There and back

Anyone who keeps company with Magnus Pyke for any time on his travels of the mind is apt to find himself in the most unexpected and fascinat ing places. In this far-reaching book he shows just how we have come to our present science centred society. The vision of science has now possessed the soul of man for several centuries; starting as an abstract idea it has developed deeply material and practical forms that we use in every aspect of our lives. As with all great ideas, its devotees tend to take its dogmas for granted without thinking them through afresh: because science makes something possible we feel we must do it. But this immense power which science exercises over our minds can be controlled by the quality of our human imagination.

Thus today we set aside areas in our towns to be free of wheeled traffic; we refuse access to the electronic bugs and bleepers that might invade every room; we limit the proliferation of air ports; we insist that detergents should degrade naturally when released into the countryside. Similarly we choose to dissent from too much safety: we accept home-made cakes and farm sold produce; we prefer babies to be born out of hospitals; we seek the leisure to enjoy life rather than working for ever more affluence to buy clever things.

In fact, an encouraging sign of man's progress is that he quite often says 'Thank you, no' when science offers a tempting 'free gift'. He is begin ning to wrestle with the angel of science even if he knows that he must lose a fall from time to time. Magnus Pyke sees much hope in the way the world is shaping,

MAGNUS PYKE is famous for his way of explaining science on the TV screen and over radio and as a result is much in demand as a broadcaster and lecturer all over the world. He can bring life and wit to the most difficult subjects.

He has a string of degrees and learned qualifi cations, which he wears lightly; twenty-five years' experience as director of a research establish ment; four years as Secretary of the British Association, initiating working parties on sub jects of vital public concern and collating and presenting the facts of worldwide scientific ad vance. He is also one of the few distinguished scientists who has inside experience of Dartmoor Prison - in diet research.

He has an inexhaustible appetite for the cur iosities of man's scientific progress and an un shakable belief in a truly scientific approach to life as the only safe way forward.