Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science
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Bedeviled - A Shadow History of Demons in Science (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R648
Discovery Miles 6 480
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Bedeviled - A Shadow History of Demons in Science (Hardcover)
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Donate to Against Period Poverty
Total price: R658
Discovery Miles: 6 580
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How scientists through the ages have conducted thought experiments
using imaginary entities-demons-to test the laws of nature and push
the frontiers of what is possible Science may be known for
banishing the demons of superstition from the modern world. Yet
just as the demon-haunted world was being exorcized by the
enlightening power of reason, a new kind of demon mischievously
materialized in the scientific imagination itself. Scientists began
to employ hypothetical beings to perform certain roles in thought
experiments-experiments that can only be done in the
imagination-and these impish assistants helped scientists achieve
major breakthroughs that pushed forward the frontiers of science
and technology. Spanning four centuries of discovery-from Rene
Descartes, whose demon could hijack sensorial reality, to James
Clerk Maxwell, whose molecular-sized demon deftly broke the second
law of thermodynamics, to Darwin, Einstein, Feynman, and
beyond-Jimena Canales tells a shadow history of science and the
demons that bedevil it. She reveals how the greatest scientific
thinkers used demons to explore problems, test the limits of what
is possible, and better understand nature. Their imaginary
familiars helped unlock the secrets of entropy, heredity,
relativity, quantum mechanics, and other scientific wonders-and
continue to inspire breakthroughs in the realms of computer
science, artificial intelligence, and economics today. The world
may no longer be haunted as it once was, but the demons of the
scientific imagination are alive and well, continuing to play a
vital role in scientists' efforts to explore the unknown and make
the impossible real.
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