Stephen Jay Gould and the Struggle for American Democracy
How Stephen Jay Gould's career illustrates that criticizing science is important for American democracy. The question of public trust in science feels newly urgent, but today is not the first time that opposing ends of the American political spectrum have critiqued modern science. This dynamic has historical roots in the early 1970s, when ......
A critical edition of ten rare pamphlets on science and religion published from 1922-1931 by the University of Chicago Divinity School. In the years surrounding the Scopes trial in 1925, liberal Protestant scientists, theologians, and clergy sought to diminish opposition to evolution and to persuade American Christians to adopt more positive ......
Two leading physicists discuss the importance of the Higgs Boson, the future of particle physics, and the mysteries of the universe yet to be unraveled. On July 4, 2012, the long-sought Higgs Boson--aka "the God Particle"--was discovered at the world's largest particle accelerator, the LHC, in Geneva, Switzerland. On March 14, 2013, physicists at ......
Quantum theory is the bedrock of contemporary physics and the basis of understanding matter in its tiniest dimensions and the vast universe as a whole. But for many, the theory remains an impenetrable enigma. Now, two physicists seek to remedy this situation by both drawing on their scientific expertise and their talent for communicating science ......
Pests, Knowledge, and Boundaries in South Africa, 1910-1948
A timely history of the connections between science, segregation, and species in twentieth-century South Africa. Throughout the twentieth century, rural South Africa was dominated by systems of racial segregation and apartheid that brutally oppressed its Black population. At the same time, the countryside was defined by a related settler ......
Over the past two centuries, humanity has experienced unprecedented progress. Extreme poverty has declined, life expectancy has doubled, illiteracy has declined. While we as a species are becoming more prosperous, more educated, healthier, and more peaceful, it is useful to remind ourselves of the underlying cause of this progress: innovation. ......
The Many Discoveries of the Most Curious Astronomer Royal
In this surprising biography, author David K. Love reveals the boundless mind and endless curiosity of Edmond Halley, a man whom many readers may think they already know. From his inventions and innovations to his personal life, Edmond Halley firmly cements the legacy of the second Astronomer Royal among the first-rate scientists of his time.
A contemporary of Galileo and a forerunner of Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was a pioneering German scientist and a pivotal figure in the history of astronomy. This colorful, well-researched biography brings the man and his scientific discoveries to life, showing how his contributions were every bit as important as those of Copernicus, ......
"This work considers the spectrum of face recognition from face blindness to super-recognizers and the influence of face evaluation on race, gender, class and ability judgments"--
Science, Fabricated Realities, and Industrial Espionage in the Age of th
How a journey through Italy casts light on secrets, stereotypes, and the manipulation of information in eighteenth-century science. In 1749, the celebrated French physicist Jean-Antoine Nollet set out on a journey through Italy to solve an international controversy over the medical uses of electricity. At the end of his nine-month tour, he ......
Explores the visual idioms that made, sustained, revised, and resisted Cartesian philosophy. Locates Descartes's physics and its reception in a panoramic visual culture, where knowledge of the invisible depended on what could be seen.
Chronicles Johns Hopkins Medicine's triumphs and challenges during the last ten years, including the institution's global leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Leading the Change: Johns Hopkins Medicine from 2012 to 2022, Karen Nitkin describes a remarkable decade in the history of the institution-an era of growth, innovation, and ......
Comprised of riveting and readable stories from along the path of scientific discovery in the fields of Astronomy, The Earth, Matter, Forces and Energy, Chemistry, Life, Genetics & DNA, The Human Body, Disease, and Science in the 21st Century, author James D. Stein showcases the most noteworthy achievements of our species in a compelling and ......
How the 1910 Return of Halley's Comet (Almost) Destroyed Civilization
In Comet Madness, author and historian Richard J. Goodrich examines the 1910 appearance of Halleys Comet and the ensuing frenzy sparked by media manipulation, bogus science, and outright deception. The result is a fascinating and illuminating narrative history that underscores how we behave in the face of potential calamity - then and now.
