How is it that nobody--except maybe scientists--sees science for what it is? In this entertaining and provocative book, Lewis Wolpert draws on the entire history of science, from Thales of Miletus to Watson and Crick, from the study of eugenics to the discovery of the double helix. The result is a scientist's view of the culture of science, authoritative and informed and at the same time mercifully accessible to those who find cohabiting with this culture a puzzling experience. Science is arguably the defining feature of our age. For anyone who hopes to understand its nature, this lively and thoughtful book provides the perfect starting point.

In these engaging memoirs of a maverick, Theodore H. Maiman describes the life events leading to his invention of the laser in 1960. Maiman succeeded using his expertise in physics and engineering along with an ingenious and elegant design not anticipated by others. His pink ruby laser produced mankind’s first-ever coherent light and has provided transformational technology for commerce, industry, telecom, the Internet, medicine, and all the sciences. Maiman also chronicles the resistance from his employer and the ongoing intrigue by competing researchers in industry and academia seeking to diminish his contribution in inventing the first laser. This work will appeal to a wide readership, from physicists and engineers through science enthusiasts to general readers. The volume includes extensive photos and documentary materials related to Maiman’s life and accomplishments never before published. "No one beat Maiman to the laser. How important is the laser? How important are all lasers? That is how important we have to regard Maiman’s contribution.He and the laser changed all of our lives, everyone’s!"Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics, University of Illinois at Champaigne-Urbana, and inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED) and co-inventor of the transistor laser "More than five decades later, we can safely conclude that Theodore Maiman's groundbreaking discovery changed the world. Our modern life just as scientific research would be quite different without the laser."Dr. Ferenc Krausz, Director, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany, and Professor of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, and pioneer in attosecond lasers and attophysics "Maiman had the stroke of genius needed to take a different approach [from his competitors]. The sheer elegance and simplicity of his design beliesthe intellectual achievement it represents. If his invention seems obvious to some today, it was far from obvious in 1960."Jeff Hecht, authoritative science writer on the historical development of the laser, author of books on lasers and fiber optics

"Leviathan and the Air-Pump examines the conflicts over the value and propriety of experimental methods between two major seventeenth-century thinkers: Thomas Hobbes, author of the political treatise Leviathan and vehement critic of systematic experimentation in natural philosophy, and Robert Boyle, mechanical philosopher and owner of the newly invented air-pump. The issues at stake in their disputes ranged from the physical integrity of the air-pump to the intellectual integrity of the knowledge it might yield. Both Boyle and Hobbes were looking for ways of establishing knowledge that did not decay into ad hominem attacks and political division. Boyle proposed the experiment as cure. He argued that facts should be manufactured by machines like the air-pump so that gentlemen could witness the experiments and produce knowledge that everyone agreed on. Hobbes, by contrast, looked for natural law and viewed experiments as the artificial, unreliable products of an exclusive guild.The new approaches taken in Leviathan and the Air-Pump have been enormously influential on historical studies of science. Shapin and Schaffer found a moment of scientific revolution and showed how key scientific givens--facts, interpretations, experiment, truth--were fundamental to a new political order. Shapin and Schaffer were also innovative in their ethnographic approach. Attempting to understand the work habits, rituals, and social structures of a remote, unfamiliar group, they argued that politics were tied up in what scientists did, rather than what they said. Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer use the confrontation between Hobbes and Boyle as a way of understanding what was at stake in the early history of scientific experimentation. They describe the protagonists' divergent views of natural knowledge, and situate the Hobbes-Boyle disputes within contemporary debates over the role of intellectuals in public life and the problems of social order and assent in Restoration England. In a new introduction, the authors describe how science and its social context were understood when this book was first published, and how the study of the history of science has changed since then." -- Amazon.com.

Please Explain Is the latest in Dr Karl's mega-selling science series which includes the best sellers Great Mythconceptions, Bum Breath, Botox and Bubbles and Q and A with Dr K. Australia's favourite scientist answers more curly questions on life, the universe and everything. No one conveys the excitement and wonder of science quit like Dr Karl, and this, his twenty-sixth book, taken us on another thoroughly entertaining exploration of the world around us. If you like your science fun and unpredictable, don't miss this new addition to the Dr Karl library.

