Sidney Harris

The cartoons of Sidney Harris are well known to older scientists, since they were (for many years) a staple of the journal American Scientist. Harris’ work had a demythologizing influence, by presenting scientists as fallible human beings and by casting an irreverent perspective. on scientific investigation.

Einstein Simplified is Harris’ most popular compilation, as judged by the numbers of copies of his collections at LibraryThing. It consists of cartoons that appeared in American show more Scientist as well as The New Yorker, Playboy and Saturday Review in the early 1970s through the late 1980s. The humor is gentle, understated, and deadpan, offering ironic commentaries on science and society. One appropriate drawing is captioned: “Immediately after Orville Wright’s historic 12-second flight, his luggage could not be located.” In a group of indigenous tribesmen sitting in a circle of discussion, the evident leader says: “So by a vote of 8 to 2, we have decided to skip the industrial revolution completely, and go right into the Electronic Age.”

These are not cartoons for the daily newspaper, since many require a bit of familiarity with their subjects. In ancient Greece, one toga’d man says to another “There goes Archimedes with confounded his lever again.” Then there’s the department store counter that advertises "Pheromones: Lanvin, Dior, Chanel, ..."

While not laugh-out-loud funny, the selections are amusing enough, and many have been and will continue to be posted on faculty office doors and laboratory walls and bulletin boards. show less

I am overdue in recognizing Sidney Harris (not a relative) in "Hal's Picks". His cartoons are always very funny, and he surely must do more of them about subjects in science than anyone. You have surely seen his work in American Scientist, Playboy, or the New Yorker. I have had his "What's So Funny About Science?" and "Einstein Atomized" on my shelf for many years, and "Einstein Simplified" is a newer (although not very new) favorite. Topics are spread over biology, physics, mathematics, show more computer science, chemistry, and even a few on medicine, but there are not quite as many chemistry cartoons as physics or biology. I can't believe that we are less easy to make fun of. show less

This is a series of unrelated cartoons, mostly about science. Some basic understanding of science is helpful to understand some of them, but anyone can enjoy the book. It is a pretty fast read, worth a few giggles, but not much more. It is a different way of looking at science.

I did find it curious that a science-oriented book would neglect to include page numbers.

Sidney Harris' cartoons show the lighter side of science, with gentle humor, irreverence, and peculiar perspectives. This complilation is a collection of his work that appeared during the 1970s in American Scientist, a journal well - known to professional scientists and students. The cartoons are mildly amusing, and immediately recognizable, although the topical items are a bit dated. For interested readers, many samples of Harris' work can be seen online here
show more target="_top">http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/pa...
and Wikipedia has a brief biography, accessible via the LibraryThing author page. show less