The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean
The Battery Dope
May 19, 202618 min · 3,313 words
Show notes
In the 1950s, scientists hated politics. Then one Allen Astin got fired. After that, scientists knew they had to play politics—or face professional annihilation. Advertising Inquiries: Privacy & Opt-Out:
Highlighted moments
The Bureau had essentially declared his product worthless 16 years before he invented it.
“cleaning the leads improves battery life all by itself. Plus, for technical reasons, slow charging leads to better battery performance. So Ritchie was not wrong in saying that following the instructions on packets of ADX2 would extend battery life. You just didn't need the actual ADX2.”
“A beloved manager had been fired for not changing experimental results to conform to desired political outcomes.”
“Throughout the scandal, scientists had stressed the importance of rising above politics, of staying apolitical. But being apolitical is sometimes a very shrewd political move.”
Transcript
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