"A new collection of seventeen science essays that once again demonstrate the profound knowledge and imagination which have become the hallmarks of Isaac Asimov's works. Here, Dr. Asimov explores such topics as: the farthest distance in the universe; why astrology is sheer nonsense; how eclipses occur and how they were predicted by the ancients; why antievolutionists should consider the chimpanzee; why the North Star keeps shifting, and how it proves that Bacon didn't write Shakespeare's plays; and why fusion, and not fission, is the only solution to the energy crisis. Each fascinating chapter in this new volume brings Dr. Asimov further toward his goal of explaining to everyone the wonders of the universe and of man." --

God's war crimes, Aristotle's sneaky tricks, Galileos creationism, Newton's intelligent design, entropys errors, Einstein's pajamas, John Conway's game of loneliness, Information Theory's blind spot, Stephen Wolfram's New Kind Of Science, and six monkeys at six typewriters getting it wrong. What do these have to do with the birth of a universe and with your need for meaning? Everything, as you're about to see.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

"Hans Blumenberg has, in the quarter-century since his death, become recognized as one of the most important philosophers of the postwar period. The Readability of the World represents Blumenberg's first full-length demonstration of the metaphorological method he had pioneered twenty years earlier in Paradigms for a Metaphorology. Whereas Blumenberg had confined himself in Paradigms to sketching this future research field, in Readability he applies his method to a single case study: the idea that the world presents itself to human beings as a book. The metaphor of the book of nature has been central to Western interpretations of reality. Beginning with ancient Greek cosmology and ending with the genetic code, Blumenberg traces the changes undergone by this metaphor in order to access the different expectations of reality that it articulates, reflects, and projects"--

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a radical change occurred in the patterns and framework of European thought. In the wake of Copernican theory and discoveries through the telescope, the notion of an ordered cosmos of "fixed stars" gave way to that of a universe infinite in both time and space-with significant and far-reaching consequences for human thought. Alexandre Koyré brilliantly interprets this revolution in terms of the change that occurred in our conception of the universe and our place in it, and illustrates the primacy of this change in the development of the modern world. "An important contribution to the problem of the transition from the world view characteristic of the medieval centuries to that which rapidly gained acceptance after the seventeenth century." (Philosophical Quarterly) "Koyré has provided the material and has illuminated it with uniformly perceptive and occasionally brilliant commentary.... An important contribution to the study of 17th-century thought." (Thomas S. Kuhn, Science) "A model of scholarliness without pedantry, of clarity without oversimplification." (Arthur Koestler, Encounter) "Surely a work that will be welcomed alike by the scientist, philosopher, and historian of ideas." (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research) Alexandre Koyré was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. His books include Discovering Plato and Newtonian Studies.

"An eclectic collection...contemporary classics and some fine-lesser known works as well. As good an introduction to contemporary Science Fiction and its possibilities as one could wish" 753 Pages, 15 shorter important Science Fiction Novels - Contents: Introduction by Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg * Beyond Bedlam - Wyman Guin * Equinoctial - John Varley * By His Bootstraps - Robert A. Heinlein * The Golden Helix - Theodore Sturgeon * Born With the Dead - Robert Silverberg * Second Game - Charles V. De Vet and Katherine MacLean * The Dead Past - Isaac Asimov * The Road to the Sea - Arthur C. Clarke * The Star Pit - Samuel R. Delany * Giant Killer - A. Bertram Chandler * A Case of Conscience - James Blish * Dio - Damon Knight * Houston, Houston, Do You Read? - James Tiptree, Jr. * On the Storm Planet - Cordwainer Smith * The Miracle Worker's - Jack Vance

