Science: A History

by John Gribbin

From award-winning science writer John Gribbin, Science: A History is the enthralling story of the men and women who changed the way we see the world, and the turbulent times they lived in. From Galileo, tried by the Inquisition for his ideas, to Newton, who wrote his rivals out of the history books; from Marie Curie, forced to work apart from male students for fear she might excite them, to Louis Agassiz, who marched his colleagues up a mountain to prove that the ice ages had occurred. Filled with pioneers, visionaries, eccentrics and madmen, this is the history of science as it has never been told before. 'Gripping and entertaining ... Wonderfully and pleasurably accessible' Independent on Sunday 'Tremendous ... moves me to bestow a reviewer's cliche I long ago vowed never to use: a tour de force' Spectator 'A magnificent history ... enormously entertaining' Daily Telegraph 'A splendid book ... demolishes innumerable myths and exposes the factual roots of some of science's well known tales (for example, Galileo never dropped weights of different sizes from Pisa's leaning tower)' Economist 'We experience his subjects' triumphs and failures as if we knew them personally ... I found myself whizzing through the pages' Sunday Telegraph John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schroedinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and In Search of the Multiverse. Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

Genres: Science, History, Nonfiction, History Of Science, Physics, Popular Science, Historical

672 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[CF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew! A really great history of science starting with the 15th century and working right up to the present day. Focusing on not just the scientific discoveries but the scientists themselves, this gives a really human feel to the story of science. We get to know a little about everyone's life, from Copernicus to Einstein. Also touching on a bit of the classical Greek period, where philosophy overlapped with science.

Gribbin's style of writing is comprehensive without being too much. He acknowledges that he cannot fit everything in, but still makes sure we know where to find more information. This is separated into all the differing types of science, astronomy, physics, touching on mathematics, astrophysics, and more.

I enjoyed this, and even though parts of it were a bit past my intelligence to fully understand, it will be good to use in future as a reference. I would like to read more of John Gribbin's popular science books.

[Aitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran trabajo de síntesis de John GRIBBIN para contarnos de un vistazo los progresos científicos más importantes desde el siglo XVI, sobre todo vinculados con la física y la química; aunque estas no son las únicas disciplinas con las que nos vamos a encontrar.

¿He dicho síntesis?
Sí, y eso que el libro tiene más de 650 páginas; pero es que son muchos los avances que tendremos que descubrir. A lo largo de ellas GRIBBIN nos mostrará la biografía de muchos científicos que contribuyeron paso a paso a traernos hasta el día de hoy hablándonos de su vida y de los avances que consiguieron gracias a su trabajo.

Muchos de estos científicos nos sonarán, pero otros muchos no; y es ahí donde reside la magia del libro, pues nos da pie a poder seguir investigando sobre estos personajes.

La principal conclusión del libro es que la ciencia es una iteración constante, un recorrido a través de muchos pasos y no una revolución como muchas veces se nos hace creer. Si cualquiera de estos científicos no hubiera existido, seguro que a no mucho tardar otro habría cumplido su papel, lo cual no reduce un ápice El mérito de su trabajo.

Romper los límites del conocimiento gracias a caminar a hombros de gigantes es lo único que nos permite progresar.

Un libro muy recomendable si bien hecho de menos la presencia de otros científicos de otras nacionalidades, pues a la postre salvo excepciones, la gran mayoría son ingleses o centroeuropeos.

Valoración personal: 4/5.

[Triinu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minu arvamuse leiab blogist https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...

[Jose Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro, ameno y abundante en detalle de la vida de los protagonistas, así ayuda a entender sus descubrimientos y muchas veces vemos que lo que suponemos como "grandes descubrimientos" son en realidad pequeños pasos que se logran en conjunto de varios científicos que muchas veces ni siquiera viven en el mismo continente.

La lectura no le hace falta nada, te atrapa y no quieres abandonar la lectura y vas conociendo a los personajes que te hacían aprender de memoria en la escuela. No ves fórmulas o procesos, lo que se cuenta es la historia detrás de cada avance científico, el porqué y el cómo se llegó a ese momento.

El autor nos muestra a los científicos de carne y hueso, ilógicos, raros y hasta dementes que se dedican obsesivamente a entender el porqué de ciertos aspectos que les rodean.
El libro va narrando como un avance científico conduce a otro posterior y todos en su conjunto hacen parecer como una "revolución de la ciencia" y muchas veces estas personas antes que científicos no los motivaba una sed de fama o fortuna, solo era el placer de descubrir cosas, de conocer, de entender el porqué sucedía X proceso y cuando lo entendían o lo descifraban no lo publicaban, solo era por entender. Están todos los grandes científicos, muchos olvidados y hasta algunos que por errados quedaron fuera de la historia, pero son parte de ella.

Si te gustan los libros acerca de la ciencia, no debe faltar en tu biblioteca.

