Some science seems silly, but it’s still worthwhile

The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog
Carly Anne York
Basic Books, $30

What’s the purpose of your study? It’s the question many basic-science researchers dread. And it’s the question that Carly Anne York received about 10 years ago from a fellow volunteer at the Virginia Zoo. At the time, York was a Ph.D. student studying squid biomechanics. When the volunteer, a retired army officer, probed why taxpayer dollars should be spent on what he called “silly science,” all York could do was mutter about the inherent value of knowledge.