0
Your cart

Your cart is empty

Browse All Departments
Price
  • R50 - R100 (1)
  • R100 - R250 (422)
  • R250 - R500 (2,272)
  • R500+ (10,108)
  • -
Status
Format
Author / Contributor
Publisher

Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science

The Works of Robert Boyle (Hardcover): Edward B. Davis The Works of Robert Boyle (Hardcover)
Edward B. Davis
R49,939 Discovery Miles 499 390 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A collection in 12 volumes of all the published works of Robert Boyle (1627-1691), who was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. Discoverer of Boyle's Law, which still pertains in modern science, his writings range around the greatest scientific issues of his day. Works originally in Latin are presented in their contemporary English translations. There is a general introduction with explanatory notes to the texts. A bibliography and general index permits access to all Boyle's work.

The God Equation - The Quest For A Theory Of Everything (Paperback): Michio Kaku The God Equation - The Quest For A Theory Of Everything (Paperback)
Michio Kaku
R302 R245 Discovery Miles 2 450 Save R57 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

From the international bestselling author of Physics of the Impossible and Physics of the Future.

This is the story of a quest: to find a Theory of Everything. Einstein dedicated his life to seeking this elusive Holy Grail, a single, revolutionary 'god equation' which would tie all the forces in the universe together, yet never found it. Some of the greatest minds in physics took up the search, from Stephen Hawking to Brian Greene. None have yet succeeded.

In The God Equation, renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku takes the reader on a mind-bending ride through the twists and turns of this epic journey: a mystery that has fascinated him for most of his life. He guides us through the key debates in modern physics, from Newton's law of gravity via relativity and quantum mechanics to the latest developments in string theory. It is a tale of dazzling breakthroughs and crushing dead ends, illuminated by Kaku's clarity, storytelling flair and infectious enthusiasm.

The object of the quest is now within sight: we are closer than ever to achieving the most ambitious undertaking in the history of science. If successful, the Theory of Everything could simultaneously unlock the deepest mysteries of space and time, and fulfil that most ancient and basic of human desires - to understand the meaning of our lives.

Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry (Hardcover): Louis Rosenfeld Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry (Hardcover)
Louis Rosenfeld
R5,995 Discovery Miles 59 950 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The origin and early years of any rapidly changing scientific discipline runs the risk of being forgotten unless a record of its past is preserved. In this, the first book-length history of clinical chemistry, those involved or interested in the field will read about who and what went before them and how the profession came to its present state of clinical importance. The narrative reconstructs the origins of clinical chemistry in the seventeenth century and traces its often obscure path of development in the shadow of organic chemistry, physiology and biochemistry until it assumes its own identity at the beginning of the twentieth century. The chronological development of the story reveals the varied roots from which modern clinical chemistry arose.

Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein, The (Hardcover): Sharon Ruston Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein, The (Hardcover)
Sharon Ruston
R640 Discovery Miles 6 400 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

What is life? This was a question of particular concern for Mary Shelley and her contemporaries. But how did she, and her fellow Romantic writers, incorporate this debate into their work, and how much were they influenced by contemporary science, medicine and personal loss? This book is the first to compile the many attempts in science and medicine to account for life and death in Mary Shelley's time. It considers what her contemporaries thought of air, blood, sunlight, electricity and other elements believed to be most essential for living. Mary Shelley's (and her circle's) knowledge of science and medicine is carefully examined, alongside the work of key scientific and medical thinkers, including John Abernethy, James Curry, Humphry Davy, John Hunter, William Lawrence and Joseph Priestley. Frankenstein demonstrates what Mary Shelley knew of the advice given by medical practitioners for the recovery of persons drowned, hanged or strangled and explores the contemporary scientific basis behind Victor Frankenstein's idea that life and death were merely 'ideal bounds' he could transgress in the making of the Creature. Interweaving images of the manuscript, portraits, medical instruments and contemporary diagrams into her narrative, Sharon Ruston shows how this extraordinary tale is steeped in historical scientific and medical thought exploring the fascinating boundary between life and death.

