DOUBLEDAY, OCTOBER 2012The mechanical engineer Thomas Midgley (1889–1944) did some pretty unsavory deeds with the help of his scientific reputation. If his promotion of climate-changing CFCs was an honest mistake, the same cannot be said of his brazen advancement of “anti-knock” lead additives. Midgely arguably knew there was compelling evidence that auto workers were suffering dearly from exposure to the neurotoxins. Yet he offered misleading public demonstrations of their supposed safety anyway, knowingly exploiting the public’s trust in science for personal profit.
Midgley qualifies as an “asshole” according to one definition of the term. An asshole (henceforth abbreviated “a-hole”) is a guy (or gal) who allows himself special advantages in social relationships out of an entrenched (and mistaken) sense of entitlement that immunizes him against the complaints of other people. In my latest book, Assholes: A Theory, I develop this definition, along with the pros and cons of this distinctive kind of vice.
While Midgley failed his obligations as a scientist to society at large, scientists are often a-holes to each other. Well-known examples include Edward Teller’s famous machinations against J. Robert Oppenheimer, or Thomas Edison’s proprietary manipulations against Nikola Tesla. There is also a plethora of workaday a-hole moves such as: denying funding to one’s competitors, ...