El libro se compone de 5 partes, su bibliografía y las notas al final del libro:
-Los siglos oscuros quedan atrás
Narra como el Renacimiento fue el auge de las ciencias en todas sus ramas y sus personajes como Copérnico, Galileo, Tolomeo, Vesalius, Tycho Brahe, Kepler y demás personajes.

-Los padres fundadores
Aquí se narra la ciencia en el siglo XVI y XVII, de los trabajos de óptica y luz, de los gases, cometas, flora y fauna, de personajes de Descartes, Robert Boyle, Newton, Halley, Fourier…

-La ilustración
Narra los adelantos de la ciencia química cuando fue posible realizar experimentos y teorías más exactas debido a los avances en la ciencia física, de la máquina de vapor, los tubos al vacío y los gases, la electricidad, el calor y como derivó en la Geología.

-La visión a gran escala
Relata las teorías de la evolución, Darwin, el modelo atómico, la composición de la luz, electromagnetismo y nos pasamos a las eras geológicas de la tierra que pareciera que no tiene nada que ver pero como un experimento, teoría o fórmula se puede "reutilizar" para explicar otra cosa que en su momento no se pensaba.

-Tiempos modenos
Aquí nos narra la historia de la revolución cuántica, de cómo la ciencia clásica da el paso a la ciencia cuántica, de describir los átomos y modelos atómicos a describir los cuantos de luz, neutrinos y Quarks. Continua con la genética, el ADN y como se enlaza con la composición de las estrellas y el Big Bang

[Carmel-by-the-Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kilkanaście lat trzeba było czekać na tłumaczenie tej książki. I chyba było warto być cierpliwym. Podczas mojej lektury pojawiło się co prawda kilka niepokojących 'ale', które nieco zaburzyły proces delektowania się treścią. Jednak to może tylko skutek mojej wrodzonej nieufności? "Naukowcy i ich odkrycia. XVI-XX wiek" astrofizyka Johna Gribbina to historia pasji i największej przygody człowiek - poznanie świata, który nas otacza. Każda z 680 stron książki warta była przeczytania. Gribbin sprawnie operuje słowem wciągając czytelnika w meandry naukowych tajemnic. W historycznym porządku zaprezentował astronomiczne, biologiczne, chemiczne, fizyczne i geologiczne osiągnięcia ostatnich 400-tu lat. Opowieść poprowadził skupiając się na naukowcach i ich namiętnościach, uprzedzeniach, fobiach, ogromnej wyobraźni, współpracy i rywalizacji, dociekliwości, zaradności i życiowej nieporadności, spełnieniu i rozpaczy z porażki. To niemal historyczny epos zmiennych losów nauki pokazany oczami i umysłami jej twórców. Certyfikat jakości autorowi wystawiają popełnione przez niego liczne książki popularno-naukowe, takie o szerokim spektrum zagadnień przyrodniczych - tych mniej i bardziej ścisłych.

Główną tezą książki jest założenie, że proces wznoszenia gmachu nauki nowożytnej opiera się na współpracy; na ewolucyjnym postępie idei, czerpaniu z wielkich poprzedników, inspirującemu rozwijaniu teorii. Stąd od strony filozofii i metodologii nauki Gribbin polemizuje z Kuhnem i jego koncepcją rewolucji naukowej. Dziesiątki przykładów podanych w "Naukowcach" jest tak poprowadzona, by pokazać, że postęp następował raczej krok po kroku. Jedynie rewolucji kwantowej i koncepcjom Plancka i Einsteina z lat 1900-1905 przyznaje autor status rewolucji. Aktualny kształt nauki to również konsekwencja rozwoju technik doświadczalnych, które pomogły dojrzeć wszystkim naukom przyrodniczym (mniej więcej w czasowej kolejności zgodnej z malejącą ścisłością przedmiotu zainteresowania konkretnej dziedziny). Takich przykładów zwrotnych interakcji nauka-technika w książce jest sporo.

Gribbin często oddaje głos naukowcom, szczególnie by pokazać jak meandrowały ich myśli, czy jak ponadczasowo odczytywali sens własnych poszukiwań. Taką przenikliwością, niewymagającą komentarza, wykazał się Pierre Siomon de Laplace w dziele życia, gdzie napisał (cytat z jego "Przedstawienia systemu świata" przytoczony na stronie 308):

"Prostoty natury nie należy mierzyć za pomocą naszych wyobrażeń. Natura, choć nieskończenie różnorodna w skutkach, w swoich przyczynach jest prosta, a jej ekonomia polega na wytwarzaniu wielu zjawisk, często bardzo skomplikowanych, za pomocą niewielkiej liczby ogólnych praw."

Z punktu widzenia czytelników ciekawych przemian społecznych, kluczowe okażą się liczne partie, w których Gribbin relacjonuje kontekst kulturowy prac badawczych. Jest sporo ciekawych opisów życia naukowców, obyczajowości w epokach i uwikłanie bohaterów książki w wielką historię; są osobiste dramaty. Mnie niezmiernie ciekawiły smaczki o zapleczu akademickim, które na przykład w wiekach XVI-XVII miało jeszcze sporo z przypadkowości i czasem było zaledwie zabawą bogatych. Przybliżony przełom w kierunku uniwersyteckiej profesjonalizacji z otwarciem możliwości awansu z niższych warstw społecznych, to ciekawe tło opowieści Gribbina, choć szkoda, że skupione na angielskich przykładach.

