11. Trevor J. Pinch, Science and Technology Studies (with Harry Collins)
Dr. Golem: How to Think About Medicine (University of Chicago Press, 2005). Issues such as the questionable need for tonsillectomies, the powerful but puzzling placebo effect, bogus doctors, the debatable effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), yuppie flu (chronic fatigue syndrome), alternative medicine, and the rights of parents to avoid vaccinating their children are complexities of modern medicine. The authors explore these and other mysteries and complexities of medicine. They also examine the ethical conflicts inherent in medicine, such as medicine as a science versus as a source of comfort, the interests of an individual versus the group, and the benefits in the short term versus success rates in the long term. Their theme is making medical judgments when faced with uncertainties and tensions—even in the most well-conducted and unbiased of sciences.