Chapter 14 Summary

Chapter 14 focused on the aristocracy, or wealth related skills, that took place in science. Kean described this idea simply as only the rich could afford to study science. He then talks about Goethe, an author he learned about by one of his college professors. Kean was impacted by stories Goethe wrote about elements and science. The chapter then moves onto him choosing his partner, Döbereiner, to help him with his studies. They were both very successful and even helped to organize the periodic table even further. 
The chapter then starts on the story of Moholy-Nagy, a man which had the most successful theory of business in that people always want the newest product, no matter how well the old product worked. Then came the pen, invented by Kenneth Parker, which seemed to be quite the obsession. Then the most surprising part. Mark Twain wrote some literature dealing with science. This helped publicize the type writer (which he hated) and not so much the pen (which he loved). Lowell was the next artist and the last discussed. He was known as a bipolar poet and artist with a horrible social life. However, when he was tested with lithium to help with his “problem”, he was able to be one “cured”, though his art work was never the same.