It is commonly held that Darwin discovered natural selection in a flash of insight after reading Thomas Robert Malthus’ Essay on Population in September 1838. Additionally, most people think this was the missing piece that completed his theory of evolution. However, the Eureka moment is a myth, as is the claim that its purported insight finalized his theoretical understanding. Darwin not only slowly worked out his idea of natural selection over many months but he also took another twenty years to formulate the theory presented in On the Origin of Species. Most notably, his thinking changed radically in 1856 with the introduction of the principle of divergence. Analyzing this history demonstrates that there are a variety of misunderstandings about what exactly Darwin’s theory was, how it was structured, and whether it changed over time. Overall, this casts doubt on the claim that Darwin’s theory was ever “essentially complete,” even after contemplating several different meanings for this phrase. Rejecting this myth yields a richer understanding of the way scientific inquiry operates, especially how its methods and outcomes are justified, while augmenting our confidence in the importance of natural selection for explaining adaptive evolution.

It has been estimated that 2–3% of all hospital admissions in Australia are medication-related and 50% are preventable (1, 2). A recent review of data from 44 general medical practices in New Zealand demonstrated that 10.8% of patients experienced medication-related harms over a 3-year period. Most were deemed minor; however, one in five harms were moderate or severe and three patients died due to medication harm (3). The almost 2 million Australians that suffer an adverse event from medicines each year (4) are not all due to an adverse drug reactions (ADR), but are also caused by human and systemic medication errors (Table 3.1). Patients claiming a history of drug allergy are a daily occurrence in dental practice, so this chapter includes a description of allergy physiology, various adverse reactions due to drugs, with detail regarding immune-mediated allergic reactions, focussing on Type 1 and 4 reactions. As many claimed allergic reactions by patients are false, how to correctly diagnose and manage actual drug allergies will also be discussed.

Maggie B. Gale explores ways of both framing and structuring the beginnings of a research project, and finding what might be called a ‘research niche’. She uses the case study of an emerging research project to articulate different possible approaches to conceptualizing the starting point, direction, and shape of a project, as well as working practices which might be useful in research design and method. The chapter also explores a series of working principles for avoiding the pitfalls of research distractions, without missing out on the serendipitous discoveries which a more unstructured process might allow. Gale’s own research on Elsa Lanchester illustrates the principles.

Chapter 5 links practice to theory with a discussion of the range of formal and informal teaching approaches that can be used with young children to enhance their science learning. It outlines the importance of such strategies as scaffolding and targeted explorations. Using illustrative case studies, attention is paid to process skills, guided discovery, the interactive approach, inquiry learning, problem-based learning and project-based learning. Whether through the processes of science, such as the development of observation, or through the skilful questioning of the EC professional, the approach used should enhance children’s science learning. The chapter includes a discussion on the importance of children’s prior knowledge in terms of the teaching and learning of science.

Thinking is an activity that has a trajectory. Through the previous chapters, five modalities of pleasure of thinking have been identified: (i) a core and fundamental curiosity; (ii) a semiotic activity of binding experience in more or less complex wholes, or functional pleasure; (iii) the occasional joy of finding a solution thanks to our background capacity to engage in relatively free semiotic explorations, that is, the pleasure of discovery; (iv) the dialogical pleasure of the shared activity of thinking; (v) the awareness of the activity and its pleasure, a meta-pleasure. These five aspects can be experienced in a more or less playful way and lived more or less bodily – in modulations that partly depend on the actual setting as well as on cultural norms and guidance. Chapter 5 proposes a model of the person to account for such trajectories of thinking. It first emphasises four principles we need to hold about mind based on our exploration; it then proposes an integrated model of mind; and it finally qualifies trajectories of thinking and their pleasures.

The chapter examines the efforts of a group of veterans from earlier expeditions to capitalize on their knowledge of Asia and/or routes between the Indies, while grappling with their relatively modest position within the hierarchy of meritorious. The chapter argues that such a hierarchy became increasingly clear during the 1540s, due to the viceregal authorities’ efforts to identify and hierarchically order New Spain’s conquistadores, primer pobladores, and other beneméritos who had served the Crown. Against the background of these initiatives, it considers the efforts of men such as Andrés de Urdaneta, Guido de Lavezaris, García de Escalanate Alvarado, Castaneda de Nájera, and Juan Pablo de Carrión – who all fell within this third category of meritorious – to stand out among those included in the register by presenting themselves as veterans. Analyzing their interactions with the viceregal authorities and referring to reports produced during the 1550s and 1560s, the chapter reveals how the men’s drive for social advancement inspired them to fuel interest in Spanish expansion into the Pacific. In the process, they presented various visions of the Pacific and the potential benefits of New Spain’s connections to Asia.

The chapter explores how the production of cosmographical knowledge and acts of self-fashioning interacted in negotiations over royal capitulaciones, which were contracts between the Crown and private individuals that permitted the latter to act on the Crown’s behalf in matters such as exploration. After a brief discussion of prior Spanish efforts to reach Asia, the chapter then concentrates on the legal cases that were argued and decided during the 1530s and early 1540s concerning the right to explore the regions in the Pacific Northwest and who was to be recognized as the discoverer (descubridor) of this part of the world. The analysis presented here shows how the efforts of Hernán Cortés, Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, and others to prove they deserved to be recognized as discoverers had an impact on the mapping of the Pacific Northwest and left deep marks on the laws of the Indies.

