Few scientists ever find themselves at the center of controversy, maintains Trevor Pinch, who studies the sociology of scientific controversy as a professor in the department of science and technology studies at Cornell University. "If you get engaged in a full-blooded scientific controversy, it's a rare moment in a scientific career. Most scientists, as Thomas Kuhn would say, are doing normal science. They're mapping out the paradigm. They're solving puzzles. They're not engaged in controversial work at all. It's only a few scientists in a few cases that get involved in these sorts of controversies."
Pinch, coauthor of a book containing case studies of seven scientific disputes (H. Collins, T. Pinch, The Golem: What Everyone Should Know About Science, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1993), suggests that scientists may wish to avoid controversial areas if at all possible. Controversial work, for example, invites detailed scrutiny. "It's one thing to do ...
