Author: Todd Timmons
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786491159
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Non-scientists often perceive science as a dry, boring vocation pursued by dry, boring people. Contrary to popular perception, science has actually been the product of fascinating people seeking to explain the world around them. From Galileo's difficulties with the Inquisition, to the quirkiness of Newton, to the iconic figure that was Einstein, this innovative volume chronicles the history of science using extensive passages from the works of the scientists themselves. Who better to appeal to our common sense concerning the truth of a sun-centered universe than Copernicus himself? Kepler expresses in his own words the way in which he awoke to the revelation of elliptical orbits, and Darwin shares his slowly evolving ideas leading to the theory of natural selection. Part biography, part history, this work reveals the personalities behind the world's most significant scientific discoveries, providing an interesting new perspective on the human endeavor we call science. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Makers of Western Science
Author: Todd Timmons
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786491159
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Non-scientists often perceive science as a dry, boring vocation pursued by dry, boring people. Contrary to popular perception, science has actually been the product of fascinating people seeking to explain the world around them. From Galileo's difficulties with the Inquisition, to the quirkiness of Newton, to the iconic figure that was Einstein, this innovative volume chronicles the history of science using extensive passages from the works of the scientists themselves. Who better to appeal to our common sense concerning the truth of a sun-centered universe than Copernicus himself? Kepler expresses in his own words the way in which he awoke to the revelation of elliptical orbits, and Darwin shares his slowly evolving ideas leading to the theory of natural selection. Part biography, part history, this work reveals the personalities behind the world's most significant scientific discoveries, providing an interesting new perspective on the human endeavor we call science. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786491159
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Non-scientists often perceive science as a dry, boring vocation pursued by dry, boring people. Contrary to popular perception, science has actually been the product of fascinating people seeking to explain the world around them. From Galileo's difficulties with the Inquisition, to the quirkiness of Newton, to the iconic figure that was Einstein, this innovative volume chronicles the history of science using extensive passages from the works of the scientists themselves. Who better to appeal to our common sense concerning the truth of a sun-centered universe than Copernicus himself? Kepler expresses in his own words the way in which he awoke to the revelation of elliptical orbits, and Darwin shares his slowly evolving ideas leading to the theory of natural selection. Part biography, part history, this work reveals the personalities behind the world's most significant scientific discoveries, providing an interesting new perspective on the human endeavor we call science. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Science Be Dammed
Author: Eric Kuhn
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816540055
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States. It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816540055
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States. It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.
The Rainbow Makers
Author: A. S. Travis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Cited frequently, but analyzed rarely, the rise of the synthetic dyestuffs industry and the nature of its technology have, until the present work, remained poorly understood. This has led to the perpetuation of several misconceptions, such as the belief that the industry was wholly science-based from the start.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Cited frequently, but analyzed rarely, the rise of the synthetic dyestuffs industry and the nature of its technology have, until the present work, remained poorly understood. This has led to the perpetuation of several misconceptions, such as the belief that the industry was wholly science-based from the start.