Sporo dobrego mogę opowiedzieć o warstwie dydaktycznego przesłania. Gribbin bardzo poglądowo i z wyczuciem opisał nawet najbardziej skomplikowane koncepcje. Postarał się czytelnikowi wykazać, w czym konkretny naukowiec był nowatorski, gdzie nie dał rady wykraść przyrodzie jej tajemnic, gdzie był genialny, a gdzie również pracowity. Najlepsze idee swą żywotnością zapładniały wnikliwe umysły na długie pokolenia. Tak było z zasadą bezwładności Galileusza (genialny opis równi pochyłej), z zasadami Newtona czy pracami Mendla związanymi z dziedziczeniem (który dzięki zastosowaniu znanym sobie z fizyki metodom skrupulatności doświadczanej i matematycznej statystyce wyprzedził myśl biologiczną o ponad trzy dekady).

Ponieważ Gribbin skupił się na wykazaniu ciągłości w nauce, to dostajemy w "Naukowcach" mnóstwo pięknych przykładów inspiracji. Autorzy wiekopomnych dzieł byli czytani przez równie uzdolnionych kontynuatorów. Darwin czerpał z Lyella i Malthusa, a Cuvier chłonął dziesiątki tomów dzieła życia Buffona. Nauka nie jest prowadzona w próżni czy w czterech ścianach izolowanego gabinetu lub laboratorium. Taką przemianę w kierunku budowania społeczności naukowców widać szczególnie od XIX wieku. Astrofizyk jednoznacznie uświadamia, że współcześnie nauki przyrodnicze wymagają ciągłej interakcji i czynią niemal niemożliwym uprawianie ich w pojedynkę. Czasy wielkich samotników minęły, a i ci byli nieliczni w okresie, gdy współcześnie rozumiana nauka dopiero się rodziła.

Wydaje mi się, że dużo wiem o historii rozwoju nauk, szczególnie fizyki i astronomii, jednak i na tych polach udało się autorowi kilkukrotnie mnie zaskoczyć. Hasłowo podam kilka przykładów perełek, dla zachęcenia innych (i by zachwycili się własnymi odkryciami). Jest Giordano Bruno i jego jakoby śmierć na ołtarzu nauki, Newton i homoseksualizm, Halley podrywający żonę Heweliusza, lamarckizm Erasmusa Darwina (dziadka Karola), opiniotwórczy Buffon i jego niemal poprawna koncepcja ewolucja organizmów (100 lat przed Darwinem) czy John Ray z kolosalnym wkładem w systematykę i to na dekady przed Linneuszem. Takich sensacyjnych relacji jest sporo. Niektóre z nich wynikają z udostępnienia niedawno pewnych materiałów (np. o kontrowersyjnym życiu Roberta Hooka), inne wciąż pozostają wieloznaczne (jak interpretacja słów Newtona o 'staniu na ramionach gigantów').

Na koniec kilka zdań krytycznych, zasygnalizowanych na początku opinii. Gribbin zastrzega we wstępie, że pojawiający się w książce naukowcy, to jego subiektywny wybór. Jasna sprawa. Tylko, czemu jest tak dużo przedstawicieli akurat Wysp Brytyjskich? Zabrakło mi przede wszystkim równowagi w postaci uczonych z Francji i Niemiec. Ci pierwsi w XVII-XVIII w., a drudzy w XIX wieku stanowili równorzędnych partnerów postępu w nauce dla angielskojęzycznych kolegów. Nie ma Humboldta, klanu Bernoullich (jest wspomniany tylko Daniel, a i on bez opisania zasług), Kamerlingha-Onnesa, Mariotte'a, Sommerfelda i Zeemana. A moja lista dotyczy tylko wybitnych fizyków (o biologach czy chemikach mam mniejsze rozeznanie). To oczywiście nie przekreśla wartości książki, bo wciąż głównej tezy Gribbin może bronić wybranymi naukowcami. Jednak oznacza to, że pracę trzeba czytać krytycznie i uważnie wyciągać wnioski odnośnie wkładu poszczególnych badaczy w postęp (szczególnie narodowościowo).

Zazdroszczę tym czytelnikom, którzy mając lekturę "Naukowców" przed sobą, nie są jeszcze być może świadomi, jak barwna w emocje i wciągająca jest historia nauki opowiedziana z perspektywy uprawiających ją ludzi. Naukowców z ogromną wyobraźnią, którzy z reguły czerpali największą przyjemność z bycia tymi pierwszymi, którzy coś nowego zrozumieli o świecie.

Gorąco zachęcam. Warto.

