Martin W. Bauer is Professor of Social Psychology at London School of Economics and Political Sciences and the Editor of Public Understanding of Science.

This book traces historical debates over developments in nuclear power, computing and genetic engineering which raised controversy with consequences, and argues that public opinion is a factor of the development of modern techno-science. Bauer uses a "pain analogy" to show that just as pain impacts movement, resistance impacts techno-scientific mobilization: it signals that something is wrong, and this requires attention, elaboration and a response to the challenge. This analysis explores how different fields of enquiry deal with the resistance of social-psychological mentalities in the face of industrial, scientific and political activities inspired by projected futures.

1. Introduction: Movement Redirected by Resistance 2. Mobilising a Different Future 3. The Atom: Bombs and Power 4. Environment, Safety and Sustainability 5. Ten Propositions on Learning from Resistance 6. The "Bytes" of Mainframes, PC and Social Media 7. Public Opinion and Its Discontents 8. Genes, Biotechnology and Genomics 9. Some Further Observations on Resistance. Appendix 1: Notes on Social Movement and Social Influence. Appendix 2: Chronologies of Atoms, Bytes and Genes.