Jacob Bronowski was, with Kenneth Clarke, the greatest popularizer of serious ideas in Britain between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s. Trained as a mathematician, he was equally at home with painting and physics, and wrote a series of brilliant books that tried to break down the barriers between 'the two cultures'. He denounced 'the destructive modern prejudice that art and science are different and somehow incompatible interests'. He wrote a fine book on William Blake while running the National Coal Board's research establishment. The Common Sense of Science, first published in 1951, is a vivid attempt to explain in ordinary language how science is done and how scientists think. He isolates three creative ideas that have been central to science: the idea of order, the idea of causes and the idea of chance. For Bronowski, these were common-sense ideas that became immensely powerful and productive when applied to a vision of the world that broke with the medieval notion of a world of things ordered according to their ideal natures. Instead, Galileo, Huyghens and Newton and their contemporaries imagined 'a world of events running in a steady mechanism of before and after'. We are still living with the consequences of this search for order and causality within the facts that the world presents to us.

About the Author

Jacob Bronowski was born in Poland in 1908. At the age of 12 he came to England, and within six years was a brilliant mathematics student at Cambridge. During the war he helped to forecast the economic effects of bombing Germany. After many years working for the National Coal Board, he moved to the Salk Institute in 1964 while developing his career as a broadcaster. In 1973, he presented for the BBC the ambitious 13-part series The Ascent of Man, which made him a household name. He died the following year.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Better World Books (https://www.BetterWorldBooks.com) is a for-profit, socially conscious business and a global online bookseller that collects and sells new and used books online, matching each purchase with a book donation. Each sale generates funds for literacy and education initiatives in the U.S., the UK, and around the world. Since its launch in 2003, Better World Books has raised $33 million for libraries and literacy, donated over 32 million books, and reused or recycled more than 397 million books.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Better World Books Marketplace, Inc.
55740 Currant Road, Mishawaka, IN, 46545, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Better World Books (BWB) values your satisfaction and offers you returns within thirty (30) days after the estimated delivery date on most items. All returned items must be in the original condition; used items should include the SKU sticker located on the spine or back of the product.

If you have an incomplete, incorrect, or damaged shipment, please contact our Customer Care team via Abebooks contact seller options before proceeding with the return.Please keep in mind that because we deal mostl...

More Information

Shipping Terms

Please allow 1-2 business days for order fulfillment.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	4 to 8 business days	3 to 5 business days
First item	US$ 0.00	US$ 10.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.