Episode 2 of 3, Beautiful Minds, Series 1
Duration: 1 hour
Great minds don't think alike. In fact, offbeat thinking has led to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age.
In the second of a three-part series uncovering the minds behind some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age, James Lovelock explains how his maverick way of thinking led him not only to technical breakthroughs in atmospheric detection systems on Earth and Mars, but also to Gaia - a new way of thinking about the Earth as a holistic, self-regulating system.
He tells of his struggle against the scientific consensus of the day, the ridicule of his peers and his passionate belief that the mainstream scientific establishment stifles intellectual creativity.
This programme is part of World of Wonder - a year of science across the BBC in 2010. From popular science to chaos theory, there's a little something for everyone.
Find out more about World of Wonder on BBC Science
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