Best of
History-Of-Science

1984

The Ocean Almanac


Robert Hendrickson - 1984
    As expansive as the ocean itself, this entertaining, informative almanac offers hundreds of fascinating essays, anecdotes, facts, legends, and mysteries concerning the sea, its amazing inhabitants--both real and apocryphal--and the men and ships who have sailed it through the ages.

Evolution: The History of an Idea


Peter J. Bowler - 1984
    This new edition has been entirely rewritten to take account of the latest work of historians and scientists. The sequence of chapters has been reconstructed in a way that will help students and general readers to understand the key phases in the development of modern evolutionism. The book's substantial bibliography has been updated to serve as a valuable introduction to the immense literature on this topic.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: An Autobiography and Other Recollections


Katherine Haramundanis - 1984
    In this book, her own story of her professional life, work, and scientific achievements is augmented by the personal recollections of her daughter, Katherine Haramundanis. Other highlights include a scientific appreciation by Jesse Greenstein, a historical essay by Peggy Kidwell and, new to this edition, an introduction by Virginia Trimble. Payne-Gaposchkin's overwhelming love for astronomy was her personal guiding light, and her attitude and approach have lessons for all. She received many prestigious awards for her outstanding contributions to science. In 1956, she became the first woman Professor at Harvard University, as well as being the first woman departmental chair. This book will interest both astronomers and those studying the advancement of the position and status of women in society.

The Pasteurization of France


Bruno Latour - 1984
    It is the operation of these forces, in combination with the talent of Pasteur, that Bruno Latour sets before us as a prime example of science in action.Latour argues that the triumph of the biologist and his methodology must be understood within the particular historical convergence of competing social forces and conflicting interests. Yet Pasteur was not the only scientist working on the relationships of microbes and disease. How was he able to galvanize the other forces to support his own research? Latour shows Pasteur’s efforts to win over the French public—the farmers, industrialists, politicians, and much of the scientific establishment.Instead of reducing science to a given social environment, Latour tries to show the simultaneous building of a society and its scientific facts. The first section of the book, which retells the story of Pasteur, is a vivid description of an approach to science whose theoretical implications go far beyond a particular case study. In the second part of the book, “Irreductions,” Latour sets out his notion of the dynamics of conflict and interaction, of the “relation of forces.” Latour’s method of analysis cuts across and through the boundaries of the established disciplines of sociology, history, and the philosophy of science, to reveal how it is possible not to make the distinction between reason and force. Instead of leading to sociological reductionism, this method leads to an unexpected irreductionism.

The Biblical Basis for Modern Science: The Revised and Updated Classic! (Revised, Expanded)


Henry M. Morris - 1984
    It's an auspicious title for such a humble man, yet no one can deny that the grasp Morris has on science and faith issues is staggering. In this updated classic, Morris walks the reader through history "real history" by showing the absurdity of evolution. From a wide variety of sciences, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, and geology, Morris presents clear evidence that the Bible gives us an astonishingly accurate record of the past, present, and future.

Quantifying Music: The Science of Music at the First Stage of Scientific Revolution 1580 1650


Floris Cohen - 1984
    From these affects of the soul are derived the name of consonances for the harmonic proportions, and the name of dissonances for the unharmonic proportions. When to this is added the other harmonie proportion whieh consists of the longer or shorter duration of musical sound, then the soul stirs the body to jumping dance, the tongue to inspired speech, according to the same laws. The artisans accommodate to these harmonies the blows of their hammers, the soldiers their pace. As long as the harmonies endure, everything is alive; everything stiffens, when they are disturbed.! Thus the German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, evokes the power of music. Where does this power come from? What properties of music enable it to stir up emotions which may go far beyond just feeling generally pleased, and which may express themselves, for instance, in weeping; in laughing; in trembling over the whole body; in a marked acceleration of breathing and heartbeat; in participating in the rhythm with the head, the hands, the arms, and the feet? From the beginning of musical theory the answer to this question has been sought in two different directions.

The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology


John B. Henderson - 1984
    Although other premodern societies developed similar conceptions, in no other major civilization were such ideas so pervasive or powerful.In The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology, John Henderson traces the evolution of Chinese thought on cosmic order from the classical era to the nineteenth century. Unlike many standard studies of premodern cosmologies, this book analyzes the origins, development, and rejection of these models, not just their structure. Moreover, while historians often limit their studies of cosmic order to specialized fields like the history of science, Henderson examines how the cosmological ideas formulated in late classical times permeated various facets of Chinese life, from high philosophy to popular culture.In discussing these ideas, the author draws surprising parallels between the history of Chinese and classical Western cosmologies, identifying general patterns in the development of cosmological conceptions in several premodern civilizations. This volume thus appeals not only to students of Chinese intellectual history, but anyone interested in cultural anthropology, ancient and medieval philosophy, and the history of science and medicine as well. An understanding of the development and decline of Chinese cosmology illuminates broad areas of traditional Chinese culture and it provides a new perspective for viewing the history of Chinese thought in a larger comparative context. John B. Henderson earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. He is Professor in the Department of History at Louisiana State University. Professor Henderson's previously published works include Scripture, Canon, and Commentary: A Comparison of Confucian and Western Exegesis and Notions of Time in Chinese Historical Thinking.

In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton and his Times


Gale E. Christianson - 1984
    A biography of Newton probes the scientist's reclusive personality, recreates the turbulent intellectual atmosphere of seventeenth-century Europe, and lucidly describes Newton's epoch-making discoveries in physics, optics, and astronomy.

Looking Glass Universe: The Emerging Science of Wholeness


John P. Briggs - 1984
    

Opening Pandora's Box: A Sociological Analysis Of Scientists' Discourse


Nigel Gilbert - 1984
    It moves away from previous studies, which have tended to focus on scientists' actions and beliefs to show that analysis of scientific discourse can be productive and revealing. The book demonstrates that scientists produce varying accounts of their actions and beliefs in different social situations. Rather than attempting to extract one coherent interpretation from these diverse accounts, the study identifies two basic scientific repertoires and shows how scientists use them to create their discourse. This provides a point of departure for more complex analytical topics. Discourse analysis is applied to show how different degrees of 'consensus' can be ascribed to the same group of scientists at a given moment in time through the application of standard interpretive techniques. Finally, discourse analysis is used to explore scientists' humour, a neglected topic that is shown to provide important insights into the normally hidden interpretive regularities which underlie the cultural diversity of science.