Smoother Pebbles: Essays in the Sociology of Science - Paperbackby Jonathan R. Cole (Author) Until the middle of the twentieth century, few thought of science as a social system, instead seeing scientific discovery as the work of individual geniuses. Columbia University's Department of Sociology played a pivotal role in advancing the social study of science. Researchers of the "Columbia Program" analyzed how science works as a social institution, exploring its norms, values, and structure. Smoother Pebbles