BARDZO DOBRE - 8/10

[Cihan çiçek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temel bilimlerin tarihini birbirleriyle ilişkileri içersinde anlatmış. Öyle güzel bir izlek yakalamış ki yazar, jeolojinin biyolojiye, biyolojinin fiziğe, fiziğin kimyaya ve kimyanın da tekrar jeolojiye olan devrimsel katkılarını gözler önüne sermiş. Çokluğun renklerinin birbirleriyle nasıl da el ele tutuştuklarını gözleme şansı sunuyor. Anlatımı sade ve okurken zorlamıyor.
(Kendisi devrimsel kavramını pek sevmiyor olsada kitabın sonlarına doğru yazık ki "quantum devrimi" kavramını kullanmış. Dönemi için devrimsel olan süreçler bir süre sonra içselleştirilip olağanlaşıyor bunu göremeyen Gribbin quantuma devrim demiş. Oh ne ala. )
Dört yıldızı hak etti çünkü bilim insanlarını döneminin siyasi olayları ile açıklamaya çalışırken yazar politik sığlığını da beraberinde getirmiş. Sürekli krallardan, toprak sevdalarından, devletlerden bahsediyor. Tarihi ve politikayı bu şekilde anlatan literatürün bir tek Türkiye orta-okul tarih dersleri seviyesinde yapıldığını sanıyordum, yanılmışım. Prusya kralının ne dediğinden bana ne ?! dönemin politik-ekonomisine vurgu yapsan ve bunun teknoloji ile ilişkisini kursan, evet biraz ortadoks markist kaçardı ama, en azından materyalist tarih izleğini takip etme şansımız olurdu. imgelerin tarihi, ötekilerin tarihi, çocukların tarihi , psikanalist tarih, tarihsel kazıbilim falan yapma tamam o kadarına gerek yok ama bu sığlık beni deli etti. Gözümle atlamak zorunda kaldım bu kısımları.
John Gribbin iyi bir bilim tarihçisi. Diğer kitaplarını da öneririm.
Bir mültecilik ve kaçaklık sürecinde okudum bu kitabı. Meriç'ten geçerken sırtımdaydı. İyi ki yanıma almışım.
sevgiler.

[Dеnnis]

Magnificent tour-de-force on the development of science as we know it.

With one big limitation, which the author duly acknowledges: it doesn't cover advances and breakthroughs in medical science, no matter how stupendous they were. If you want to see how discoveries of vaccination, microbes and viruses, anaesthesia etc... fit into a larger context of science development, you better look elsewhere. Names of Jenner, Pasteur, Koch, Flemming and multiple others are found nowhere on its pages. There you may encouter only subtlest hints on how major events in chemistry, physics, biology and in scientific method in general affected medicine.

Yet, since it was more or less unambigously declared by the author, the abscence of such narrative could not be considered a book's flaw. Excellent account otherwise!

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit chatty and gossipy. "Newton was probably a homosexual" Really? Do we know this or are we just drawing conclusions here? Gribbin does pay more attention to the minor figures in the story and that is good. He is probably right that people like Hooke suffered from bad press thanks to Sir Isaac's rewrite of history. But to credit Hooke equal with Newton on the discovery of the inverse square law (essentially a guess on his part) is going too far. He didn't do the math so he doesn't get the credit. For learning the science along with the history, I prefer Toulmin's Fabric of the Heavens and Architecture of Matter. I don't think students will understand the breezy one-liner treatment of certain issues, where full explanations and diagrams would help.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew! I was suffering from some serious scientific history fatigue towards the end of this book.

Gribbin has produced a very interesting book here. The absence of the more obscure characters in the history of science or the lack of detail about them was disappointing as was the strong focus on physics but even so this book was enjoyable. Gribbin sums up scientific discoveries and theories well and provides the reader with interesting details about well known scientific figures. There are a lot of gaps in the scientific record when reading and I was getting tired of being told that such and such a theory was beyond the scope of the book but Gribbin is a good story teller and communicator making up for some of the aforementioned shortcomings.

[María · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para los que no fuimos muy atentos en la escuela respecto la historia de la ciencia, este es un libro para nosotros. Este libro, debería ser leído por los jóvenes en edad temprana ¡Es bastante bueno! La forma en que el autor concatena un científico con otro, un descubrimiento con su antecesor y la forma en que se relacionaron los eventos científicos es simplemente hermoso. Me capturó desde el principio.
A pesar que es un libro de más de 700 páginas, se me hizo sumamente fácil de leer. Lo recomiendo.⚘

[Sergio Uribe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Más que historia de la Ciencia debería llamarse Historia de la física. Es buen libro, pero no como primera opción de introducción a la ciencia. Optaría por Bryson o Ferris. Y luego, ya con un poco más de bagaje iria por obras mayores, como la Historia de la Ciencia de Asimov.

[Tyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about the concise history of science.

