Worlds Before Adam

Worlds Before Adam PDF Author: Martin J. S. Rudwick
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226731308
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 639

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Book Description
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, scientists reconstructed the immensely long history of the earth—and the relatively recent arrival of human life. The geologists of the period, many of whom were devout believers, agreed about this vast timescale. But despite this apparent harmony between geology and Genesis, these scientists still debated a great many questions: Had the earth cooled from its origin as a fiery ball in space, or had it always been the same kind of place as it is now? Was prehuman life marked by mass extinctions, or had fauna and flora changed slowly over time? The first detailed account of the reconstruction of prehuman geohistory, Martin J. S. Rudwick’s Worlds Before Adam picks up where his celebrated Bursting the Limits of Time leaves off. Here, Rudwick takes readers from the post-Napoleonic Restoration in Europe to the early years of Britain’s Victorian age, chronicling the staggering discoveries geologists made during the period: the unearthing of the first dinosaur fossils, the glacial theory of the last ice age, and the meaning of igneous rocks, among others. Ultimately, Rudwick reveals geology to be the first of the sciences to investigate the historical dimension of nature, a model that Charles Darwin used in developing his evolutionary theory. Featuring an international cast of colorful characters, with Georges Cuvier and Charles Lyell playing major roles and Darwin appearing as a young geologist, Worlds Before Adam is a worthy successor to Rudwick’s magisterial first volume. Completing the highly readable narrative of one of the most momentous changes in human understanding of our place in the natural world, Worlds Before Adam is a capstone to the career of one of the world’s leading historians of science.

Worlds Before Adam

Worlds Before Adam PDF Author: Martin J. S. Rudwick
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226731308
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 639

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, scientists reconstructed the immensely long history of the earth—and the relatively recent arrival of human life. The geologists of the period, many of whom were devout believers, agreed about this vast timescale. But despite this apparent harmony between geology and Genesis, these scientists still debated a great many questions: Had the earth cooled from its origin as a fiery ball in space, or had it always been the same kind of place as it is now? Was prehuman life marked by mass extinctions, or had fauna and flora changed slowly over time? The first detailed account of the reconstruction of prehuman geohistory, Martin J. S. Rudwick’s Worlds Before Adam picks up where his celebrated Bursting the Limits of Time leaves off. Here, Rudwick takes readers from the post-Napoleonic Restoration in Europe to the early years of Britain’s Victorian age, chronicling the staggering discoveries geologists made during the period: the unearthing of the first dinosaur fossils, the glacial theory of the last ice age, and the meaning of igneous rocks, among others. Ultimately, Rudwick reveals geology to be the first of the sciences to investigate the historical dimension of nature, a model that Charles Darwin used in developing his evolutionary theory. Featuring an international cast of colorful characters, with Georges Cuvier and Charles Lyell playing major roles and Darwin appearing as a young geologist, Worlds Before Adam is a worthy successor to Rudwick’s magisterial first volume. Completing the highly readable narrative of one of the most momentous changes in human understanding of our place in the natural world, Worlds Before Adam is a capstone to the career of one of the world’s leading historians of science.

Reconstruction Programs

Reconstruction Programs PDF Author: Estella T. Weeks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Labor
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description


The Knowledge

The Knowledge PDF Author: Lewis Dartnell
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143127047
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
How would you go about rebuilding a technological society from scratch? If our technological society collapsed tomorrow what would be the one book you would want to press into the hands of the postapocalyptic survivors? What crucial knowledge would they need to survive in the immediate aftermath and to rebuild civilization as quickly as possible? Human knowledge is collective, distributed across the population. It has built on itself for centuries, becoming vast and increasingly specialized. Most of us are ignorant about the fundamental principles of the civilization that supports us, happily utilizing the latest—or even the most basic—technology without having the slightest idea of why it works or how it came to be. If you had to go back to absolute basics, like some sort of postcataclysmic Robinson Crusoe, would you know how to re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, or even how to produce food for yourself? Lewis Dartnell proposes that the key to preserving civilization in an apocalyptic scenario is to provide a quickstart guide, adapted to cataclysmic circumstances. The Knowledge describes many of the modern technologies we employ, but first it explains the fundamentals upon which they are built. Every piece of technology rests on an enormous support network of other technologies, all interlinked and mutually dependent. You can’t hope to build a radio, for example, without understanding how to acquire the raw materials it requires, as well as generate the electricity needed to run it. But Dartnell doesn’t just provide specific information for starting over; he also reveals the greatest invention of them all—the phenomenal knowledge-generating machine that is the scientific method itself. The Knowledge is a brilliantly original guide to the fundamentals of science and how it built our modern world.

