Reinvention Of Science, The: Slaying The Dragons Of Dogma And Ignorance - Softcover

Jones, Bernard J T; Martinez, Vicent J; Trimble, Virginia L

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1800613601 ISBN 13: 9781800613607

Publisher: WSPC (EUROPE), 2023

Synopsis

Throughout the history of science, different thinkers, philosophers and scientists postulated the existence of entities that, in spite of their not being visible or detectable in their time, or perhaps ever, were nevertheless useful to explain the real world. We started this book by looking at a handful of these entities. These included phlogiston to account for fire; the luminiferous ether for propagation of radiation; the homunculus to provide for heredity; and crystalline spheres to carry the wandering planets around the earth. Many of these erroneous beliefs had held up progress, just as dragons drawn on the edges of a map discouraged exploration. This pattern of science evolution continued through the centuries up to the present day. The book evolved into a more extensive history of how science evolved through controversy, suppression, and the desire to maintain the status quo. Our story passes from the Babylonians and Greeks through the middle ages, the renaissance and the scientific revolution to almost current events. We discuss the evolution of our world, the controversy about the extinction of dinosaurs, and open questions in contemporary science such as dark matter, black holes and the origin of the Universe, including how we understand the subatomic world of elementary particles. Most of the chapters deal with astronomy, cosmology and physics, but there are brief ventures into geosciences (continental drift), biosciences (the homunculus), atmospheric physics (Heaviside layer), paleontology (the extinction of dinosaurs), and computer science (artificial intelligence). The authors present a sequence of how mistakes and fallacies have been purged from our quest to understand nature. The way these changes have come about are skillfully set in their relevant historical contexts.

About this title

About the Author

Bernard J T Jones is Emeritus Professor at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute of the University of Groningen. His research has covered many areas of astrophysics, both theoretical and observational, with a strong emphasis on cosmology, where he is widely published and cited. He is the author of the recently highly celebrated book Precision Cosmology: The First Half Million Years published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press. He has also developed sophisticated computer imaging systems for diverse mission-critical industrial and surveillance markets.

Vicent J Martínez is Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Valčncia, where he was the director of its Astronomical Observatory for eleven years. His research is focused on the large-scale structure of the universe. He is the author with Enn Saar of the book Statistics of the Galaxy Distribution published by CRC Press in 2002. He received the Savirón Award on Popular Science 2013, and the Award for Teaching and Disseminating Physics from the Royal Spanish Society of Physics and the BBVA Foundation.

Virginia L Trimble is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. She has been working on the structure and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the universe, and of the communities of scientists who study them, and history of science, especially astronomy and physics. She received the 2019 Andrew Gemant Award of the American Institute of Physics and was elected as a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society (2020) and a Fellow of the Scientific Research Honor Society Sigma Xi (2021). She was President of the Division of Galaxies and the Universe and the Division of Union-wide activities of the International Astronomical Union. She is Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Valčncia (2010). Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected in 2023). She has recived the American  Physical  Society's Abraham Pais Prize in History of Physics 2024.

From the Back Cover

"A compelling account of some of the most important questions in science, both historical and contemporary, showing how understanding develops, how wrong ideas can halt progress, and how the wrong people sometimes get the credit. Written by experts in a thoroughly engaging style, it is a great read."
—Alan Heavens, Professor of Astrostatistics, ICIC, Imperial College London

"The authors present a sequence of examples where mistakes and fallacies have undermined our quest to understand nature. The changes that had to occur to permit progress are skillfully set in a relevant historical context. Besides, it is a joy to read. I have no doubt this book will become a classic in the history of science."
—Raúl Jiménez, ICREA Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Barcelona

"A fascinating journey through different aspects of the human quest for understanding how everything works, explaining not just the facts but the complicated, tortuous process of how we, humans, with all our limitations, got to uncover and understand what we now hold as scientific truths."
—Licia Verde, ICREA Professor of Astrophysics, ICCUB, Barcelona

Edition details

• Publisher: WSPC (EUROPE)
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1800613601
• ISBN 13: 9781800613607
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 502