Change is inevitable. We have a choice: we can either act to maintain control as much as possible during change, or we can let changes occur to us, which leads to pain and loss of independence. This chapter defines strategies for Adaptability. Be realistic. Don’t be fearful of slowing down. Collect information on resources designed for older adults. Join support groups. Volunteer. Engage in social events. Take advantage of digital world to communicate with family. Learn to use new gadgets. Ask for help. Don’t wait for red flags. Research transportation options. Realize early when you need more help. Make your home or apartment safe. View adapting as an opportunity to discover new things about yourself.

There is a wealth of literature on Antarctic research. Many overviews on the nature of Antarctica, cartography, its geology and glaciation, inhabitants and visitors, and cultural perspectives have been published recently.1 The first history of polar exploration of Europeans was published in 1756.2 Since then, many more Western historical overviews have been published, and we also have a chronological list of expeditions to Antarctica as well as good coverage in encyclopedias.3 In addition to these publications, there are several studies of the significance of ice and the development of natural sciences in the understanding of the physical nature of Antarctica. There are also some important recents works on the history of science which have not been fully integrated with the histories of exploration and discovery.

The discovery of the McMurdo Dry Valleys was an accidental result of the desire in polar exploration to find the South Magnetic Pole and the South Geographic Pole. James Clark Ross was astonished in 1841, after pushing his way through a thick collar of pack ice, to suddenly sail into an open body of water, McMurdo Sound, finding a large island (Ross Island) like Hawaii formed by a series of several large volcanoes, one of which was smoking and ready to erupt. He came here to find the South Magnetic Pole, which was too far inland to the west to reach easily on foot, as he had done years earlier in reaching the North Magnetic Pole. This opened the way for Robert Falcon Scott to come here in 1902–1904 with his Discovery expedition to make and attempt on the Pole. He set up camp on Ross Island and stayed for two years exploring various ways to reach the Pole. Albert Armitage, one his men, pushed a route directly west to see what was there and was astonished to find large valleys fully free of ice and snow, the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

This final chapter offers theoretical reflections on rupture and creativity and on the need to struggle for epistemological independence in postcolonial Africa.

This chapter explores the potential for gamesmanship in technology-assisted discovery.1 Attorneys have long embraced gamesmanship strategies in analog discovery, producing reams of irrelevant documents, delaying depositions, or interpreting requests in a hyper-technical manner.2 The new question, however, is whether machine learning technologies can transform gaming strategies. By now it is well known that technologies have reinvented the practice of civil litigation and, specifically, the extensive search for relevant documents in complex cases. Many sophisticated litigants use machine learning algorithms – under the umbrella of “Technology Assisted Review” (TAR) – to simplify the identification and production of relevant documents in discovery.3 Litigants employ TAR in cases ranging from antitrust to environmental law, civil rights, and employment disputes. But as the field becomes increasingly influenced by engineers and technologists, a string of commentators has raised questions about TAR, including lawyers’ professional role, underlying incentive structures, and the dangers of new forms of gamesmanship and abuse.4

New product development processes need to be compliant to regulatory requirements, and this chapter highlights the salient processes and quality systems to put into place to achieve success. Project management is made simple with specific tools provided here. Customer feedback is channeled into specific product characteristics, and the right tools are shown in this chapter. The biopharma industry has statistics showing less than 10% of starting compounds succeed in reaching market approval, and this chapter explains what causes these failures. The key issues that have repeatedly caused failure during device and diagnostic product development are also pointed out. Ethical decisions have to be made during product development as shown in this chapter. Outsourcing is a real option due to the availability of many contract research and manufacturing organizations, and judicious use of this option is discussed in this chapter. Key milestones that reduce risk and show transition from early stage to preclinical prototype stages are reviewed here. Does the popular concept of minimum viable product in software development apply in biomedicine prototyping? Other similar questions that help the reader understand pitfalls and best practices are answered here.

Chapter 2 surveys current practices. How do social scientists arrive at ideas for their work? How does the process of research unfold? How often does research end up in the dustbin (“file-drawer”)? What different intellectual trajectories are exemplified by the careers of social scientists? Using surveys and interviews, this chapter maps the lay of the land.

Chapter 5 offers a variety of heuristics for discovery. This includes (a) turning answers into questions, (b) play, (c) skepticism towards words and numbers, (d) error and anomaly, (e) analogies, (f) intellectual arbitrage, (g) thought experiments, (h) processes and variables, (i) hermeneutics, (j) abstraction, and (k) failure.

Chapter 11 concludes our study with a close look at the transition from exploration to testing. First, we discuss various steps involved in vetting a research project. This includes a calculation of costs, payoffs, and risks; a consideration of research ethics; and extensive market-testing. In the second section, we discuss when to go public with preliminary ideas and findings. In the third section, we consider what to reveal about the research process. Finally, we discuss the contrast between exploratory to confirmatory research.