Difference between revisions of "Science Since Babylon"

Jump to navigation Jump to search
no edit summary
Line 12: Line 12:
== 1. The Peculiarity of a Scientific Civilization ==
== 1. The Peculiarity of a Scientific Civilization ==
===Summary===
===Summary===
===References===
===Further Reading===


*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan Srinivasa Ramanujan]
Line 25: Line 25:
== 2. Celestial Clockwork in Greece and China ==
== 2. Celestial Clockwork in Greece and China ==
===Summary===
===Summary===
===References===
===Further Reading===
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple_Museum_of_the_History_of_Science Whipple Museum of the History of Science]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple_Museum_of_the_History_of_Science Whipple Museum of the History of Science]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe Astrolabe]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe Astrolabe]
Line 37: Line 37:
== 3. Automata and the Origins of Mechanism and Mechanistic Philosophy ==
== 3. Automata and the Origins of Mechanism and Mechanistic Philosophy ==
===Summary===
===Summary===
===References===
===Further Reading===


*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Froissart Jean Froissart]'s [https://www.britannica.com/topic/LHorloge-amoureux L'Horloge Amouresuse] and [https://www.persee.fr/doc/scrip_0036-9772_1963_num_17_2_3181 L'Horloge de Sapience]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Froissart Jean Froissart]'s [https://www.britannica.com/topic/LHorloge-amoureux L'Horloge Amouresuse] and [https://www.persee.fr/doc/scrip_0036-9772_1963_num_17_2_3181 L'Horloge de Sapience]
Line 56: Line 56:
== 4. The __, __, and __, and Other Geometrical and Scientific Talismans and Symbolisms ==
== 4. The __, __, and __, and Other Geometrical and Scientific Talismans and Symbolisms ==
===Summary===
===Summary===
===References===
===Further Reading===


*[https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/gershom-scholem/the-curious-history-of-the-six-pointed-starhow-the-magen-david-became-the-jewish-symbol/ The Curious History of the Six Pointed Star] by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gershom_Scholem Gershom Scholem]
*[https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/gershom-scholem/the-curious-history-of-the-six-pointed-starhow-the-magen-david-became-the-jewish-symbol/ The Curious History of the Six Pointed Star] by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gershom_Scholem Gershom Scholem]
Line 65: Line 65:
== 5. Renaissance Roots of Yankee Ingenuity ==
== 5. Renaissance Roots of Yankee Ingenuity ==
===Summary===
===Summary===
===References===
===Further Reading===


== 6. The Difference Beteween Science and Technology ==
== 6. The Difference Beteween Science and Technology ==
Line 74: Line 74:
* "I think that what is happening bears close analogy to the recent divorce between physics and engineering, and the gradual loss of status and salary of the engineers. Unfortunately, however, we do not clearly understand the mechanics of scientific careers and education, and we are hesitant to manipulate the technologies with all the political brutality that seems to be needed. It is a classical situation, where we need a technology of administering technology and we do not even have a decent scientific knowledge of the way that science works. I can only suggest that the most urgent need in science teaching and in planning is more intense thought and analysis, not about the facts and theories of science or the technicalities of technology, but about the place of science and technology in science, the history of these things, and also about such naive and obviously simple things as the relation between science and technology and the difference between them." p 134-135
* "I think that what is happening bears close analogy to the recent divorce between physics and engineering, and the gradual loss of status and salary of the engineers. Unfortunately, however, we do not clearly understand the mechanics of scientific careers and education, and we are hesitant to manipulate the technologies with all the political brutality that seems to be needed. It is a classical situation, where we need a technology of administering technology and we do not even have a decent scientific knowledge of the way that science works. I can only suggest that the most urgent need in science teaching and in planning is more intense thought and analysis, not about the facts and theories of science or the technicalities of technology, but about the place of science and technology in science, the history of these things, and also about such naive and obviously simple things as the relation between science and technology and the difference between them." p 134-135


===References===
===Further Reading===


*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Flexner Abraham Flexner]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Flexner Abraham Flexner]
Line 87: Line 87:
* "One may say, however, that the first atomic explosion in history was not in 1945: it took place exactly half a century earlier. And in 1895 it was not some mere laboriously built artifact of science that exploded but rather the science itself. Our modern world is largely the result of efforts to piece together the fragments left by that traumatic and crucial explosion." p 160
* "One may say, however, that the first atomic explosion in history was not in 1945: it took place exactly half a century earlier. And in 1895 it was not some mere laboriously built artifact of science that exploded but rather the science itself. Our modern world is largely the result of efforts to piece together the fragments left by that traumatic and crucial explosion." p 160


===References===
===Further Reading===


*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier Antoine Lavoisier]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier Antoine Lavoisier]
Line 121: Line 121:
*"We must not expect such growth to continue, and we must not waste time and energy in seeking too many palliatives for an incurable process. In particular, it cannot be worth while sacrificing all else that humanity holds dear in order to allow science to grow unchecked for only one or two more doubling periods." p 186
*"We must not expect such growth to continue, and we must not waste time and energy in seeking too many palliatives for an incurable process. In particular, it cannot be worth while sacrificing all else that humanity holds dear in order to allow science to grow unchecked for only one or two more doubling periods." p 186


===References===
===Further Reading===


== 9. Epilogue: Humanities of Science ==
== 9. Epilogue: Humanities of Science ==

Navigation menu