Best of
Science

1907

Creative Evolution


Henri Bergson - 1907
    If...we could ask and it could reply, it would give up to us the most intimate secrets of life. -from Chapter II Anticipating not only modern scientific theories of psychology but also those of cosmology, this astonishing book sets out a impressive goal for itself: to reconcile human biology with a theory of consciousness. First published in France in 1907, and translated into English in 1911, this work of wonder was esteemed at the time in scientific circles and in the popular culture alike for its profound explorations of perception and memory and its surprising conclusions about the nature and value of art. Contending that intuition is deeper than intellect and that the real consequence of evolution is a mental freedom to grow, to change, to seek and create novelty, Bergson reinvigorated the theory of evolution by refusing to see it as merely mechanistic. His expansion on Darwin remains one of the most original and important philosophical arguments for a scientific inquiry still under fire today. French philosopher HENRI BERGSON (1859-1941) was born in Paris. Among his works are Matter and Memory (1896), An Introduction to Metaphysics (1903), and The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1932). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1927.

Hydrodynamics


Horace Lamb - 1907
    Most authors refer their readers to it rather than to other works for fundamental theorems, equations, and detailed methods of solution. It has never been superseded as an encyclopedic coverage of all aspects of classical hydrodynamics.This is an unabridged reproduction of the sixth enlarged and revised edition. No change has been made in the general plan and arrangement of the book, which decades of specialists and beginners have found most satisfactory. The clarity and lucidity of the original volume are still unimpaired.Individual chapters cover the equations of motion, integration of the equations in special cases, irrotational motion, motion of a liquid in two dimensions, irrotational motion of a liquid; problems in three dimensions, on the motion of solids through a liquid; dynamical theory, vortex motion, tidal waves, surface waves, waves of expansion, viscosity, and rotating masses of liquids."The leading treatise on classical hydrodynamics." —Mathematical Gazette. "Difficult to find a writer on any mathematical topic with [equal] clearness and lucidity." —Philosophical Magazine.