Life Reconstructed

Life Reconstructed PDF Author: Kim Harms
Publisher: Credo House Publishers
ISBN: 9781625862914
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Whether facing mastectomy and breast reconstruction due to a cancer diagnosis or a genetic predisposition to the disease, the process is filled with uncertainty, difficult questions, intense emotions, and life-altering decisions that must be made in quick order. In Life Reconstructed, Kim Harms details her own experience, the experiences of others, plus extensive research, delving into the physical, emotional, psychological, and relational aspects of mastectomy and breast reconstruction, featuring: - input from medical professionals, - a detailed look at the distinct differences between breast reconstruction and breast augmentation (It's not a boob job!) - practical advice for decision-making, self-advocacy, recovery, talking with your children, a return to intimacy, and more. "Harms' journalistic skills and storytelling ability to share her own personal struggles with breast cancer make this book ex- ceptional." -Susan L. Beck, DO, MPH, Breast Surgeon and Medical Director, Katzmann Breast Center KIM HARMS is a two-time breast cancer survivor with a BA in English from Iowa State University. She has more than twenty years of experience as a freelance writer and spends her weekday afternoons working in her local library. A lifelong Midwestern girl, she lives in Central Iowa with her husband, the youngest of their three sons, and a rambunctious dog who takes her on walks twice a day.

A Theory of the Absolute

A Theory of the Absolute PDF Author: Benedikt Paul Göcke
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137412828
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
A Theory of the Absolute develops a worldview that is opposed to the dominant paradigm of physicalism and atheism. It provides powerful arguments for the existence of the soul and the existence of the Absolute. It shows that faith is not in contradiction to reason.

Consumers' Cooperation

Consumers' Cooperation PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cooperation
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description


Inventing Imaginary Worlds

Inventing Imaginary Worlds PDF Author: Michele Root-Bernstein
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475809808
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
How can parents, educators, business leaders and policy makers nurture creativity, prepare for inventiveness and stimulate innovation? One compelling answer, this book argues, lies in fostering the invention of imaginary worlds, a.k.a. worldplay. First emerging in middle childhood, this complex form of make-believe draws lifelong energy from the fruitful combustions of play, imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, trends in modern life conspire to break down the synergies of creative play with imaginary worlds. Unstructured playtime in childhood has all but disappeared. Invent-it-yourself make-believe places have all but succumbed in adolescence to ready-made computer games. Adults are discouraged from playing as a waste of time with no relevance to the workplace. Narrow notions of creativity exile the fictive imagination to fantasy arts. And yet, as Michele Root-Bernstein demonstrates by means of historical inquiry, quantitative study and contemporary interview, spontaneous worldplay in childhood develops creative potential, and strategic worldplay in adulthood inspires innovations in the sciences and social sciences as well as the arts and literature. Inventing imaginary worlds develops the skills society needs for inventing the future. For more on Inventing Imaginary Worlds, check out: www.inventingimaginaryworlds.com

Authentic Reconstruction

Authentic Reconstruction PDF Author: John Bold
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474284043
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Notions of authenticity lie at the heart of many questions about heritage and identity in the built environment. These questions are most pertinent when buildings have been destroyed in disaster or war, and the built fabric is being reconstructed to reinstate traditional or historic appearances in place of what was lost. Authentic Reconstruction examines this idea of reconstruction, using it as a prompt to examine a range of deeper issues on heritage and the built environment. From post-WWII reconstruction programmes through to the rebuilding of historic cultural landscapes lost in natural disasters, this collection of essays by heritage specialists provides a wide range of case-studies and discussions. Each presents responses to crises and lessons learned, in order to extrapolate general guidelines for future actions by politicians, architects and planners in reconstructing buildings. The book also looks beyond disaster and war, noting how authenticity bears on political intentions and image building, exploring how reconstruction is used to tell a political or historical story, so conditioning the ways in which the built environment is perceived and appreciated by its users. This is not just about the buildings as bricks and mortar, but about perceptions of identity and the social and historical values which buildings and spaces embody for a richly diverse population. This book will be valuable to all who are concerned with heritage as practitioners or consumers, particularly those concerned with reconstruction and the creation of authentic places and experiences: architects, architectural historians, town planners, preservationists, conservationists, and those involved in heritage management and material culture.

Cooperation

Cooperation PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Consumer cooperatives
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description


Metadebates on Science

Metadebates on Science PDF Author: Gustaaf C. Cornelis
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401722455
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
How do scientists approach science? Scientists, sociologists and philosophers were asked to write on this intriguing problem and to display their results at the International Congress `Einstein Meets Magritte'. The outcome of their effort can be found in this rather unique book, presenting all kinds of different views on science. Quantum mechanics is a discipline which deserves and receives special attention in this book, mainly because it is fascinating and, hence, appeals to the general public. This book not only contains articles on the introductory level, it also provides new insights and bold, even provocative proposals. That way, the reader gets acquainted with `science in the making', sitting in the front row. The contributions have been written for a broad interdisciplinary audience of scholars and students.