On the Fringe

On the Fringe PDF Author: Michael D. Gordin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197555764
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
"Pseudoscience is not a real thing. The term is a negative category, always ascribed to somebody else's beliefs, not to characterize a doctrine one holds dear oneself. People who espouse fringe ideas never think of themselves as "pseudoscientists"; they think they are following the correct scientific doctrine, even if it is not mainstream. In that sense, there is no such thing as pseudoscience, just disagreements about what the right science is. This is a familiar phenomenon. No believer ever thinks she is a "heretic," for example, or an artist that he produces "bad art." Those are attacks presented by opponents. Yet pseudoscience is also real. The term of abuse is used quite frequently, sometimes even about ideas that are at the core of the scientific mainstream, and those labels have consequences. If the reputation of "pseudoscience" solidifies, then it is very hard for a doctrine to shed the bad reputation. The outcome is plenty of scorn and no legitimacy (or funding) to investigate one's theories. In this, "pseudoscience" is a lot like "heresy": if the label sticks, persecution follows"--

On the Fringe

On the Fringe PDF Author: Michael D. Gordin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197555764
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Pseudoscience is not a real thing. The term is a negative category, always ascribed to somebody else's beliefs, not to characterize a doctrine one holds dear oneself. People who espouse fringe ideas never think of themselves as "pseudoscientists"; they think they are following the correct scientific doctrine, even if it is not mainstream. In that sense, there is no such thing as pseudoscience, just disagreements about what the right science is. This is a familiar phenomenon. No believer ever thinks she is a "heretic," for example, or an artist that he produces "bad art." Those are attacks presented by opponents. Yet pseudoscience is also real. The term of abuse is used quite frequently, sometimes even about ideas that are at the core of the scientific mainstream, and those labels have consequences. If the reputation of "pseudoscience" solidifies, then it is very hard for a doctrine to shed the bad reputation. The outcome is plenty of scorn and no legitimacy (or funding) to investigate one's theories. In this, "pseudoscience" is a lot like "heresy": if the label sticks, persecution follows"--

Creative Historical Thinking

Creative Historical Thinking PDF Author: Michael Douma
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351623249
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Creative Historical Thinking offers innovative approaches to thinking and writing about history. Author Michael J. Douma makes the case that history should be recognized as a subject intimately related to individual experience and positions its practice as an inherently creative endeavor. Douma describes the nature of creativity in historical thought, illustrates his points with case studies and examples. He asserts history’s position as a collective and community-building exercise and argues for the importance of metaphor and other creative tools in communicating about history with people who may view the past in fundamentally different ways. A practical guide and an inspiring affirmation of the personal and communal value of history, Creative Historical Thinking has much to offer to both current and aspiring historians.

Politics on the Fringe

Politics on the Fringe PDF Author: Edward G. DeClair
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822321392
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
A study of the French National Front and its implications for the rest of the western world.

American Messiahs: False Prophets of a Damned Nation

American Messiahs: False Prophets of a Damned Nation PDF Author: Adam Morris
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631492144
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A history with sweeping implications, American Messiahs challenges our previous misconceptions about “cult” leaders and their messianic power. Mania surrounding messianic prophets has defined the national consciousness since the American Revolution. From Civil War veteran and virulent anticapitalist Cyrus Teed, to the dapper and overlooked civil rights pioneer Father Divine, to even the megalomaniacal Jim Jones, these figures have routinely been dismissed as dangerous and hysterical outliers. After years of studying these emblematic figures, Adam Morris demonstrates that messiahs are not just a classic trope of our national culture; their visions are essential for understanding American history. As Morris demonstrates, these charismatic, if flawed, would-be prophets sought to expose and ameliorate deep social ills—such as income inequality, gender conformity, and racial injustice. Provocative and long overdue, this is the story of those who tried to point the way toward an impossible “American Dream”: men and women who momentarily captured the imagination of a nation always searching for salvation.

Shaking Hands on the Fringe

Shaking Hands on the Fringe PDF Author: Tiffany Shellam
Publisher: UWA Publishing
ISBN: 9781921401268
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Encounters between the British and natives at King George's Sound (present day Albany) in 1826.

The Philosophy of History

The Philosophy of History PDF Author: Augustus Schade
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description


Physics on the Fringe

Physics on the Fringe PDF Author: Margaret Wertheim
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0802778739
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
For the past fifteen years, acclaimed science writer Margaret Wertheim has been collecting the works of "outsider physicists," many without formal training and all convinced that they have found true alternative theories of the universe. Jim Carter, the Einstein of outsiders, has developed his own complete theory of matter and energy and gravity that he demonstrates with experiments in his backyard,-with garbage cans and a disco fog machine he makes smoke rings to test his ideas about atoms. Captivated by the imaginative power of his theories and his resolutely DIY attitude, Wertheim has been following Carter's progress for the past decade. Centuries ago, natural philosophers puzzled out the laws of nature using the tools of observation and experimentation. Today, theoretical physics has become mathematically inscrutable, accessible only to an elite few. In rejecting this abstraction, outsider theorists insist that nature speaks a language we can all understand. Through a profoundly human profile of Jim Carter, Wertheim's exploration of the bizarre world of fringe physics challenges our conception of what science is, how it works, and who it is for.

 PDF Author:
Publisher: CCH Australia Limited
ISBN: 1921948213
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2729

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Book Description


Life on the Fringe?

Life on the Fringe? PDF Author: Brian Heffernan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780716531302
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Scholars of modern Ireland have all too often been too immersed in the intricacies of Anglo-Irish relations to cast a wider glance toward the European continent. Was Ireland really on the fringe of Europe during the 19th century, trapped into an Anglo-Irish Neverland by the Act of Union, oblivious to the progress of European events? This volume challenges such notions and explores the general theme of 'Ireland and Europe' from different and fascinating perspectives. This thematic survey places a number of major themes of Irish history in their European context from 1800 to 1922. The Irish-European connections during the 19th century span the entire continent from France to Russia, and from Finland to Spain. It takes Irish history as an organic component of European developments, breaking the Western Europe bias of much of the existing scholarship. The book demonstrates that Ireland under the Union lived on the fringe only in a geographical sense, and that the European tide of change was clearly felt upon its shores.

Foundations of Atlantis, Ancient Astronauts and Other Alternative Pasts

Foundations of Atlantis, Ancient Astronauts and Other Alternative Pasts PDF Author: Jason Colavito
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476619409
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Did aliens visit ancient civilizations? Could Jesus have fathered a dynasty? Did people of the ancient world visit the Americas centuries before Columbus? The public enjoys such questions, which have spawned countless books, movies and television series, but very rarely is any actual evidence produced. According to many eager writers and television hosts, evidence for long-ago astronauts or early transatlantic voyages can be found in ancient texts. But too often sources remain obscure and some writers have altered or fabricated texts to make their case for extraterrestrials and lost civilizations. This book examines more than 130 very old texts used to make the case for Atlantis, aliens, fallen angels, the Great Flood, giants, transatlantic voyagers, ancient high technology and many other mysteries. English translations are presented with explanatory notes showing how these texts have been used and abused to make entertaining claims about prehistory.