|
|
Title: The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science)
Purchase
Item
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
List Price: $26.99
Our Price: $3.98
|
|
| Customer Reviews: |
| The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press Another review | First, I want to abandon any pretentions of expertise in the history of ideas or science. With that caveat in mind, or out of mind, I agree with one of the other posters who said "the historiography is dated." Although the author defends himself against the use of "social and political" currents, --- I find that the latter criticism is extrensic to the authors stated purpose. However, As a history of ideas this work fails for me.
First, the author assumes some psuedo- hegalian, "spirit" without naming it as such, as a way of interpreting the development of ideas in the disclipines (chemistry, physics, biology) across time. So, why does author X, (insert Pascal if you like and his tube experiments), fail to realize Y, since he lacked Z (which by the way was not discovered until the 19th century). Well the "facts" of science only require the puzzling arrangment of certain variables which are always already discovered in advance. I wonder how the author would respond to this criticism, well he wouldn't read it, but still I wonder with deep awe and all of the psychical imagination of my neoplatonic spirit of the Renaissance. | | The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press The freedom of thought! | Classical antiquity and the Greek and Roman worlds are the source of and foundation of modern science. Without Aristotle, Pythagoras, Democritus, Ptolemy, Vitruvius, Archimedes, Ptolemy and many others we would not have Newton, Malpighi, Leibniz, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Copernico or Einstein.
In this sense this book is a very interesting journey through the development of the Modern Science, and its countless obstacles to surmount with the Status Quo of different ages and historical moments
Albert Einstein stated once "The science without religion is cripple but the religion without science is blind."
Totally recommended.
| | The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press A staple of university history of Science courses | | Good introduction to the history of early modern science. Historiographically a little dated and therefore lacking in the thorough treatment of the broader social and political origins of science in this time period. Still, it is a classic. | | The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press Crystal clear style, illuminating depth on the scientific process | | There are several aspects of this book that render it superior but the one aspect which stands out is manner in which the author presents the reasoning behind the development of a revolutionary scientific idea from the perspective of the originator of the idea, and the process by which the originator used developing philosophical trends, and scientific methods to fully realize a new idea despite the mental entanglements of centuries-old "factual" dogma or presuppositions about natural law. Beautifully presented and fully relevant diagrams as well. The first chapter is the clearest description I've ever read of the rationale behind the development of Kepler's Laws. | | The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press Great introduction to the 17th century scientific revolution | | This book really is a great introduction to the scientific revolution of the 17th century. It's part of a series of books called "History of Science Series" and is dedicated to bringing the history of science to a wider audience. It presents the general reader with an accurate, short narrative and analysis of the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Unlike other books on this subject it does not require the reader to be familiar with a lot of technical background knowledge. Two major themes dominated the period covered in the book; the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition, which looked on nature in geometric terms, and the mechanical philosophy, which conceived of nature as a huge machine and sought to explain the hidden mechanisms behind phenomena. These themes run through the various chapters of the book. Starting out in the first chapter with the copernican revolution in astronomy (the heliocentric theory) it shows how two men, Kepler and Galileo, reformed the theory and opened up new questions for the comming century. The following chapters cover the various sciences such as mechanics, chemistry and biology. After an interluding chapter covering the organization of the scientific enterprise (showing that universities were not always the principal centers of scientific research) it ends with two chapters in which the two themes mentioned above are drawn together and ultimately lead to the discovery of Newton's laws, solving major problems opened up at the beginning of the century. I had to read this book as part of a course at the university where I study. I enjoyed the book (and the course) a lot (which I don't say verry often) even though it doesn't have anything to do the primary subject of my study, business information technology. If you're at all 'science minded' this book is a must. You wont regret purchasing it. | | The Construction of Modern Science: Mechanisms and Mechanics (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science) by Cambridge University Press Product Description | | This introduction to the history of science in the seventeenth century examines the so-called 'scientific revolution' in terms of the interplay between two major themes. The Platonic-Pythagorean tradition looked on nature in geometric terms with the conviction that the cosmos was constructed according to the principles of mathematical order, while the mechanical philosophy conceived of nature as a huge machine and sought to explain the hidden mechanisms behind phenomena. Pursuing different goals, these two movements of thought tended to conflict with each other, and more than the obviously mathematical sciences were affected - the influence spread as far as chemistry and the life sciences. As this book demonstrates, the full fruition of the scientific revolution required a resolution of the tension between the two dominant trends. |
Apple Strategy Announcement
CARS: “After weeks of outcry from customers and the press about the company’s apparent lack of action concerning a growing Internet phenomenon, Apple has finally announced its strategy for lolcats.”
Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:38:40 GMT
|
The Apple Press interview about the iPhone
The Apple Press: “As WWDC comes to a close we went ahead and asked Brent Simmons, creator of NetNewsWire, about his opinions in regards to the iPhone and his reaction to Steve Jobs’ controversial 3rd party application announcement.”
Of course, I want badly to develop for the iPhone, but I understand that things happen in steps, and Apple doesn’t necessarily know this will all end up. So I’m cool with it.
Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:44:38 GMT
|
Microsoft Celebrates Sale of 100th Zune
CARS: “According to a press release issued by the company today, its 100th Zune was sold to 13-year-old Dieter Ebersbacher in Shreveport, Illinois, and is a sign of its success in the marketplace.”
Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:36:32 GMT
|
Completion Dictionary 4.0
Objective Development: “Completion Dictionary is a free Xcode plugin that enhances Xcode’s built in code completion mechanism. You simply type a few letters, either the abbreviation of a macro or the initials of a symbol name, and press the completion shortcut.”
Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:40:20 GMT
|
A Tour of Microsoft's Mac Lab
David Weiss: “Often when we have press events or special visits from our MVPs I’ll give them a tour of the Mac Lab and explain what we do. They’ve always found it very interesting and so I thought I’d share a virtual tour of our Mac Lab.”
Thu, 20 Apr 2006 20:48:30 GMT
|
MarsEdit 1.1: universal, and shipping!
 MarsEdit 1.1 is out of beta, shipping today!
It’s a universal binary—it runs on Intel Macs as well as PowerPC Macs. It has a bunch of other new features, including support for Technorati tags, enclosures, titles for Blogger weblogs, date editing, and easy text filters support. Here’s what’s new in MarsEdit 1.1.
You can download it from the MarsEdit home page. It costs $24.95, and is available bundled with NetNewsWire for $39.95. And it’s a free upgrade for current MarsEdit users.
Also see the press release for more information and quotes.
Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:09:50 GMT
|
PunchOut 1.0 for Tiger
Bare Bones Software: “Bare Bones Software today announced the forthcoming release of PunchOut, a new integrated backup system which safely records critical user data onto a durable backup medium... The new Advanced Prioritized Retrieval Integration Layer engine uses Spotlight in conjunction with a naive Bayesian reverse classifier to analyze stored data in real time.”
Sat, 02 Apr 2005 01:41:53 GMT
|
NetNewsWire Press Release
“Ranchero Software proudly announces the release of NetNewsWire 1.0.” Etc.
Wed, 12 Feb 2003 23:40:59 GMT
|
GTK for OS X
OSXFAQ: “GTK+OSX has released a native Macintosh Aqua port of the Linux-based GTK+ open source graphical user interface library.” This should make porting Linux apps to OS X easier.
Tue, 31 Dec 2002 20:54:02 GMT
|
The Do’s and Don’ts of Shareware, Part 3
O’Reilly: “Today we conclude the series with a discussion about press releases, payment processing, user support, a launch checklist, localization, and working from the road.”
Sat, 26 Oct 2002 00:10:57 GMT
|
The Do’s and Don’ts of Shareware, Part 1
O’Reilly: “I’ll be facilitating open and frank discussions about sales percentages, servers, coding styles, tools, Web sites, mirrors, sales engines, installers, registrations, support, press releases, marketing, database back-ends, localization. I’ll even come up with a checklist for your first release. Just about everything you’ll need to consider before shipping your product will be discussed right here.”
Mon, 30 Sep 2002 22:18:21 GMT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
