Thales the Measurer

Thales the Measurer PDF Author: Livio Rossetti
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000601862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Thales the Measurer offers a comprehensive and iconoclastic account of Thales of Miletus, considering the full extent of our evidence to build a new picture of his intellectual interests and activity. Thales is most commonly associated with the claim that ‘everything is water’, but closer examination of the evidence that we have suggests that he could not have said anything of the sort. His real interests, and his real innovations, lay in challenges of quantitative measurement, especially measurements related to the movement of the sun. In this he had no predecessors – and, for centuries to follow, no real successors either. This book is of interest for scholars in the history of philosophy, science, and life sciences. It is aimed especially at researchers in the field, but is also accessible to students and a more general readership.

Thales the Measurer

Thales the Measurer PDF Author: Livio Rossetti
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000601862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
Thales the Measurer offers a comprehensive and iconoclastic account of Thales of Miletus, considering the full extent of our evidence to build a new picture of his intellectual interests and activity. Thales is most commonly associated with the claim that ‘everything is water’, but closer examination of the evidence that we have suggests that he could not have said anything of the sort. His real interests, and his real innovations, lay in challenges of quantitative measurement, especially measurements related to the movement of the sun. In this he had no predecessors – and, for centuries to follow, no real successors either. This book is of interest for scholars in the history of philosophy, science, and life sciences. It is aimed especially at researchers in the field, but is also accessible to students and a more general readership.

Thales of Miletus

Thales of Miletus PDF Author: Patricia F. O'Grady
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351895370
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
'What is the basic building block of the universe?' Thales of Miletus was the first to ask this fundamental, yet to be answered, question in the sixth century B.C. This book offers an in-depth account of the answers he gave and of his adventure into many areas of learning: philosophy, science, mathematics and astronomy. Thales proved that the events of nature were comprehensible to man and could be explained without the intervention of mythological beings. Henceforth they became subject to investigation, experiment, questioning and discussion. Presenting for the first time in the English language a comprehensive study of Thales of Miletus, Patricia O'Grady brings Thales out of pre-Socratic shadows into historical illumination and explores why this historical figure has proved to be of lasting significance.

The Greek Philosophers

The Greek Philosophers PDF Author: W.K.C. Guthrie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135196222
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
W.K.C. Guthrie has written a survey of the great age of Greek philosophy - from Thales to Aristotle - which combines comprehensiveness with brevity. Without pre-supposing a knowledge of Greek or the Classics, he sets out to explain the ideas of Plato and Aristotle in the light of their predecessors rather than their successors, and to describe the characteristic features of the Greek way of thinking and outlook on the world. Thus The Greek Philosophers provides excellent background material for the general reader - as well as providing a firm basis for specialist studies.

Measuring the Cosmos

Measuring the Cosmos PDF Author: David H. Clark
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 9780813534046
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Humans have always viewed the heavens with wonder and awe. The skies have inspired reflection on the vastness of space, the wonder of creation, and humankind's role in the universe. In just over one hundred years, science has moved from almost total ignorance about the actual distances to the stars and earth's place in the galaxy to our present knowledge about the enormous size, mass, and age of the universe. We are reaching the limits of observation, and therefore the limits of human understanding. Beyond lies only our imagination, seeded by the theories of physics. In Measuring the Cosmos, science writers David and Matthew Clark tell the stories of both the well-known and the unsung heroes who played key roles in these discoveries. These true accounts reveal ambitions, conflicts, failures, as well as successes, as the astonishing scale and age of the universe were finally established. Few areas of scientific research have witnessed such drama in the form of ego clashes, priority claims, or failed (or even falsified) theories as that resulting from attempts to measure the universe. Besides giving credit where long overdue, Measuring the Cosmos explains the science behind these achievements in accessible language sure to appeal to astronomers, science buffs, and historians.

Greek Geometry from Thales to Euclid

Greek Geometry from Thales to Euclid PDF Author: George Johnston Allman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Geometry
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description


Measuring the Universe

Measuring the Universe PDF Author: Stephen Webb
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9781852331061
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Recounts the mathematical reasoning which was used to calculate first the size of the earth, then the solar system, and so on up to the universe.

