The Book Prize Index

Rivals: Conflict as the Fuel of Science

Michael White

Rivalry is a key feature of scientific endeavour. This is an examination of eight instances in the history of science and technology that changed the world. They all illustrate various forms of rivalry - between individuals, institutions, even nations - and to what extent it played a pivotal role.

ScienceScience · high confidenceScience81 signalsLlm Classifier: Science -> ScienceGoogle Books: Science -> ScienceTopic Classifier: Indigenous History -> American HistoryIndigenous HistoryScience & DiscoveryTechnology, Computing & AI

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Royal Society Science Book PrizeMajor2002ShortlistSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    Rivalry is a key feature of scientific endeavour, and in eight historical cases it played a pivotal role in changing the world through science and technology.

    Model confidence 82%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    35 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 72%.