The Beginnings of Western Science
Author: David C. Lindberg
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226482049
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 506
Book Description
When it was first published in 1992, The Beginnings of Western Science was lauded as the first successful attempt ever to present a unified account of both ancient and medieval science in a single volume. Chronicling the development of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions from pre-Socratic Greek philosophy to late-Medieval scholasticism, David C. Lindberg surveyed all the most important themes in the history of science, including developments in cosmology, astronomy, mechanics, optics, alchemy, natural history, and medicine. In addition, he offered an illuminating account of the transmission of Greek science to medieval Islam and subsequently to medieval Europe. The Beginnings of Western Science was, and remains, a landmark in the history of science, shaping the way students and scholars understand these critically formative periods of scientific development. It reemerges here in a second edition that includes revisions on nearly every page, as well as several sections that have been completely rewritten. For example, the section on Islamic science has been thoroughly retooled to reveal the magnitude and sophistication of medieval Muslim scientific achievement. And the book now reflects a sharper awareness of the importance of Mesopotamian science for the development of Greek astronomy. In all, the second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science captures the current state of our understanding of more than two millennia of science and promises to continue to inspire both students and general readers.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226482049
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 506
Book Description
When it was first published in 1992, The Beginnings of Western Science was lauded as the first successful attempt ever to present a unified account of both ancient and medieval science in a single volume. Chronicling the development of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions from pre-Socratic Greek philosophy to late-Medieval scholasticism, David C. Lindberg surveyed all the most important themes in the history of science, including developments in cosmology, astronomy, mechanics, optics, alchemy, natural history, and medicine. In addition, he offered an illuminating account of the transmission of Greek science to medieval Islam and subsequently to medieval Europe. The Beginnings of Western Science was, and remains, a landmark in the history of science, shaping the way students and scholars understand these critically formative periods of scientific development. It reemerges here in a second edition that includes revisions on nearly every page, as well as several sections that have been completely rewritten. For example, the section on Islamic science has been thoroughly retooled to reveal the magnitude and sophistication of medieval Muslim scientific achievement. And the book now reflects a sharper awareness of the importance of Mesopotamian science for the development of Greek astronomy. In all, the second edition of The Beginnings of Western Science captures the current state of our understanding of more than two millennia of science and promises to continue to inspire both students and general readers.
Artisan/practitioners and the Rise of the New Sciences, 1400-1600
Author: Pamela O. Long
Publisher: OSU Press Horning Visiting Sch
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Artisan/Practitioners offers an introduction to the history of science through new discussion of an influential thesis in the discipline. The "Zilsel thesis" argues that artisans, craftsmen, and other practitioners exerted an important influence on the development of empirical methodologies in the Scientific Revolution, the "new sciences" of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Publisher: OSU Press Horning Visiting Sch
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Artisan/Practitioners offers an introduction to the history of science through new discussion of an influential thesis in the discipline. The "Zilsel thesis" argues that artisans, craftsmen, and other practitioners exerted an important influence on the development of empirical methodologies in the Scientific Revolution, the "new sciences" of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The Fifth Branch
Author: Sheila Jasanoff
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674039117
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
How can decisionmakers charged with protecting the environment and the public's health and safety steer clear of false and misleading scientific research? Is it possible to give scientists a stronger voice in regulatory processes without yielding too much control over policy, and how can this be harmonized with democratic values? These are just some of the many controversial and timely questions that Sheila Jasanoff asks in this study of the way science advisers shape federal policy. In their expanding role as advisers, scientists have emerged as a formidable fifth branch of government. But even though the growing dependence of regulatory agencies on scientific and technical information has granted scientists a greater influence on public policy, opinions differ as to how those contributions should be balanced against other policy concerns. More important, who should define what counts as good science when all scientific claims incorporate social factors and are subject to negotiation? Jasanoff begins by describing some significant failures--such as nitrites, Love Canal, and alar--in administrative and judicial decisionmaking that fed the demand for more peer review of regulatory science. In analyzing the nature of scientific claims and methods used in policy decisions, she draws comparisons with the promises and limitations of peer review in scientific organizations operating outside the regulatory context. The discussion of advisory mechanisms draws on the author's close scrutiny of two highly visible federal agencies--the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. Here we see the experts in action as they deliberate on critical issues such as clean air, pesticide regulation, and the safety of pharmaceuticals and food additives. Jasanoff deftly merges legal and institutional analysis with social studies of science and presents a strong case for procedural reforms. In so doing, she articulates a social-construction model that is intended to buttress the effectiveness of the fifth branch.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674039117
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
How can decisionmakers charged with protecting the environment and the public's health and safety steer clear of false and misleading scientific research? Is it possible to give scientists a stronger voice in regulatory processes without yielding too much control over policy, and how can this be harmonized with democratic values? These are just some of the many controversial and timely questions that Sheila Jasanoff asks in this study of the way science advisers shape federal policy. In their expanding role as advisers, scientists have emerged as a formidable fifth branch of government. But even though the growing dependence of regulatory agencies on scientific and technical information has granted scientists a greater influence on public policy, opinions differ as to how those contributions should be balanced against other policy concerns. More important, who should define what counts as good science when all scientific claims incorporate social factors and are subject to negotiation? Jasanoff begins by describing some significant failures--such as nitrites, Love Canal, and alar--in administrative and judicial decisionmaking that fed the demand for more peer review of regulatory science. In analyzing the nature of scientific claims and methods used in policy decisions, she draws comparisons with the promises and limitations of peer review in scientific organizations operating outside the regulatory context. The discussion of advisory mechanisms draws on the author's close scrutiny of two highly visible federal agencies--the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. Here we see the experts in action as they deliberate on critical issues such as clean air, pesticide regulation, and the safety of pharmaceuticals and food additives. Jasanoff deftly merges legal and institutional analysis with social studies of science and presents a strong case for procedural reforms. In so doing, she articulates a social-construction model that is intended to buttress the effectiveness of the fifth branch.