Frontiers - Twentieth Century Physics (Paperback): Steve Adams Frontiers - Twentieth Century Physics (Paperback)
Steve Adams
R2,188 Discovery Miles 21 880 Ships in 12 - 17 working days


Contents:
Introduction. Space and Time, Quantum Theory, Matter, The Universe, Order and Disorder, Reflections, Timeline, Glossary, Further Reading, Index.

A History of the Cultural Travels of Energy - From Aristotle to the OED (Hardcover): Peter Hjertholm A History of the Cultural Travels of Energy - From Aristotle to the OED (Hardcover)
Peter Hjertholm
R4,059 Discovery Miles 40 590 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book offers a cultural history of the travels of energy in the English language, from its origins in Aristotle’s ontology, where it referred to the activity-of-being, through its English usage as a way to speak about the inherent nature of things, to its adoption as a name for the mechanics of motion (capacity for work). A distinguished literature deals with energy as matter of science history. But this literature fails to adequately answer a historical question about the rise of the science of energy: How did the commonplace word ‘energy’ end up becoming a concept in science? This account differs in important ways from the history of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary. Discovering the origins and early travels of energy is essential for understanding how the word was borrowed into physics, and therefore a cultural history of energy is a necessary companion to the science history of the term. It is important that modern scholars in a variety of fields be aware that energy did not always have a scientific content. The absence of that awareness can lead to, have led to, anachronistic interpretations of energy in historical sources from before the 1860s. A History of the Cultural Travels of Energy will be useful for those interested in the history of science and technology, cultural history, and linguistics.

Tartaglia's Science of Weights and Mechanics in the Sixteenth Century - Selections from Quesiti et inventioni diverse:... Tartaglia's Science of Weights and Mechanics in the Sixteenth Century - Selections from Quesiti et inventioni diverse: Books VII-VIII (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2016)
Raffaele Pisano, Danilo Capecchi
R4,513 R4,133 Discovery Miles 41 330 Save R380 (8%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This book presents a historical and scientific analysis as historical epistemology of the science of weights and mechanics in the sixteenth century, particularly as developed by Tartaglia in his Quesiti et inventioni diverse, Book VII and Book VIII (1546; 1554). In the early 16th century mechanics was concerned mainly with what is now called statics and was referred to as the Scientia de ponderibus, generally pursued by two very different approaches. The first was usually referred to as Aristotelian, where the equilibrium of bodies was set as a balance of opposite tendencies to motion. The second, usually referred to as Archimedean, identified statics with centrobarica, the theory of centres of gravity based on symmetry considerations. In between the two traditions the Italian scholar Niccolo Fontana, better known as Tartaglia (1500?-1557), wrote the treatise Quesiti et inventioni diverse (1546). This volume consists of three main parts. In the first, a historical excursus regarding Tartaglia's lifetime, his scientific production and the Scientia de ponderibus in the Arabic-Islamic culture, and from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, is presented. Secondly, all the propositions of Books VII and VIII, by relating them with the Problemata mechanica by the Aristotelian school and Iordani opvsculvm de ponderositate by Jordanus de Nemore are examined within the history and historical epistemology of science. The last part is relative to the original texts and critical transcriptions into Italian and Latin and an English translation. This work gathers and re-evaluates the current thinking on this subject. It brings together contributions from two distinguished experts in the history and historical epistemology of science, within the fields of physics, mathematics and engineering. It also gives much-needed insight into the subject from historical and scientific points of view. The volume composition makes for absorbing reading for historians, epistemologists, philosophers and scientists.

The Historiography of Contemporary Science and Technology (Hardcover): Thomas Soederquist The Historiography of Contemporary Science and Technology (Hardcover)
Thomas Soederquist
R3,924 Discovery Miles 39 240 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

More than 90 percent of all scientific history has been made during the last half century. So far, however, only a fraction of historical scholarship has dealt with this period. Merely a decade ago, most scientific historians considered recent science - the scientific culture created, lived and remembered by contemporary scientists - an area of study best left to the historical actors themselves. Today, an increasing number of historians are turning to the study of contemporary science. When doing so, they are confronted with new and unfamiliar methodological and theoretical problems. How to handle the huge amounts of published and unpublished source materials? What level of scientific training is necessary to understand contemporary science? Does the lack of historical perspective prevent good scholarship? Can (and will) historians of recent science share the turf with other professional groups, such as active scientists, scholars of science and technology studies, and science journalists? This volume aims to provide answers to these questions. The thirteen contributors are active researchers in what has been called "the last frontier" in the history of science. The book itself is

Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin - Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives (Paperback): Hans Madueme, Michael R. E.... Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin - Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives (Paperback)
Hans Madueme, Michael R. E. Reeves
R603 Discovery Miles 6 030 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The Christian doctrines of original sin and the historical fall of Adam have been in retreat since the rise of modernity. Here leading scholars present a theological, biblical, and scientific case for the necessity of belief in original sin and the historicity of Adam and Eve in response to contemporary challenges. Representing various Christian traditions, the contributors shed light on recent debates as they present the traditional doctrine of original sin as orthodox, evangelical, and the most theologically mature and cogent synthesis of the biblical witness. This fresh look at a heated topic in evangelical circles will appeal to professors, students, and readers interested in the creation-evolution debate.

Conversations on Quantum Gravity (Hardcover): Jacome (Jay) Armas Conversations on Quantum Gravity (Hardcover)
Jacome (Jay) Armas
R1,461 R1,199 Discovery Miles 11 990 Save R262 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The holy grail of theoretical physics is to find the theory of everything that combines all the forces of nature, including gravity. This book addresses the question: how far are we from such discovery? Over the last few decades, multiple roads to finding a quantum theory of gravity have been proposed but no obvious description of nature has emerged in this domain. What is to be made of this situation? This volume probes the state-of-the art in this daunting quest of theoretical physics by collecting critical interviews with nearly forty leading theorists in this field. These broad-ranging conversations give important insights and candid opinions on the various approaches to quantum gravity, including string theory, loop quantum gravity, causal set theory and asymptotic safety. This unique, readable overview provides a gateway into cutting edge research for students and others who wish to engage with the open problem of quantum gravity.

Astronomy Through the Ages - The Story Of The Human Attempt To Understand The Universe (Hardcover): Sir Robert Wilson Astronomy Through the Ages - The Story Of The Human Attempt To Understand The Universe (Hardcover)
Sir Robert Wilson
R5,105 Discovery Miles 51 050 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

From an historical perspective, this text presents an entirely non- mathematical introduction to astronomy from the first endeavours of the ancients to the current developments in research enabled by cutting edge technological advances. Free of mathematics and complex graphs, the book nevertheless explains deep concepts of space and time, of relativity and quantum mechanics, and of origin and nature of the universe. It conveys not only the intrinsic fascination of the subject, but also the human side and the scientific method as practised by Kepler, defined and elucidated by Galileo, and then demonstrated by Newton.

Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science (Hardcover): Ronald L. Numbers, Kostas Kampourakis Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science (Hardcover)
Ronald L. Numbers, Kostas Kampourakis
R903 Discovery Miles 9 030 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A falling apple inspired Isaac Newton's insight into the law of gravity-or so the story goes. Is it true? Perhaps not. But the more intriguing question is why such stories endure as explanations of how science happens. Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science brushes away popular misconceptions to provide a clearer picture of great scientific breakthroughs from ancient times to the present. Among the myths refuted in this volume is the idea that no science was done in the Dark Ages, that alchemy and astrology were purely superstitious pursuits, that fear of public reaction alone led Darwin to delay publishing his theory of evolution, and that Gregor Mendel was far ahead of his time as a pioneer of genetics. Several twentieth-century myths about particle physics, Einstein's theory of relativity, and more are discredited here as well. In addition, a number of broad generalizations about science go under the microscope of history: the notion that religion impeded science, that scientists typically adhere to a codified "scientific method," and that a bright line can be drawn between legitimate science and pseudoscience. Edited by Ronald Numbers and Kostas Kampourakis, Newton's Apple and Other Myths about Science debunks the widespread belief that science advances when individual geniuses experience "Eureka!" moments and suddenly comprehend what those around them could never imagine. Science has always been a cooperative enterprise of dedicated, fallible human beings, for whom context, collaboration, and sheer good luck are the essential elements of discovery.