Dive into a compelling work of literary criticism with "Drug themes in science fiction" by the esteemed Robert Silverberg. This authoritative volume offers a meticulous exploration and comprehensive bibliography of drug-related themes across speculative fiction. Silverberg, a master of the genre, insightfully examines the diverse ways drugs-real and imagined-have been portrayed within American and English science fiction. From their roles in societal commentary to their impact on individual characters and narrative progression, this book uncovers the profound and often complex presence of psychoactive substances in literary imagination. It serves as both a critical analysis of recurring motifs and an invaluable reference for anyone researching the genre. For readers captivated by literary themes, the history of science fiction, or the enduring dialogue between human experience and altered states of consciousness, "Drug themes in science fiction" provides an essential, detailed, and timeless perspective on a fascinating corner of literature. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Contents: Introduction · Robert Silverberg & Martin H. Greenberg · in 11 · Mellonta Tauta · Edgar Allan Poe · ss Godey’s Lady’s Book Feb, 1849 21 · In the Year 2889 · Jules Verne · ss The Forum Feb, 1889 32 · Sold to Satan [written Jan 1904] · Mark Twain · ss Europe and Elsewhere, Harper Bros., 1923 39 · The New Accelerator · H. G. Wells · ss The Strand Dec ’01 49 · Finis · Frank Lillie Pollock · ss Argosy Jun ’06 58 · As Easy as A.B.C. · Rudyard Kipling · nv The London Magazine Mar ’12 (+1) 78 · Dark Lot of One Saul · M. P. Shiel · nv The Grand Magazine Feb ’12 96 · R.U.R. · Karel Capek · pl, 1921 144 · The Tissue-Culture King · Julian Huxley · ss The Yale Review Apr ’26; Amazing Aug ’27 160 · The Metal Man · Jack Williamson · ss Amazing Dec ’28 169 · The Gostak and the Doshes · Miles J. Breuer · ss Amazing Mar ’30 182 · Alas, All Thinking! · Harry Bates · nv Astounding Jun ’35 210 · The Mad Moon · Stanley G. Weinbaum · nv Astounding Dec ’35 227 · As Never Was · P. Schuyler Miller · ss Astounding Jan ’44 239 · Desertion [City (Websters)] · Clifford D. Simak · ss Astounding Nov ’44 249 · The Strange Case of John Kingman · Murray Leinster · ss Astounding May ’48 261 · Dreams Are Sacred · Peter Phillips · nv Astounding Sep ’48 279 · Misbegotten Missionary · Isaac Asimov · ss Galaxy Nov ’50 291 · Dune Roller · Julian May · nv Astounding Dec ’51 321 · Warm · Robert Sheckley · ss Galaxy Jun ’53 328 · A Bad Day for Sales · Fritz Leiber · ss Galaxy Jul ’53 334 · Man of Parts · H. L. Gold · ss 9 Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healey, Holt, 1954 344 · The Man Who Came Early · Poul Anderson · nv F&SF Jun ’56 363 · The Burning of the Brain · Cordwainer Smith · ss If Oct ’58 371 · The Men Who Murdered Mohammed · Alfred Bester · ss F&SF Oct ’58 381 · The Man Who Lost the Sea · Theodore Sturgeon · ss F&SF Oct ’59 391 · Goodlife [Berserker] · Fred Saberhagen · nv Worlds of Tomorrow Dec ’63 408 · The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World · Philip José Farmer · ss New Dimensions I, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1971 420 · Gehenna · Barry N. Malzberg · ss Galaxy Mar ’71 424 · A Meeting with Medusa · Arthur C. Clarke · nv Playboy Dec ’71 455 · Painwise · James Tiptree, Jr. · nv F&SF Feb ’72 470 · Nobody’s Home · Joanna Russ · ss New Dimensions II, ed. Robert Silverberg, Doubleday, 1972 482 · Think Only This of Me · Michael J. Kurland · nv Galaxy Nov ’73 499 · Capricorn Games · Robert Silverberg · ss The Far Side of Time, ed. Roger Elwood, Dodd Mead, 1974 513 · “The Author of the Acacia Seeds” and Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics · Ursula K. Le Guin · ss Fellowship of the Stars, ed. Terry Carr, Simon & Schuster, 1974 519 · Travels · Carter Scholz · ss IASFM Apr ’80 528 · Doing Lennon · Gregory Benford · ss Analog Apr ’75

Contains essays on art and culture.

Burgeoning advancements in brain science are opening up new perspectives on how we acquire knowledge. Indeed, it is now possible to explore consciousness the very center of human concern by scientific means. In this illuminating book, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman offers a new theory of knowledge based on striking scientific findings about how the brain works. And he addresses the related compelling question: Does the latest research imply that all knowledge can be reduced to scientific description? Edelman s brain-based approach to knowledge has rich implications for our understanding of creativity, of the normal and abnormal functioning of the brain, and of the connections among the different ways we have of knowing. While the gulf between science and the humanities and their respective views of the world has seemed enormous in the past, the author shows that their differences can be dissolved by considering their origins in brain functions. He foresees a day when brain-based devices will be conscious, and he reflects on this and other fascinating ideas about how we come to know the world and ourselves.

