A Man of Misconceptions

A Man of Misconceptions PDF Author: John Glassie
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1594631891
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
A Scientific American Best Science Book of 2012 An Atlantic Wire Best Book of 2012 A New York Times Book Review “Editor's Choice” The “fascinating” (The New Yorker) story of Athanasius Kircher, the eccentric scholar-inventor who was either a great genius or a crackpot . . . or a bit of both. The interests of Athanasius Kircher, the legendary seventeenth-century priest-scientist, knew no bounds. From optics to music to magnetism to medicine, he offered up inventions and theories for everything, and they made him famous across Europe. His celebrated museum in Rome featured magic lanterns, speaking statues, the tail of a mermaid, and a brick from the Tower of Babel. Holy Roman Emperors were his patrons, popes were his friends, and in his spare time he collaborated with the Baroque master Bernini. But Kircher lived during an era of radical transformation, in which the old approach to knowledge—what he called the “art of knowing”— was giving way to the scientific method and modern thought. A Man of Misconceptions traces the rise, success, and eventual fall of this fascinating character as he attempted to come to terms with a changing world. With humor and insight, John Glassie returns Kircher to his rightful place as one of history’s most unforgettable figures.

A Man of Misconceptions

A Man of Misconceptions PDF Author: John Glassie
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1594631891
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Get Book

Book Description
A Scientific American Best Science Book of 2012 An Atlantic Wire Best Book of 2012 A New York Times Book Review “Editor's Choice” The “fascinating” (The New Yorker) story of Athanasius Kircher, the eccentric scholar-inventor who was either a great genius or a crackpot . . . or a bit of both. The interests of Athanasius Kircher, the legendary seventeenth-century priest-scientist, knew no bounds. From optics to music to magnetism to medicine, he offered up inventions and theories for everything, and they made him famous across Europe. His celebrated museum in Rome featured magic lanterns, speaking statues, the tail of a mermaid, and a brick from the Tower of Babel. Holy Roman Emperors were his patrons, popes were his friends, and in his spare time he collaborated with the Baroque master Bernini. But Kircher lived during an era of radical transformation, in which the old approach to knowledge—what he called the “art of knowing”— was giving way to the scientific method and modern thought. A Man of Misconceptions traces the rise, success, and eventual fall of this fascinating character as he attempted to come to terms with a changing world. With humor and insight, John Glassie returns Kircher to his rightful place as one of history’s most unforgettable figures.

A Man of Misconceptions

A Man of Misconceptions PDF Author: John Glassie
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101597038
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
A Scientific American Best Science Book of 2012 An Atlantic Wire Best Book of 2012 A New York Times Book Review “Editor's Choice” The “fascinating” (The New Yorker) story of Athanasius Kircher, the eccentric scholar-inventor who was either a great genius or a crackpot . . . or a bit of both. The interests of Athanasius Kircher, the legendary seventeenth-century priest-scientist, knew no bounds. From optics to music to magnetism to medicine, he offered up inventions and theories for everything, and they made him famous across Europe. His celebrated museum in Rome featured magic lanterns, speaking statues, the tail of a mermaid, and a brick from the Tower of Babel. Holy Roman Emperors were his patrons, popes were his friends, and in his spare time he collaborated with the Baroque master Bernini. But Kircher lived during an era of radical transformation, in which the old approach to knowledge—what he called the “art of knowing”— was giving way to the scientific method and modern thought. A Man of Misconceptions traces the rise, success, and eventual fall of this fascinating character as he attempted to come to terms with a changing world. With humor and insight, John Glassie returns Kircher to his rightful place as one of history’s most unforgettable figures.

A Man of Misconceptions

A Man of Misconceptions PDF Author: John Glassie
Publisher: Riverhead Books (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781594488719
Category : Eccentrics and eccentricities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A Scientific American Best Science Book of 2012 An Atlantic Wire Best Book of 2012 A New York Times Book Review “Editor's Choice” The “fascinating” (The New Yorker) story of Athanasius Kircher, the eccentric scholar-inventor who was either a great genius or a crackpot . . . or a bit of both. The interests of Athanasius Kircher, the legendary seventeenth-century priest-scientist, knew no bounds. From optics to music to magnetism to medicine, he offered up inventions and theories for everything, and they made him famous across Europe. His celebrated museum in Rome featured magic lanterns, speaking statues, the tail of a mermaid, and a brick from the Tower of Babel. Holy Roman Emperors were his patrons, popes were his friends, and in his spare time he collaborated with the Baroque master Bernini. But Kircher lived during an era of radical transformation, in which the old approach to knowledge—what he called the “art of knowing”— was giving way to the scientific method and modern thought. A Man of Misconceptions traces the rise, success, and eventual fall of this fascinating character as he attempted to come to terms with a changing world. With humor and insight, John Glassie returns Kircher to his rightful place as one of history’s most unforgettable figures.