Leonardo da Vinci - A Mind in Motion (Paperback): Juliana Barone Leonardo da Vinci - A Mind in Motion (Paperback)
Juliana Barone 1
R808 R670 Discovery Miles 6 700 Save R138 (17%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Written by leading Leonardo experts from London and Florence, and accompanying a major British Library exhibition, this fascinating new book reveals the central importance of motion in Leonardo's art and thought. Large-scale reproductions of Leonardo's handwritten notes include clear illustrations of dozens of pages from Codex Arundel, alongside other manuscripts and paintings. Leonardo's ingenious, cutting-edge ideas about the art and physics of motion - the dynamics of motion in water; movement of the human form; and motion as a force in artistic composition - are explained in a clear and accessible form as never before.

Transforming American Science - Universities, the Government, and the Cold War (Hardcover): Jonathan Engel Transforming American Science - Universities, the Government, and the Cold War (Hardcover)
Jonathan Engel
R3,780 Discovery Miles 37 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Transforming American Science documents the ways in which federal funds catalyzed or accelerated changes in both university culture and the broader system of American higher education during the post-World War II decades. The events of the book lie within the context of the Cold War, when pressure to maintain parity with the Soviet Union impelled more generous government spending and a willingness of some universities to reorient their missions in the service of country and of science. The book draws upon a substantial amount of archival research conducted in various university archives (MIT, Berkeley, Stanford) as well as at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and various presidential libraries. Author Jonathan Engel considers the repurposing of the wartime Manhattan Engineering District and the Office of Naval Research to robust peacetime roles in supporting the nation's expanding research efforts, along with the birth of the National Science Foundation, space exploration, and atoms for peace among other topics. This volume is the perfect resource for all those interested in Cold War history and in the history of American science and technology policy.

Making Sense of the Future (Paperback): Rick Szostak Making Sense of the Future (Paperback)
Rick Szostak
R1,118 Discovery Miles 11 180 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

With a broad, interdisciplinary focus and logically and clearly running through the issues involved in thinking about the future, this provides students with a clearly written, historically grounded textbook for future studies courses. Future studies has been around for a while, but, especially at the moment, never has it been so important - the volume engages with things that are on everyone's minds at the moment. The volume provides a different sweep of coverage to other future studies, being both broadly interdisciplinary whilst grounded in history, but also in covering a broader sweep of questions and topics than most other books on future studies and engaging wholeheartedly with the strategy of backcasting as a way of turning ideal futures into reality.

The Berlin Academy in the reign of Frederick the Great - Philosophy and science (Paperback): Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet, Peter R.... The Berlin Academy in the reign of Frederick the Great - Philosophy and science (Paperback)
Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet, Peter R. Anstey
R2,547 Discovery Miles 25 470 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This collection sheds new light on the nature, role and practice of philosophy and science in the renewed Berlin Academy from the mid-1740s to the 1770s, and in so doing provides a robust new instalment of materials for the broader task of constructing a historiography of philosophy at this important Enlightenment institution. The collection ranges from discussions of the roles of philosophy and natural philosophy in the formation of the reinvigorated Academy in the mid-1740s, to conceptions of the correct philosophical methodology to be deployed by the Academy. It provides the first ever study of the nature and arrangement of the new classes of the Academy, and a fresh appraisal of the Academy's methodological eclecticism. One recurring theme is the status of metaphysics: there are studies of both special metaphysics, including the study of the soul; general metaphysics, that is, the study of being in general; and foundational metaphysical principles and concepts, such as Maupertuis's Principle of least action, Euler's concept of space and Lambert's notion of an experimental metaphysics. The collection also takes the study of the Academy in new directions through focused studies of important figures whose writings deserve to be better understood, such as Jean Bernard Merian, Louis de Beausobre, Jean Henri Samuel Formey and Johann Georg Sulzer.

