Great Essays in Science

by Martin Gardner

AcknowledgmentsPrefaceFrancis The sphinx Charles Recapitulation and conclusion John The influence of Darwinism on philosophyStephen Jay Nonmoral nature William The problem of being Havelock What makes a woman Beautiful? Jean Henri The sacred beetle Gilbert Keith The logic of elflandCarl Can we know the universe? reflections on a grain of saltJoseph Wood The colloid & the crystal Jose Ortega Y The barbarism of specializationThomas Henry Science & culture John Science & literature Isaac Science & beautyErnest Automation Johathan Norton Other-worldly lifeJ. Robert Physics in the contemporary worldAlfred North Religion & scienceJohn Dos Proteus Julian An essay on bird-mind Arthur Stanley The decline of determinismAldous Science in the brave new worldRachel The sunless sea Maurice The nuptial flight H.G. The new source of energy; Science & ultimate truth Laura Success Samuel The gestapo in scienceRobert Louis Pan's pipes Sigmund Dreams of the death of beloved personsBertrand The science to save us from science; The greatness of Albert EinsteinAlbert E=mc2 Lewis Seven wonders

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Essays, Philosophy, Reference, Mathematics

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked most about this book was it's variety of essays, some of which I never would have read by themselves. At the same time some of the essays seemed fairly irrelevant. All in all it was an enjoyable read. I especially liked the (completely dated) essay which talked about the certainty of vegetation on Mars, while it doesn't reflect contemporary thought it was interesting to read something which was written with some degree of certainty and which has proved to be far from the truth. The change in thought is progress and without it life would be somewhat less interesting.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has taken me ages to read this book, a collection of essays in Science, mainly physics. Some of them were profound, deeply moving, and others very dated. Some were written so technically that I gave up on them. But despite the age of the book, I enjoyed (most) of the essays in it.

[Bill Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is somewhat misleading. A few of the essays are truly great, and some others are interesting. A few are so unreadable as to be incomprehensible.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/3rds of the essays are really good, interesting and funny to read. The other third are boring tho. Just skip those ones.

[Firda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great essays indeed (although some are quite obsolete, mind though I was reading the first published edition from 1940s). Although, I think I must admit I often have problems reading essays, oops.

[Maciej Chojnacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oczekiwałem jednak czegoś więcej, chociaż jest tam kilka perełek. Całość na solidnym poziomie, na pewno nie rozczaruje.

[Belle Meade School]

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