[The Final Chapter · Rating 4 out of 5]

High 4. This exceptional work tackles such a broad subject while maintaining absolute clarity of subject matter for the general reader. The author explains his choice of starting point at 1543 as marking both landmark publications in the fields of astronomy and biology respectively of Copernicus’ ‘On the Revolution of Celestial Bodies’, and Andreas Vesalius’ ‘On the Structure of the Human Body’. Copernicus revolutionised astronomy by proposing an alternative to the geocentric Ptolemaic model of the universe, which had held sway since the second century AD. Yet, Copernicus also bridged classical and modern science, as his theory of a heliocentric universe did not rest on empirical methods. He even had misgivings, which delayed publication of his ideas, fully formed as early as 1510, that his model did not adequately explain how the stars appeared fixed, given the implicit motion of the Earth around the Sun. Upon publication, soon after his death, his ideas did not spark wide sales or a religious backlash due to a preface written by a Lutheran pastor stipulating that they constituted one theoretical mathematical model and not any accurate depiction of the Universe. Gribbins states that Vesalius, like Copernicus, drew inspiration from ancient thinkers, specifically, Galen. With human dissection frowned upon in the second century AD, the latter’s work, based on studies of animals, thus contained inaccuracies. Vesalius had no such limitations, enjoying the tacit support of the city authorities in Padua to time his human dissections in the wake of public executions. Thus, overcoming the shortcomings in Galen’s research, he greatly advanced knowledge of human anatomy. One of those to profit from Vesalius’ successors at Padua University was William Harvey, whose later marriage to the daughter of the physician to Elizabeth I, Lancelot Browne, led both to his appointment as physician at St Barts, and as court physician to both James I and Charles I. These duties meant his momentous discovery of the circulation of the blood was completed in his spare time. What established Harvey as a key figure in the history of modern science was his use of empirical reasoning to establish his theory. Previously, it was assumed veins transported blood for use by human tissue, while arteries carried the ‘vital spirit’ from the lungs. Harvey demonstrated by simply measuring the capacity of the human heart that blood must be continually circulating, and that both veins and arteries played a role. The next influential figure in astronomy, Tycho Brahe, was a firebrand from the ranks of the nobility of Danish-controlled Sweden. His 1572 observation of a supernova led him to dismiss previous theories of the stars being fixed and permanent, and fired his obsession to plot more accurate projections of the movement of heavenly bodies. As his own star rose, the Danish monarchy sought to raise their prestige, giving him his own island of Hveen in the Danish Sound to establish as his home and his own observatory complex. Yet, in 1588 Brahe’s arrogance alienated the monarchy, forcing him to seek refuge as mathematician to the Holy Roman Emperor in Prague. The wealth of observational data Brahe accumulated thereby came into the possession of Johannes Kepler, employed as the former’s assistant in 1601 after years of correspondence. In contrast to Brahe, Kepler had no advantages of birth, his father being an impoverished noble and wastrel, forced to eke a living as a mercenary soldier, before simply disappearing. Kepler’s adherence to Copernican views not only led to his shelving plans to enter the Lutheran ministry but brought him at odds with Brahe’s request that his data be used to support the Ptolemaic model. Despite his eyesight being devastated by childhood smallpox, preventing him observing the heavens himself, his immense powers of mathematical reasoning allowed him to use Brahe’s data to ‘flesh out’ the motion of the planets, especially their elliptical orbits round the Sun. Though his later work would be hindered by the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War, and defending his mother against charges of witchcraft, one of his earlier ideas would inspire the work of those who were to follow; namely, his assertion of a force keeping planets in thrall to the Sun, which he termed ‘vigour’. In the author’s opinion, the first individual truly deserving comparison with the modern scientist was William Gilbert due to his tireless testing of his hypotheses on electricity and magnetism. He was not only the first to study these forces since the ancient Greeks, but also to employ wholesale empirical techniques. Even Galileo regarded him as the founder of ‘experimental science’. A gentleman amateur and last personal physician to Elizabeth I, he would finally publish his findings of 18 years of study in 1600, three years before his death. Not only did he discover the rules of magnetic attraction and repulsion, and identify the Earth as one enormous magnet (thereby naming the extremities of magnets as ‘poles’), but so thorough was his research that no new substantial discoveries would be made in this field till the 1820s. Moreover, by arguing that the orbits of the planets were held constant through the force of magnetism, even suggesting distant stars might be Sun-like bodies with their own orbiting habitable planets, his work influenced Kepler. This is not to deny Galileo’s prominence, who undoubtedly published the first modern scientific textbook with his ‘Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences’. This summarised his work on mechanics, spelled out his belief in the scientific method, and stated mathematical rules governed the workings of the universe. After his trial, Galileo’s book had to be smuggled out of Italy, becoming a European bestseller decades after its original publication in 1638. It is impossible to assess Galileo’s influence on scientific thought without linking it to his clash with the papacy, with its implicit conflict between faith and reason. As Galileo’s reputation grew so his support for Copernican views, declared heretical in 1616, caused greater scrutiny from Rome. Though his position became more uncertain with the deaths of his principal protectors in Rome in 1621, he was invited to author a book detailing the two rival models of the universe. This was with the tacit suggestion that he could teach both models, but not openly support the Copernican one. His ‘Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems’, published in 1632, adopted the traditional format of presenting ideas through an imaginary