Zero Degrees - Geographies of the Prime Meridian (Hardcover): Charles W. J Withers Zero Degrees - Geographies of the Prime Meridian (Hardcover)
Charles W. J Withers
R902 Discovery Miles 9 020 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Space and time on earth are regulated by the prime meridian, 0 Degrees, which is, by convention, based at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. But the meridian's location in southeast London is not a simple legacy of Britain's imperial past. Before the nineteenth century, more than twenty-five different prime meridians were in use around the world, including Paris, Beijing, Greenwich, Washington, and the location traditional in Europe since Ptolemy, the Canary Islands. Charles Withers explains how the choice of Greenwich to mark 0 Degrees longitude solved complex problems of global measurement that had engaged geographers, astronomers, and mariners since ancient times. Withers guides readers through the navigation and astronomy associated with diverse meridians and explains the problems that these cartographic lines both solved and created. He shows that as science and commerce became more global and as railway and telegraph networks tied the world closer together, the multiplicity of prime meridians led to ever greater confusion in the coordination of time and the geographical division of space. After a series of international scientific meetings, notably the 1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, Greenwich emerged as the most pragmatic choice for a global prime meridian, though not unanimously or without acrimony. Even after 1884, other prime meridians remained in use for decades. As Zero Degrees shows, geographies of the prime meridian are a testament to the power of maps, the challenges of accurate measurement on a global scale, and the role of scientific authority in creating the modern world.

The Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn - Incommensurability in Science (Hardcover): Thomas S. Kuhn The Last Writings of Thomas S. Kuhn - Incommensurability in Science (Hardcover)
Thomas S. Kuhn; Edited by Bojana Mladenovic
R761 R642 Discovery Miles 6 420 Save R119 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

A must-read follow-up to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, one of the most important books of the twentieth century. This book contains the text of Thomas S. Kuhn's unfinished book, The Plurality of Worlds: An Evolutionary Theory of Scientific Development, which Kuhn himself described as a return to the central claims of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and the problems that it raised but did not resolve. The Plurality of Worlds is preceded by two related texts that Kuhn publicly delivered but never published in English: his paper "Scientific Knowledge as Historical Product" and his Shearman Memorial Lectures, "The Presence of Past Science." An introduction by the editor describes the origins and structure of The Plurality of Worlds and sheds light on its central philosophical problems. Kuhn's aims in his last writings are bold. He sets out to develop an empirically grounded theory of meaning that would allow him to make sense of both the possibility of historical understanding and the inevitability of incommensurability between past and present science. In his view, incommensurability is fully compatible with a robust notion of the real world that science investigates, the rationality of scientific change, and the idea that scientific development is progressive.

Emilie Du Chatelet and the Foundations of Physical Science (Paperback): Katherine Brading Emilie Du Chatelet and the Foundations of Physical Science (Paperback)
Katherine Brading
R621 Discovery Miles 6 210 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The centerpiece of Emilie Du Chatelet's philosophy of science is her Foundations of Physics, first published in 1740. The Foundations contains epistemology, metaphysics, methodology, mechanics, and physics, including such pressing issues of the time as whether there are atoms, the appropriate roles of God and of hypotheses in scientific theorizing, how (if at all) bodies are capable of acting on one another, and whether gravity is an action-at-a-distance force. Du Chatelet sought to resolve these issues within a single philosophical framework that builds on her critique and appraisal of all the leading alternatives (Cartesian, Newtonian, Leibnizian, and so forth) of the period. The text is remarkable for being the first to attempt such a synthetic project, and even more so for the accessibility and clarity of the writing. This book argues that Du Chatelet put her finger on the central problems that lay at the intersection of physics and metaphysics at the time, and tackled them drawing on the most up-to-date resources available. It will be a useful source for students and scholars interested in the history and philosophy of science, and in the impact of women philosophers in the early modern period.

Opening Doors: Life and Work of Joseph Schumpeter - Volume 1, Europe (Paperback, New Ed): Irving Horowitz Opening Doors: Life and Work of Joseph Schumpeter - Volume 1, Europe (Paperback, New Ed)
Irving Horowitz
R1,430 Discovery Miles 14 300 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The author puts this book in the best possible context by referring to the "magisterial and paradoxical Dr. Schumpeter." A figure in a rare class with John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich von Hayek, and Alfred Marshall, the work of Joseph Schumpeter is equalled only in monumental significance by his personal trials and tribulations. The work is divided into two volumes - the first covering his career in Europe and the second his life and achievements in America.

