megalodon actually existed at some point in history.
3. Focuses on one aspect of a single appearance of a trait and tries to prove it.
4. Cold fusion is the fusion of elements at room temperature. Similar to perpetual motion machines in that it is able to create energy which is against the laws of physics.
5. Rontgen discovered X-rays.  He tried to prove himself wrong before releasing his results, pretty smart.

Summary

Pathological science has been influenced by betraying elements.  When the megalodon teeth were discovered, they were able to test the age of the teeth by measuring the amount of manganese on it.  But, some teeth had way less manganese than they should have, leading to speculations that the megalodon existed not so long ago or is still alive. Later on this was disproved, but people still believed they existed because of this piece of evidence so I think it'll take some while for people to realize. The discovery of cold fusion would also be another example.  Two scientists had claimed to have found a way to induce fusion by combining heavy water with palladium.  

Reflection

This chapter was overall better and was more interesting than the previous chapters.  I enjoyed the stories about the megalodon, Kean is a really good storyteller, the massive ancient relative of the shark.  The whole situation with Pathological science reminded me of pseudosciencet.  I also really enjoyed the story about X-rays and how Roentgen believed he was going crazy when he first witnessed them.