Science and Social Inequality
Author: Sandra Harding
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252047095
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
In Science and Social Inequality, Sandra Harding makes the provocative argument that the philosophy and practices of today's Western science, contrary to its Enlightenment mission, work to insure that more science will only worsen existing gaps between the best and worst off around the world. She defends this claim by exposing the ways that hierarchical social formations in modern Western sciences encode antidemocratic principles and practices, particularly in terms of their services to militarism, the impoverishment and alienation of labor, Western expansion, and environmental destruction. The essays in this collection--drawing on feminist, multicultural, and postcolonial studies--propose ways to reconceptualize the sciences in the global social order. At issue here are not only social justice and environmental issues but also the accuracy and comprehensiveness of our understandings of natural and social worlds. The inadvertent complicity of the sciences with antidemocratic projects obscures natural and social realities and thus blocks the growth of scientific knowledge. Scientists, policy makers, social justice movements and the consumers of scientific products (that is, the rest of us) can work together and separately to improve this situation.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252047095
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
In Science and Social Inequality, Sandra Harding makes the provocative argument that the philosophy and practices of today's Western science, contrary to its Enlightenment mission, work to insure that more science will only worsen existing gaps between the best and worst off around the world. She defends this claim by exposing the ways that hierarchical social formations in modern Western sciences encode antidemocratic principles and practices, particularly in terms of their services to militarism, the impoverishment and alienation of labor, Western expansion, and environmental destruction. The essays in this collection--drawing on feminist, multicultural, and postcolonial studies--propose ways to reconceptualize the sciences in the global social order. At issue here are not only social justice and environmental issues but also the accuracy and comprehensiveness of our understandings of natural and social worlds. The inadvertent complicity of the sciences with antidemocratic projects obscures natural and social realities and thus blocks the growth of scientific knowledge. Scientists, policy makers, social justice movements and the consumers of scientific products (that is, the rest of us) can work together and separately to improve this situation.
We Are the Middle of Forever
Author: Dahr Jamail
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620978628
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 387
Book Description
With a new afterword by the authors A powerful, intimate collection of conversations with Indigenous Americans on the climate crisis and the Earth’s future Although for a great many people, the human impact on the Earth—countless species becoming extinct, pandemics claiming millions of lives, and climate crisis causing worldwide social and environmental upheaval—was not apparent until recently, this is not the case for all people or cultures. For the Indigenous people of the world, radical alteration of the planet, and of life itself, is a story that is many generations long. They have had to adapt, to persevere, and to be courageous and resourceful in the face of genocide and destruction—and their experience has given them a unique understanding of civilizational devastation. An American Library Association Notable Book, We Are the Middle of Forever places Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today’s environmental crisis. The book draws on interviews with people from different North American Indigenous cultures and communities, generations, and geographic regions, who share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. A welcome antidote to the despair arising from the climate crisis, We Are the Middle of Forever will be an indispensable aid to those looking for new and different ideas and responses to the challenges we face.