The Story of Electrical and Magnetic Measurements

The Story of Electrical and Magnetic Measurements PDF Author: Joseph F. Keithley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780780311930
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
"Joseph F. Keithley, a modern pioneer of instrumentation, brings you a fascinating history of electrical measurement from the ancient Greeks to the inventors of the early twentieth century. Written in a direct and fluent style, the book illuminates the lives of the most significant inventors in the field, including George Simon Ohm, Andre Marie Ampere, and Jean Baptiste Fourier. Chapter by chapter, meet the inventors in their youth and discover the origins of their lifelong pursuits of electrical measurement. Not only will you find highlights of important technological contributions, you will also learn about the tribulations and excitement that accompany the discoveries of these early masters. Included are nearly 100 rare photographs from museums around the world. THE STORY OF ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS is a ""must read"" for students and practitioners of physics, electrical engineering, and instrumentation and metrology who want to understand the history behind modern day instruments." Sponsored by: IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society

Shadows

Shadows PDF Author: Roberto Casati
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375707115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
In this original, wide-ranging, and endlessly thought-provoking work of popular nonfiction, a leading science writer uncovers the pervasive presence of shadows in our world. For Plato, shadows were the symbol of our limitations. For Galileo, they knocked the Earth from the center of the cosmos. They are a source of fear and a symbol of ignorance, and they loom large in art and design, mythology and folklore, physics and metaphysics, and architecture and urban planning. From shadows puppets and the psychology of shadows to the role of shadows in astronomy and the influence of shadows on the architectural profiles of our cities, Roberto Casati awakens our fascination in this tour-de-force of investigation and imagination.

Presocratic Philosophy

Presocratic Philosophy PDF Author: Daniel W. Graham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135190910X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
This book presents some of the most recent trends and developments in Presocratic scholarship. A wide range of topics are covered - from the metaphysical to the moral to the methodological - as well as a broad a range of authors: from recognized figures such as Heraclitus and Parmenides to Sophistic thinkers whose place has traditionally been marginalized, such as Gorgias and the author of the Dissoi Logoi. Several of the pieces are concerned with the later reception and influence of the Presocratics on ancient philosophy, an area of study important both for the light it sheds on our evidence for Presocratic thought and for understanding the philosophical power of their ideas. Drawing together contributions from distinguished authorities and internationally acclaimed scholars of ancient philosophy, this book offers new challenges to traditional interpretations in some areas of Presocratic philosophy and finds new support for traditional interpretations in other areas.

History of Western Philosophy from a Perspective of Quantum Theory

History of Western Philosophy from a Perspective of Quantum Theory PDF Author: Shiro ISHIKAWA
Publisher: Shiho-Shuppan Publisher
ISBN: 490762557X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
Recently I proposed Quantum Language (QL) as a language of (dualistic and idealistic) science, which is also characterized as a linguistic turn of quantum mechanics. QL has two subclasses, non-commutative QL and commutative QL. They are applicable to quantum systems and to classical systems, respectively. QL is composed of Axiom 1 (measurement), Axiom 2 (causality), and the linguistic Copenhagen interpretation. This theory has a stronger descriptive power than (quantum) mechanics and statistics. Axioms 1 and 2 are usual since they are operator algebraic generalizations of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, the part of “linguistic Copenhagen interpretation” is not usual. This is defined by “a rule for drawing a line between science and pseudoscience”. For example, the Popper's falsifiability is one of the rules of the linguistic Copenhagen interpretation. Other examples are: 1) “There exists only `one', and not `many'.” (due to Parmenides) -> “Measurement can only be done once”, “A state does not move.” 2)“There is no motion.”(due to Parmenides) -> “A state does not move.” 3) “There is only the present.” ( due to Augustinus) -> “There is no tense.” 4) “To be is to be perceived.” (due to Berkely) -> “Nothing can be said without measurement.” ... It is surprising that philosophers who did not know quantum mechanics approached the Copenhagen interpretation as described above. Thus, I consider that the Copenhagen Interpretation is not attached to quantum mechanics, but to quantum language. I will show that QL is a scientific perfection of dualistic idealism in Western philosophy. In fact, the following unsolved problems in Western philosophy can be solved only by QL, not by statistics. * Zeno paradoxes, the problem of universals, Descartes problem (=mind-body problem + subjectivity problem), the Leibniz-Clarke space-time correspondence, Hume's problem of induction, the Grue paradox, From Kantian synthesis to QL-synthesis, the brain in a vat, Hempel's flagpole problem, the black raven problem, Wittgenstein's problem “ Why does logic work in our world?”, etc. The most fundamental theories in modern science are commonly said to be the three: theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and statistics. However, as this book will show, commutative QL is more powerful and beautiful than statistics. Therefore, I would replace the above three by “ theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and commutative QL”.