Walt Rostow, in his Foreword, sums up Robert Loring Allen's achievement in biography and intellectual history thus: "In dealing with Schumpeter's life, Allen exhibits a rare consciousness of the extraordinary complexity and only limited penetrability of the human personality Schumpeter's closely interwoven personal and professional life unfolds, Allen develops without dogmatism a pattern of linkages for the reader to contemplate. In a splendid final passage, he provides a memorable summation."

What makes this enormous effort so successful is the linkage of the personal and the professional, the biographical with the intellectual. Indeed, it is Schumpeter's single-minded determination to explain within a single, formal theory, the dynamics of capitalism that bridges the gap in space, time, and personality. To his books "The Theory of Economic Development, "and "Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, "both published by Transaction, is now added the specific contexts in which these and his other works were written.

The author of this biography, like the subject himself, is a masterful student of the craft of economics, and its place within the larger social science contexts that Schumpeter worked. In this work, we are introduced into the main current of European and American social science alike. The title of the book, "Opening Doors, "derives from Schumpeter's life long aim to appeal to inquiring minds to move through such doors in an effort to create the social science of the future. In this, the volume succeeds admirably.

The Incomparable Monsignor - Francesco Bianchini's world of science, history, and court intrigue (Hardcover): J. L.... The Incomparable Monsignor - Francesco Bianchini's world of science, history, and court intrigue (Hardcover)
J. L. Heilbron
R666 R546 Discovery Miles 5 460 Save R120 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Through Francesco Bianchini, the 'greatest Italian of his time' this book explores the exciting meeting of science, history, and politics in early modern Europe. Born in a time where entry into the church granted power, privilege, and access to the most exciting ideas of his time, the magnificent Monsignor Francesco Bianchini was an accomplished player in the political, scientific, and historical arenas of early modern Europe. Among his accomplishments were writing a universal history from the creation to the fall of Assyria; discovering, excavating, and interpreting ancient buildings; and designing a papal collection of antiquities that was later partially realized in the Vatican museums. He was also responsible for confirming and publicizing Newton's theories of light and color; discovering several comets; and building the most beautiful and exact heliometer in the world in the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome. Bianchini's international reputation earned him election to the Academie royale des sciences of Paris and the Royal Society of London. As a trusted servant of Pope Clement XI, he helped to execute the difficult balancing act the papacy practiced during the War of the Spanish Succession, which pitted Britain, the Dutch Republic, and the Habsburg Empire against France and Spain. One of his assignments also resulted in attachment to the cause and person of the Old Pretender, James III, the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Through the career of this eminent and adept diplomat, astronomer, archaeologist, and historian, J. L. Heilbron introduces a world of learning and discovery, Church and State, and politics and power.

Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback): Michael D. Gordin Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback)
Michael D. Gordin
R268 R217 Discovery Miles 2 170 Save R51 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Everyone has heard of the term "pseudoscience," typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Many would be able to agree on a list of things that fall under its umbrella - astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationism, and eugenics might come to mind. But defining what makes these fields “pseudo” is a far more complex issue. It has proved impossible to come up with a simple criterion that enables us to differentiate pseudoscience from genuine science. Given the virulence of contemporary disputes over the denial of climate change and anti-vaccination movements - both of which display allegations of “pseudoscience” on all sides - there is a clear need to better understand issues of scientific demarcation. Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction explores the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation. This book argues that by understanding doctrines that are often seen as antithetical to science, we can learn a great deal about how science operated in the past and does today. This exploration raises several questions: How does a doctrine become demonized as pseudoscientific? Who has the authority to make these pronouncements? How is the status of science shaped by political or cultural contexts? How does pseudoscience differ from scientific fraud? Michael D. Gordin both answers these questions and guides readers along a bewildering array of marginalized doctrines, looking at parapsychology (ESP), Lysenkoism, scientific racism, and alchemy, among others, to better understand the struggle to define what science is and is not, and how the controversies have shifted over the centuries. Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction provides a historical tour through many of these fringe fields in order to provide tools to think deeply about scientific controversies both in the past and in our present.