dialogue, but made serious miscalculations. Not only did he use the names of two dead ex-associates, rather than fictional characters, to pitch for the Copernican model, but also had them gradually win over the impartial commentator. Finally, in naming of the defender of the heliocentric model in homage to Simplicus, the Ancient Greek commentator on Aristotle’s work, he lay himself open to charges that the name could also imply a ‘simpleton’. Though passed for publication by the papacy’s censor, a papal commission was subsequently set up into the work, summoning the author to Rome to face charges of heresy. Although the trial was a victory for Galileo’s Jesuit enemies, his supporters were eventually able to commute his sentence to one of enforced confinement at home. Descartes’ importance to this story is his influence on the development of mathematics, and physics. Serving as a military engineer in several European armies, he was able to refine his mathematical reasoning, and establish that the position of any object could be represented as a co-ordinate of three numbers, marking the foundation of analytical geometry. His family’s substantial wealth allowed him to renounce his military career to pursue independent studies around Europe between 1629 and 1633, during which time he prepared a huge treatise on physics. News of Galileo’s trial delayed him publishing his work, but his devout Catholicism did not deflect him from stating that the world was governed by the laws of physics, thereby vouchsafing his influence on European scientific thought in the century to come. A contemporary of Galileo and Descartes, Robert Boyle was the leading light in the establishment of the scientific method in England, drawing on the inspiration of Francis Bacon, who stated that all research should spring from data to furnish explanations, rather than initiate with a theory and proceed to establish facts to support it. Despite his eponymous First Law, his most famous work is contained in ‘The Sceptical Chymist’, published in 1661. In this work, he coined the term ‘chemical analysis’ to determine the composition of materials, and declared that all matter was composed of constituent particles. Yet, he also sought to bring Baconian rigour to alchemy, rather than discard it completely. In discussing the relative merits of Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton, Gribbins states an unbiased historian would be unable to distinguish between their contributions to science. Hooke rose from humble beginnings, working as a servant to richer students to fund his studies, and providing tireless assistance to Boyle, whose patronage and generosity gave him access to the Royal Society. Aside from transforming this gentleman’s club into the archetypal scientific forum it became, his greatest work, ‘Micrographia’, was published in 1664, marking the first substantial publication on microscopy. Moreover, Hooke coined the term ‘cell’, was the first to claim that fossils represented former life-forms, stated light was composed of waves, and nearly uncovered oxygen a century before its actual discovery. From the outset Newton was obsessive about his research, often experimenting on himself to the point of nearly going blind from staring at the sun, or by inserting a needle in his eye to study the resulting coloured images. Many of his discoveries date from his early career, due to the distraction of his life-long interest in alchemy. Yet, the secretiveness of his character and his work allowed him to claim timing of discoveries which may have been at odds with reality. Moreover, not only did Newton dismiss others’ genius in terms of his own, but he commonly held grudges. In the author’s view, Hooke’s greatest mistake was to incur Newton’s hatred and die before him, allowing Newton to rewrite history. Their altercation resulted from Newton learning of Hooke’s disgruntlement at his failure not to acknowledge the influence of the latter’s work on his. Unquestionably, in correspondence stretching over a decade before publication of Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’ in 1687, Hooke provided many insights to further the former’s work, for which he should have received credit. To illustrate this, Hooke referred to planets exerting ‘gravitational power’ towards their centres. More importantly, he also stated that all bodies placed in motion would continue in a straight line, unless deflected by another force – now known as Newton’s First Law of Motion. Such was Newton’s determination to avoid accrediting Hooke’s work any value that his epic publication on light and colour, which he sat on for 30 years, was not published till 1704, 12 months after his rival’s death. Newton’s scientific legacy is immense, including the development of calculus, allowing the accurate measurement of change over time. There is no doubt that Newton developed this first, nor that Leibnitz arrived at the idea independently, and that the latter’s is the more comprehensible version. Yet, were it not for Edmund Halley’s constant haranguing, and soothing of Newton’s moods, together with his willingness to fund the printing, none of Newton’s ideas may ever have been published. Halley, whose inventiveness equalled that of Hooke, should be considered as the first true post-Newtonian scientist. He first came to prominence, as a confident undergraduate, in querying the veracity of astronomical data with the newly appointed first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed. Though once regarded as the latter’s protégé, Halley’s affairs with married women and colourful lifestyle clashed with Flamsteed’s prudish character. This fact, combined with the Astronomer Royal’s attitude that, due to his limited salary and need to provide his own instruments, his work was his own, led to his refusing to share any data with Halley and others who wished to record more accurately the trajectory and position of heavenly bodies. Gribbins regards Halley’s analytical mind to have been on a par with that of Hooke’s, and notes his main achievement was in mapping the position of the stars. Though, credit for the publication of his definitive version of the star catalogue in 1725 should partly go to Newton, who petitioned Queen Anne for a royal warrant to access Flamsteed’s data after the latter’s death. The author notes that in many scientific disciplines in the wake of Newton, this history becomes adorned by a long list of developments from many quarters so that science became the protagonist at the expense of many of the individuals who contributed. Yet, this work still provides fascinating accounts of some whose