At a time when public trust in science wavers and misinformation travels faster than photons in a vacuum, Herlinde Koelbl’s Fascination of Science arrives as a timely, tender, and visually profound homage to the minds shaping our future. But this is not a conventional science book. It is not concerned with detailed charts or journal citations. Rather, it is a mosaic of 60 scientists—portraits not just in image but in psyche, ethics, and personality. And this is where the book shines most brightly.
Koelbl, better known as a photojournalist than a science writer, uses her outsider status to her advantage. She travels across the globe not to explain scientific theories per se, but to explore the minds and souls behind those theories. What drives a Nobel Prize winner to spend decades in a lab? How do quantum physicists navigate a world of paradoxes while raising families or battling loneliness? These are the emotional and philosophical questions that Fascination of Science probes.
The Premise: Science on the Palm of a Hand
A compelling twist defines the book’s visual and intellectual centerpiece: Koelbl asked each scientist to summarize the essence of their work by writing it on their hand—a symbolic and literal extension of the mind. Some hands bear formulas; others, poetic mantras. This simple request yields a disarmingly human result. It’s as if genius were, for a brief moment, tangible—scrawled in ink on flesh.
As Koelbl herself notes, “There is something playful about this, which reflects the childlike urge to explore, which researchers must never lose if they want to be successful.” The hands function not just as canvases but as metaphors: vulnerability, labor, creation.
A Gallery of Minds: From Optogenetics to the Fate of the Planet
Among the standout profiles is that of Karl Deisseroth, the neurobiologist who pioneered optogenetics, a revolutionary technique that uses light to control brain activity. His reflections on consciousness, emotion, and mental illness are among the most poetic in the book: “Every brain is unusual… Being a bit of an outsider is maybe part of being a good scientist.”
In contrast, Martin Rees, the British cosmologist, evokes an almost apocalyptic realism. Known for stating that humanity has a 50/50 chance of surviving this century, Rees speaks of pandemics, nuclear threats, and bioengineered viruses. “Today’s society is fragile,” he says. “We’re far less resilient than people used to be, yet our expectations are higher.” These sobering insights are not fear-mongering—they are reality checks from a man who has studied the stars and the species that gaze upon them.
We also meet Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Nobel-winning developmental biologist, who matter-of-factly describes herself as “addicted to freedom” and reflects on being a woman in a male-dominated field: “I often can’t keep my mouth shut… I’d prefer to be upfront about what I think is right.” Koelbl lets her subjects be whole humans: passionate, flawed, brilliant.
Thematic Undercurrents
Fascination of Science returns to a few consistent motifs: the role of curiosity, the cost of obsession, and the moral implications of discovery. Scientists speak frankly about depression, impostor syndrome, burnout, the thrill of discovery, and the quiet devastation of failure. As one of them puts it, “There have been more moments of failure than of happiness… I don’t call it failure—I call it a lesson.”
Another recurring thread is the loneliness of the long-distance scientist. For every global conference or public lecture, there are years of solitude—sometimes isolation. “I’m driven by a desire to share my joy of discovery with everyone,” one researcher says. “Peter Pan was right: never grow up. Remain childlike and keep that sense of wonder.”
Koelbl masterfully contrasts this interior vulnerability with exterior achievement. You sense that many of her subjects are still astonished by their own success.
Beyond the Ivory Tower: Science as a Moral Practice
More than one scientist raises ethical concerns. What are we releasing into society? Who decides how CRISPR gets used? How much control should AI wield? The climate scientists, in particular, are visibly agitated. One advises: “We must solve the problem through international agreements… Climate policy is also a policy of curbing violence and securing peace.”
A philosophical tension arises here: the push and pull between pure research and applied responsibility. Can you, like Edward Teller, offload ethical accountability to politicians? Or must you, as Koelbl suggests, view science as a deeply human—and therefore moral—practice?
The Format: Art as Inquiry
The structure of Fascination of Science enhances its spirit. Each profile features not just text but photographs—intimate, stark, and dignified. Koelbl doesn’t go for the dramatic, high-contrast aesthetic common in glossy science magazines. These are gentle, often black-and-white portraits that convey empathy more than admiration. The effect is not one of reverence, but of closeness.
Even the design decision to include the handwritten hand-images is a brilliant stroke. They slow down the reader, forcing a pause for visual reflection—something rare in science writing.
Not a Textbook—A Testament
Let’s be clear: Fascination of Science is not an academic text. You will not learn how CRISPR works or derive quantum field equations from it. Instead, you will walk alongside those who do. You will feel the burden and beauty of their missions. You will witness the subtle awkwardness of intellect clashing with bureaucracy, ego with ethics, solitude with public acclaim.
And perhaps most importantly, you will be reminded that science is a human enterprise. Messy, brave, imperfect—and utterly necessary.
Fascination of Science is, in essence, a love letter to the scientific spirit. But it’s written not in grand romantic prose, but in the everyday handwriting of those who make the future real. Herlinde Koelbl has not just photographed scientists—she has revealed them. And in doing so, she’s produced one of the most honest science books of our time.
Highly recommended for readers who care not only about what science knows, but about who science is.