Heavenly Errors

Heavenly Errors PDF Author: Neil F. Comins
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231116454
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Astronomy is one of the most misunderstood scientific disciplines. With the participation of undergraduate students, Comins has identified and classified, by origin and topic, over 1,700 commonly held misconceptions. 20 illustrations.

Misconception

Misconception PDF Author: Robert Shapiro
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780380733231
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
A small-town Louisiana physician is poised to win confirmation as the next Surgeon General of the United States. But on the eve of his greatest professional achievement, Daniel Wyatt finds himself accused of gross infidelity...and the murder of his unborn child. In the midst of a media frenzy -- as a trial looms that will cast the nation's explosive pro-choice/anti-abortion debate into a blinding new light -- the accused stands to lose more than his reputation, his career, and his freedom. Because an issue that has dangerously polarized America has inspired the bloody wrath of a faceless killer. And Dr. Daniel Wyatt is suddenly more than front-page news -- he's a target.

MISCONCEPTION

MISCONCEPTION PDF Author: Avner Hershlag
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1440183880
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
If you’re tired of legal thrillers written by lawyers, read this amazing medical thriller written by Dr. Avner Hershlag who not only knows his stuff, but also knows how to write. Combining a little science fiction with a lot of science fact, Hershlag takes us on a scary journey through the fields of genetics and into the near future. Misconception delves deeply into a subject no less important than the mystery of life itself. Nelson DeMille, author of The Gold Coast When Dr. Anya Krim, the First Lady’s fertility specialist, delivers a grossly deformed baby of undetermined sex, she tries to figure out how the child was conceived. But, before she is able to determine the baby’s origin, she diagnoses a pregnancy in Megan, a Senator’s daughter, who has been in a coma for two years. The question of who has impregnated Megan leads to a shocking suspicion based upon the FBI’s DNA fingerprinting results. At the same time, the First Lady’s last-ditch attempt to have a child runs amok when the safety of her embryos is threatened. Anya not only has to secure the embryos she created. She must now prove that no one has altered them genetically. Anya, herself, is desperate to have a child of her own, but her fears of having sex threaten to leave her childless. How far will she go to have a child? Unforeseen complications threaten her reputation, her career, and ultimately, her life. Misconception takes the reader on a heart pounding and mysterious, yet intriguing journey, examining new reproductive and genetic technologies through Anya’s eyes. Along the way, she must grapple with issues of passion and hate, conservative and liberal politics, morality and medicine and ultimately life and death.

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology PDF Author: Scott O. Lilienfeld
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444360744
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience. Uses common myths as a vehicle for exploring how to distinguish factual from fictional claims in popular psychology Explores topics that readers will relate to, but often misunderstand, such as 'opposites attract', 'people use only 10% of their brains', and 'handwriting reveals your personality' Provides a 'mythbusting kit' for evaluating folk psychology claims in everyday life Teaches essential critical thinking skills through detailed discussions of each myth Includes over 200 additional psychological myths for readers to explore Contains an Appendix of useful Web Sites for examining psychological myths Features a postscript of remarkable psychological findings that sound like myths but that are true Engaging and accessible writing style that appeals to students and lay readers alike

Fatal Misconception

Fatal Misconception PDF Author: Matthew Connelly
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 067426276X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 538

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Book Description
Fatal Misconception is the disturbing story of our quest to remake humanity by policing national borders and breeding better people. As the population of the world doubled once, and then again, well-meaning people concluded that only population control could preserve the “quality of life.” This movement eventually spanned the globe and carried out a series of astonishing experiments, from banning Asian immigration to paying poor people to be sterilized. Supported by affluent countries, foundations, and non-governmental organizations, the population control movement experimented with ways to limit population growth. But it had to contend with the Catholic Church’s ban on contraception and nationalist leaders who warned of “race suicide.” The ensuing struggle caused untold suffering for those caught in the middle—particularly women and children. It culminated in the horrors of sterilization camps in India and the one-child policy in China. Matthew Connelly offers the first global history of a movement that changed how people regard their children and ultimately the face of humankind. It was the most ambitious social engineering project of the twentieth century, one that continues to alarm the global community. Though promoted as a way to lift people out of poverty—perhaps even to save the earth—family planning became a means to plan other people‘s families. With its transnational scope and exhaustive research into such archives as Planned Parenthood and the newly opened Vatican Secret Archives, Connelly’s withering critique uncovers the cost inflicted by a humanitarian movement gone terribly awry and urges renewed commitment to the reproductive rights of all people.

Arizona Myths, Fallacies, and Misconceptions

Arizona Myths, Fallacies, and Misconceptions PDF Author: John D. Neuner
Publisher: Gem Guides Book Company
ISBN: 9780966994520
Category : Arizona
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
What's the best way to learn about the state of Arizona? One place to start is to discover the truth behind the misinformation and misconceptions that surround the state, its diverse wildlife, and its rich history.

Misconceptions

Misconceptions PDF Author: Pamela Leigh Starr
Publisher: Genesis Press (MS)
ISBN: 9781585711178
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Set in New Orleans, this romance features a flight attendant and a pilot in asky-high story of love.