Examines the efforts of creationists to require the teaching of the biblical account of creation in American schools and analyzes the reactions of the scientific community to the controversy

From nationalist and ethnic revivals in the countries of East and Central Europe to the former Soviet Union, to the politics of cultural separatism in Canada, this volume brings together thinkers who rearticulate and reconsider the foundations of democratic theory and practice in the light of the politics of identity/difference

AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS by Fortes, Meyer CONTENTS: EDITORS' NOTE. PREFACE. Professor A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, M.A. (Cantab.), Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Oxford INTRODUCTION. Dr. M. Fortes and Professor E. E. Evans-Pntchard Aims of this Book. A Representative Sample of African. Societies. Political Philosophy and Comparative Politics. The Two Types of Political System Studied. Kinship in Political Organization. The Influence of Demography. The Influence of Mode of Livelihood. Composite Political Systems and the Conquest Theory. The Territorial Aspect. The Balance of Forces in the Political System, The Incidence and Function of Organised Force. Differences in Response to European Rule. The Mystical Values Associated with Political Office. The Problem of the Limits of the Political Group. THE KINGDOM OF THE ZULU OF SOUTH AFRICA. Max Gluckman. B.A. (How.) (Witwatersrand), D.Phil. (Oxon). Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Manchester Historical Introduction. The Zulu King and the State. Status and Political Power. The Tribes within the Nation, Sanctions on Authority and the Stability of the State. The People and their Leaders. The Period of European Rule. Conclusion. THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE NGWATO OF BECHUANALAND PROTECTORATE. /. Schapera, M.A, (Cape town), Ph.D., D.Sc.(London), F.R.S.S.Af. Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Cape toton Ethnic Composition and Territorial Constitution. The Administrative System. Powers and Authority of the Chief. Rights and Responsibilities of Chieftainship. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE BEMBA TRIBE NORTHEASTERN RHODESIA. Audrey I. Richards, M.A-(Cantab\ Ph.D.(London). Reader in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London 83Bantu Political Organization Some General Features The Bemba Tribe: Tribal Composition Social Grouping Kinship Local Grouping Rank Other Principles of Social Grouping Economic Background White Administration. Bases of Authority: The Dogma of Descent Legal Rules of Descent and Succession. Functions and Prerogatives of Authority: The Headman the Chief. The Machinery of Government: Administrative Military Judicial Advisory, The Integration of the Tribe. Post-European Changes: New Authorities introduced Effects of the 1929 Ordinances. THE KINGDOM OF ANKOLE IN UGANDA K. Oberg, A.M., Ph.D.(Chicago)t Escola Livre de Sociologia e Politica, SSo Paulo, Brazil Traditional and Historical Background. Political Status, the King and the Royal Kraal. Tribute. The Cult of Bagyendanwa. Succession. Conclusion.

One of the most imaginative figures to emerge from the science fiction field. Olaf Stapledon left an indelible mark on many other writers, from Arthur C. Clarke to Saul Bellows, but never won a mass following himself. This study by a renowned American literary critic provides a long-needed introduction to the life and work of the man Brian Aldiss called "the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate science fiction writer." Probing the recurrent themes and images of Stapledon's novels -- which include Last and First Men, Odd John, Star Maker, and Sirius -- Leslie A. Fiedler brilliantly illuminates the complexity and richness that underlie Stapledon's fiction. As Fiedler demonstrates, Stapledon was very much a product of the 1930s, embracing a set of leftist attitudes that were common to many other "Oxbridge-educated sons of the English upper classes." But, as Fiedler further shows, there is much more to Stapleton's books than their superficial ideological content: his works are unique in their awe-inspiring vision of the breadth of the physical universe and the depths of the human psyche. "Certainly since encountering him," Fielder writes, "I have never been able to stare up at thee night sky with the same secure faith that either God exists or he does not; anymore than I have been able between sleeping and waking to be sure that the nighttime "I" preparing to dream is identical with or totally different from the conscious "I" about to surrender its dominion."

Which planet in our solar system has the most moons? Why would Goldilocks prefer to live on Earth instead of Mars? And just how gigantic is a Red Giant?Combining all the best bits about SPACE from Dr Karl's Big , Even Bigger and Biggest Book of Science Stuff and Nonsense , this little book answers all these questions and many more. Filled with facts, quizzes, puzzles and activities, Dr Karl's Little Book of Space provides light-years of astronomical fun!