A nuanced reframing of the dual importance of reading and observation for early modern naturalists. Historians of science traditionally argue that the sciences were born in early modern Europe during the so-called scientific revolution. At the heart of this narrative lays a supposed shift from the knowledge of books to the knowledge of things. ......
How the Chicago International Livestock Exposition leveraged the eugenics movement to transform animals into machines and industrialize American agriculture. In 1900, the Chicago International Livestock Exposition became the epicenter of agricultural reform that focused on reinventing animals' bodies to fit a modern, industrial design. Chicago ......
Why the Earth Isn't as Controversial as You May Think
On Solid Ground is intended to inform a general audience about what geologists know about the earth. It will do so by telling the stories of the people who made the discoveries. It will also chronicle the doubters and nay-sayers who have worked so hard to undermine our understanding of the earth. We know, for example, that the earth is old, in ......
Early Stuart Projects and the Undisciplining of Knowledge
A reframing of how scientific knowledge was produced in the early modern world. Many accounts of the scientific revolution portray it as a time when scientists disciplined knowledge by first disciplining their own behavior. According to these views, scientists such as Francis Bacon produced certain knowledge by pacifying their emotions and ......
Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff and the Meanings of Genealogy in Early Modern Europ
A history of genealogical knowledge-making strategies in the early modern world. In The Maker of Pedigrees, Markus Friedrich explores the complex and fascinating world of central European genealogy practices during the Baroque era. Drawing on archival material from a dozen European institutions, Friedrich reconstructs how knowledge about noble ......
Traces how the day has served as a key organizing concept in Roman culture--and beyond. How did ancient Romans keep track of time? What constituted a day in ancient Rome was not the same twenty-four hours we know today. In The Ordered Day, James Ker traces how the day served as a key organizing concept, both in antiquity and in modern ......
Gregor Mendel, the founder of genetics, is renowned as one of the world's most ingenious and influential scientists. Nonetheless, he remains misunderstood and enigmatic, his history shrouded in controversy and myth. Escaping poverty, he joined a scholarly community of Augustinian friars in a monastery and studied at the University of Vienna under ......
Published to mark the 150th anniversary of the launch of the Challenger expedition, The Challenger Expedition: Exploring the Ocean's Depths tells the story of the groundbreaking voyage that transformed our understanding of the deep sea.
Scientific Revolution and the Materialist Dialectic
This book articulates Soviet philosopher Boris Hessen's groundbreaking analysis of socioeconomic development, technological progress, and natural scientific theory; reassesses Hessen's legacy to the history and philosophy of science; and reflects on Hessen's enduring significance in today's world of social inequality and technological progress.
Experimenting with Humans and Animals offers readers a context within which to understand more fully the responsibility we all bear for the suffering inflicted on other living beings in the name of scientific knowledge.
Forgotten Stories of Mankind's Exploration of Space
Filled with rare and little-known stories, Space Oddities will bring the final frontier to the homes of diehard space readers and armchair astronauts alike.
It will be of interest to biomedical professionals-especially in oncology, hepatology, and infectious disease-in addition to historians of science and anyone interested in cancer research.
Studies the intersections of incarceration, medical science, and race in postwar America In February 1966, a local newspaper described the medical science program at Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, a "golden opportunity to conduct widespread medical tests under perfect control conditions." Helmed by Albert M. Kligman, a University of ......
Studies the intersections of incarceration, medical science, and race in postwar America In February 1966, a local newspaper described the medical science program at Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, a "golden opportunity to conduct widespread medical tests under perfect control conditions." Helmed by Albert M. Kligman, a University of ......
The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made Made Material
Concrete: We use it for our buildings, bridges, dams, and roads. We walk on it, drive on it, and many of us live and work within its walls. But very few of us know what it is. We take for granted this ubiquitous substance, which both literally and figuratively comprises much of modern civilization's constructed environment; yet the story of its ......
A comprehensive account of the methods of knowledge production throughout human history and across the globe.
The idea that the world can be understood through patterns and the principles that govern them is one of the most important human insights—it may also be our greatest survival strategy. Our search for patterns ......