A History of Cold War Industrialisation - Finnish Shipbuilding between East and West (Paperback): Saara Matala A History of Cold War Industrialisation - Finnish Shipbuilding between East and West (Paperback)
Saara Matala
R1,182 Discovery Miles 11 820 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This monograph explores the economic consequences of the Cold War, a polarised world order which politicised technology and shaped industrial development. It provides a detailed archival-based history of the Finnish shipbuilding industry (1952-1996), which f lourished, thanks to the special relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union. Overall, it shows how a small country, Finland, gained power during the Cold War through international economic and technological cooperation. The work places Finland in a firmly international context and assesses the state-industry relationship from five different angles: technopolitics, trade infrastructure, techno-scientific cooperation, industrial reorganisation, and state aid. It presents a novel way to analyse industrialisation as an interaction between institutional stabilisation and f luctuation within a techno-economic system. In so doing, it makes empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions to the history of industrial change. A History of Cold War Industrialisation will be of interest to advanced students and scholars in economic history, maritime history, Cold War history, and international political economy.

Transparency and Secrecy in European Democracies - Contested Trade-offs (Paperback): Dorota Mokrosinska Transparency and Secrecy in European Democracies - Contested Trade-offs (Paperback)
Dorota Mokrosinska
R1,179 Discovery Miles 11 790 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This edited volume offers a critical discussion of the trade-offs between transparency and secrecy in the actual political practice of democratic states in Europe. As such, it answers to a growing need to systematically analyse the problem of secrecy in governance in this political and geographical context. Focusing on topical cases and controversies in particular areas, the contributors reflect on the justification and limits of the use of secrecy in democratic governance, register the social, cultural, and historical factors that inform this process and explore the criteria used by European legislators and policy-makers, both at the national and supranational level, when balancing interests on the sides of transparency and secrecy, respectively. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of security studies, political science, European politics/studies, law, history, political philosophy, public administration, intelligence studies, media and communication studies, and information technology sciences.

Coding and Representation from the Nineteenth Century to the Present - Scrambled Messages (Paperback): Anne Chapman, Natalie... Coding and Representation from the Nineteenth Century to the Present - Scrambled Messages (Paperback)
Anne Chapman, Natalie Hume
R1,178 Discovery Miles 11 780 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

An exploration of trends and cultures connected to electrical telegraphy and recent digital communications, this collection emerges from the research project Scrambled Messages: The Telegraphic Imaginary 1866-1900, which investigated cultural phenomena relating to the 1866 transatlantic telegraph. It interrogates the ways in which society, politics, literature and art are imbricated with changing communications technologies, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Contributors consider control, imperialism and capital, as well as utopianism and hope, grappling with the ways in which human connections (and their messages) continue to be shaped by communications infrastructures.

Free Delivery
Pinterest Twitter Facebook Google+
You may like...
The Gathering Cloud
J. R. Carpenter Paperback R378 Discovery Miles 3 780
The Book of Phobias and Manias - A…
Kate Summerscale Paperback R289 R274 Discovery Miles 2 740
The Lighthouse Stevensons - The…
Bella Bathurst, Harpercollins Publishers Ltd Paperback R468 R387 Discovery Miles 3 870
Scientific and Medical Knowledge…
Rob Boddice Hardcover R11,775 Discovery Miles 117 750
Timelines of Science
Dk Hardcover R1,012 R879 Discovery Miles 8 790
Sapiens Graphic Novel - Volume 1
Yuval Noah Harari Hardcover R475 R379 Discovery Miles 3 790
Kepler and the Universe - How One Man…
David K. Love Paperback R524 R429 Discovery Miles 4 290
Doing Theology in an Evolutionary Way
Diarmuid O' Murchu Paperback R607 R497 Discovery Miles 4 970
Einstein - His Life and Universe
Walter Isaacson Paperback  (1)
R300 R240 Discovery Miles 2 400
Apologetics in Action (Teacher Guide)
Master Books Paperback R575 R473 Discovery Miles 4 730

 

Partners