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620978628
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 387
Book Description
With a new afterword by the authors A powerful, intimate collection of conversations with Indigenous Americans on the climate crisis and the Earth’s future Although for a great many people, the human impact on the Earth—countless species becoming extinct, pandemics claiming millions of lives, and climate crisis causing worldwide social and environmental upheaval—was not apparent until recently, this is not the case for all people or cultures. For the Indigenous people of the world, radical alteration of the planet, and of life itself, is a story that is many generations long. They have had to adapt, to persevere, and to be courageous and resourceful in the face of genocide and destruction—and their experience has given them a unique understanding of civilizational devastation. An American Library Association Notable Book, We Are the Middle of Forever places Indigenous voices at the center of conversations about today’s environmental crisis. The book draws on interviews with people from different North American Indigenous cultures and communities, generations, and geographic regions, who share their knowledge and experience, their questions, their observations, and their dreams of maintaining the best relationship possible to all of life. A welcome antidote to the despair arising from the climate crisis, We Are the Middle of Forever will be an indispensable aid to those looking for new and different ideas and responses to the challenges we face.
Science and Technology in World History
Author: James E. McClellan III
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421417766
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 549
Book Description
Arguably the best general history of science and technology ever published. Tracing the relationship between science and technology from the dawn of civilization to the early twenty-first century, James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn’s bestselling book argues that technology as “applied science” emerged relatively recently, as industry and governments began funding scientific research that would lead directly to new or improved technologies. McClellan and Dorn identify two great scientific traditions: the useful sciences, which societies patronized from time immemorial, and the exploration of questions about nature itself, which the ancient Greeks originated. The authors examine scientific traditions that took root in China, India, and Central and South America, as well as in a series of Near Eastern empires in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. From this comparative perspective, McClellan and Dorn survey the rise of the West, the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century, the Industrial Revolution, and the modern marriage of science and technology. They trace the development of world science and technology today while raising provocative questions about the sustainability of industrial civilization. This new edition of Science and Technology in World History offers an enlarged thematic introduction and significantly extends its treatment of industrial civilization and the technological supersystem built on the modern electrical grid. The Internet and social media receive increased attention. Facts and figures have been thoroughly updated and the work includes a comprehensive Guide to Resources, incorporating the major published literature along with a vetted list of websites and Internet resources for students and lay readers.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421417766
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 549
Book Description
Arguably the best general history of science and technology ever published. Tracing the relationship between science and technology from the dawn of civilization to the early twenty-first century, James E. McClellan III and Harold Dorn’s bestselling book argues that technology as “applied science” emerged relatively recently, as industry and governments began funding scientific research that would lead directly to new or improved technologies. McClellan and Dorn identify two great scientific traditions: the useful sciences, which societies patronized from time immemorial, and the exploration of questions about nature itself, which the ancient Greeks originated. The authors examine scientific traditions that took root in China, India, and Central and South America, as well as in a series of Near Eastern empires in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. From this comparative perspective, McClellan and Dorn survey the rise of the West, the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century, the Industrial Revolution, and the modern marriage of science and technology. They trace the development of world science and technology today while raising provocative questions about the sustainability of industrial civilization. This new edition of Science and Technology in World History offers an enlarged thematic introduction and significantly extends its treatment of industrial civilization and the technological supersystem built on the modern electrical grid. The Internet and social media receive increased attention. Facts and figures have been thoroughly updated and the work includes a comprehensive Guide to Resources, incorporating the major published literature along with a vetted list of websites and Internet resources for students and lay readers.
The Genesis of Science
Author: James Hannam
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596982055
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
The Not-So-Dark Dark Ages What they forgot to teach you in school: People in the Middle Ages did not think the world was flat The Inquisition never executed anyone because of their scientific ideologies It was medieval scientific discoveries, including various methods, that made possible Western civilization’s “Scientific Revolution” As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam debunks myths of the Middle Ages in his brilliant book The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution. Without the medieval scholars, there would be no modern science. Discover the Dark Ages and their inventions, research methods, and what conclusions they actually made about the shape of the world.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596982055
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
The Not-So-Dark Dark Ages What they forgot to teach you in school: People in the Middle Ages did not think the world was flat The Inquisition never executed anyone because of their scientific ideologies It was medieval scientific discoveries, including various methods, that made possible Western civilization’s “Scientific Revolution” As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam debunks myths of the Middle Ages in his brilliant book The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution. Without the medieval scholars, there would be no modern science. Discover the Dark Ages and their inventions, research methods, and what conclusions they actually made about the shape of the world.