name became so influential. First among these is Linnaeus, whose obsessive compulsive need to establish order resulted in his classification of every botanical species. One astonishing detail is that he achieved this monumental feat whilst simultaneously pursuing his medical studies. To him can be attributed the binomial system we know today, and though the idea of identifying a species through two-word names was not his, he systematised it. It is also Linnaeus who first classified species according to hierarchical relationships down from class, order and genus. More controversially, in his revised 10th edition of 1758, he was the first to classify mankind in the same vein, placing us under the order of primates, stating courageously ‘If I were to call man “ape” or vice versa, I should bring down all the theologians on my head. But, perhaps I should still do it according to the rules of science’. Gribbins highlights that the crediting of scientific discoveries has often been down to pure luck with the work of many enthusiastic and gifted amateurs failing to achieve the acclaim their work would merit. As such, there was nothing original about the idea of evolution by the time Darwin entered centre stage. However, as the author stresses, what was distinct about the work of both Darwin and Wallace was their originating a sound scientific basis behind the theory. Darwin’s own grandfather, Erasmus, had published his own ideas on evolution based on observations drawn from human intervention in the breeding of certain species, even suggesting that all life may have originated from one common source. Upon returning from the voyage of the Beagle in 1836, Charles Darwin became convinced that evolution was a fact of life, but had still not identified the mechanism which lay behind it. The author reveals that a key step in him solving this was his reading of the work of Thomas Malthus in the autumn of 1838. The latter’s work, especially on those factors which kept animal populations in check, such as pestilence, predators, and the availability of food supplies enabled him to leap to the conclusion that the key behind evolution was the ‘struggle of the fittest’ in response to such pressures. Though his theory was fully-formed by 1842, Darwin did not rush to publish it, afraid of upsetting both his wife’s and the general public’s religious beliefs, and unleashing public disapproval. Yet, in his second edition of the ‘Voyage of the Beagle’ published in 1845, he added material, scattered across paragraphs, which, if read as a whole, would spell out this theory on natural selection. Moreover, a manuscript penned by him a year earlier was left among his papers with a bequest to his wife that it be published after his death. Alfred Russell Wallace had been a run-of-the-mill surveyor till he took the courageous step of funding his own expedition as an amateur enthusiast naturalist to South America between 1848 and 1852. Though he lost a younger brother to yellow fever and his specimens to the ocean floor when his ship home was lost at sea, Wallace continued to pursue his dream of unlocking the mystery of evolution in the Far East. This region was virgin territory to such research ensuring any specimens he collected would be both more scientifically valuable and lucrative. Throughout this 8-year expedition, he would maintain a close correspondence with Darwin, who was one of Wallace’s customers for specimens. Within their exchanges Darwin hinted at publishing his own theory of evolution without providing concrete details, and this merely served to drive Wallace on to form his own ideas. Totally, independently, Wallace also hit upon the connection with Malthus’ theories, and sent a paper in the spring of 1858 to Darwin outlining his ideas requesting the latter’s views. Despite being shocked at seeing the possibility of his own ideas being pre-empted, Darwin honourably sent Wallace’s paper onto his friend Charles Lyell, intending that it should be proposed for publication. The latter, keenly aware that Darwin was enmeshed in arranging the funeral of his infant son from scarlet fever, took the matter into his own hands, deciding to publish the paper with a preface consisting of Darwin’s own outline of his theory from 1844, and thereby ensuring the latter’s place in the pantheon of great scientists. As Gribbins reveals, though one would expect Wallace to harbour resentment at these events, he himself always refereed to the theory of natural selection as ‘Darwinism’ and would even write that the greatest satisfaction he could derive from his own work was that it acted as a spur to his contemporary to publish his ‘Origin of the Species’. Such levels of respect were mutual as it would be Darwin who would rescue Wallace’s reputation, which had become tarnished from his tinkering with spiritualism, and his financial security, by petitioning Queen Victoria to grant Wallace a pension for life in recognition of his contribution to science. There is not enough room here to give mention to many other eminent scientists who grace the pages of Gribbins’ history, and the author litters each story with fascinating detail. Perhaps, this is the one weakness of the book in that it does attempt to cover such a vast terrain of scientific endeavour that at times the reader becomes exhausted at the number of stories within the overall narrative. However, one of the abiding strengths of this work is the manner in which the author is able to shine the historical limelight on those who have slipped into the shadows. One such individual rescued from obscurity by Gribbins is Edward Tyson, who should be regarded as the father of comparative anatomy. Though professionally a doctor at the infamous Bethlehem Hospital in London, determined to reform the climate of abuse which pervaded the asylum, his most important legacy to science was a series of landmark dissections he performed in the 1680s and 90s as an enthused amateur scientist. In the first, assisted by Hooke, he discovered a porpoise’s mammalian internal structure. In the second of a young chimpanzee in 1698, he would anticipate Darwin in listing 48 areas of resemblance closer to humans than other monkeys. Another noteworthy figure worthy of rediscovery is Robert Recorde. It is to him we owe our basic language of mathematics, without which scientific research would not have made the rapid progress it did. As a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, this native of Tenby, South Wales, would introduce in his works of the 1540s and 50s the mathematical symbols ‘+, -, and =’ but would himself be destined to die unheralded in a debtor’s prison.

