The Story of Western Science

Posted on 06 December 2017 by Susan Wise Bauer

Far too often, public discussion of science is carried out by journalists, voters, and politicians who have received their science secondhand The Story of Western Science shows us the joy and importance of reading groundbreaking science writing for ourselves and guides us back to the masterpieces that have changed the way we think about our world, our cosmos, and ourselves.Able to be referenced individually, or read together as the narrative of Western scientific development, the book s twenty eight succinct chapters lead readers from the first science texts by Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle through twentieth century classics in biology, physics, and cosmology The Story of Western Science illuminates everything from mankind s earliest inquiries to the butterfly effect, from the birth of the scientific method to the rise of earth science and the flowering of modern biology.Each chapter recommends one or classic books and provides entertaining accounts of crucial contributions to science, vivid sketches of the scientist writers, and clear explanations of the mechanics underlying each concept The Story of Western Science reveals science to be a dramatic undertaking practiced by some of history s most memorable characters It reminds us that scientific inquiry is a human pursuit an essential, often deeply personal, sometimes flawed, frequently brilliant way of understanding the world.In the tradition of her perennial bestseller The Well Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer delivers an accessible, entertaining, and illuminating springboard into the scientific education you never had. Best Read The Story of Western Science [ by ] Susan Wise Bauer [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Tired of science books that are too technical Are you looking for a primer that is engaging, concise, and informative The Story of Science is engaging, most of the time It provides brief biographies for all the scientists It gives a brief summary But sometimes, I had to go on Wikipedia to further understand certain subjects The book begins with Thales, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, and the other early Greek scientists It talks about the Pythagoreans It then delves into later developments Tired of science books that are too technical Are you looking for a primer that is engaging, concise, and informative The Story of Science is engaging, most of the time It provides brief biographies for all the scientists It gives a brief summary But sometimes, I had to go on Wikipedia to further understand certain subjects The book begins with Thales, Democritus, Plato, Aristotle, and the other early Greek scientists It talks about the Pythagoreans It then delves into later developments By the time it gets to Newton, it diverges into subject rather than chronology This is the story of how the geocentric model was slowly killed This is the story of how evolution slowly permeated the natural sciences This is the story of how Einstein turned Newtonian physics on its head, and what has happened since This is the story of how quantum physics showed us how little we really understand And each chapter also presents the dissenting theories, and a bit about t...Very accessible and interesting history of the major ideas and people behind the rise of western science Isn t afraid of getting into abstraction but also profiles the human side of science as well.Carl Sagan once said that science isa way of thinking than it is a body of knowledge In this book, Susan Wise Bauer guides readers through important writings that epitomize that way of thinking and shows how science developed from its early beginnings in philosophical contemplation to a systematic method that provides a broad understanding of the universe It isthan a list of primary sources or a guide for further reading It provides an excellent introduction for students and for n Carl Sagan once said that science isa way of thinking than it is a body of knowledge In this book, Susan Wise Bauer guides readers through important writings that epitomize that way of thinking and shows how science developed from its early beginnings in philosophical contemplation to a systematic method that pro...Clearly written, concise book of short chapters, each given to a specific scientific topic, scientist or era From ancient Greeks to Copernicus to Einstein from the laws of physics to continental drift to evolution it is all discussed here At the end of each chapter the author provides you with the titles of texts which fully explore the subject you ve just touched on, candidly revealing which are best for general interest readers...Informative, eloquent, and insightful The Story of Science reads like a trip on a rollercoaster of science which includes crest s of philosophy whether it be the scientists professional motivations or desire to satisfy their curiosity, Susan W Ba...Excellent survey of the history of science, focusing on the major conflicts in physics, cosmology, and biology No depth on the subject matter itself, other than to give the basics to understand what the conflict w...Well written and very interesting survey of the major scientific ideas and writings throughout history The chapter on Einstein s Theory of Relativity gave a fairly clear description of the railroad tracks, embankment, and raven used as analogies in Einstein s paper Great jumping off p...This was not the best overview of science history I have ever read, but it was filled with fantastic notes about the primary source material, which will come in handy in a lifetime when I have enough free time to tread the Principia Mathematica and similar works.I don t think this work is well suited to be an audiobook. The Story of Science or The Story of Western Science editions have varying titles is a collection of science s big ideas, from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians speculating on medicine and the heavens to modern theories of relativity and chaos An idea or discovery is explained in each chapter, along with some history and its reception by the scientific community, followed by recommendations for further reading, including links to relevant pieces of the original...

06 December 2017

Susan Wise Bauer