[Stuart Rushbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gribbin at his best

[Juan Almonacid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mucho por leer después de terminarlo. Tanto es lo quee hay detrás de los grandes descubrimientos y el trabajo, rituales, envidias, poder atravesando cada gran idea.

-"Con toda probabilidad, lo que sucede en el cuerpo es que todas sus partes son alimentadas, cuidadas y aceleradas mediante la sangre, que es caliente, perfecta, vaporosa, llena de espíritu y, por decirlo así, nutritiva: en dichas partes del cuerpo se refrigera, se coagula y, al quedarse esteril, vuelve desde allí al corazón, como si éste fuera la fuente o la morada del cuerpo, con el fin de recuperar su perfección, y desde allí se difunde otra vez por todo el cuerpo, cargada de espíritus, como con un bálsamo, y todas estas cosas dependen de la pusación motriz del corazón; por lo tanto, el corazón es el principio de la vida, el Sol del microcosmos, lo mismo que en otra proporción el Sol merece ser llamado el corazón del mundo, por cuya virtud y pulsación de sangre se mueve de
manera perfecta, es convertida en vegetal y queda protegida de corromperse y supurar: y este dios doméstico y familiar cumple sus tareas para todo el cuerpo, alimentando, cuidando y haciendo crecer, siendo el fundamento de la vida y el autor de todo. " Willam Harvey sobre la circulación de la sangre.

-La sencillez de la naturaleza no se puede medir por la de nuestras concepciones. La naturaleza, infinitamente variada en sus efectos, es sencilla sólo en sus causas, y su economía consiste en producir un gran número de fenómenos, a menudo muy complicados, que obedecen todos ellos a un pequeño número de leyes generales.

-...la tendencia que tienen todas las diferencias existentes en el universo a compensarse, lo cual es la razón por la que las cosas se van desgastando o acabando. Por ejemplo, el calor fluye desde las estrellas calientes al frío del espacio en un intento de nivelar la temperatura de todo el universo...La naturaleza aborrece las diferencias.

[Kerem Cankocak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ünlü bilim yazarı John Gribbin, “Bilimsel Devrimler” kavramına karşı çıkar. Ona göre Bilimsel Devrimler fikri, genelde bilimsel araştırmalara hiç katılmamış sosyologlar tarafından çok tutulan bir mittir. Gribbin bilimin sabırla, yeni veriler elde edildikçe yeni modeler oluşturarak, yeni fikirlerin evrilmesiyle ilerlediğini vurgular.

Bilim Tarihi dünyayı algılayışımızı değiştiren erkek ve kadınların ve onların içerisinde yaşadıkları altüst oluş dönemlerinin büyüleyici öyküsüdür. Düşünceleri yüzünden Enkizisyonda yargılanan Galileo’dan rakiplerini tarih kitaplarından silen Newton’a; heyecanlandıracağı düşünüldüğü için erkek öğrencilerden ayrı çalışmaya zorlanan Marie Curie’den geçmişte buzul çağının yaşandığını kanıtlamak için meslektaşlarını bir dağın tepesine çıkartan Louis Agassiz’e dek herkesi bu kitapta bulabilirsiniz. Öncüler, ileriyi görenler, garip ve çılgın tiplerle dolu bu kitap bilim tarihinin daha önce hiç anlatılmamış bir hikayesini sunar.

“Bilimdeki kişisel dram ve başarıları aktaran bir kitap arıyorsanız, daha fazla aramanıza gerek yok” –Guardian
“Sürükleyici ve eğlendirici… Sizi içine zevkle, rahatlıkla çekiyor” –Independent on Sunday
“Muhteşem bir tarih kitabı… son derece eğlenceli” –Daily Telegraph
“Olağanüstü bir kitap… Sayısız miti yıkıyor ve bilimin çok bilinen bazı masallarının arkasındaki gerçekleri açığa çıkartıyor (örneğin Galileo Pisa Kulesi’nden aşağıya farklı ağırlıklar hiç atmamış).” –Economist
“Ele aldığı kişilerin zafer ve yenilgilerini sanki onları kişisel olarak tanıyormuş gibi izliyoruz… Sayfalar arasında heyecanla kayboldum.” –Sunday Telegraph
“Karşımızda ne kadar çok sayıda bilim insanı can kazanıyor!” –Roy Porter
“Popüler bilim yazının ustası” Sunday Times

[N. N. Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice biographical detail (I knew Newton was crazy; I didn't know he was a total asshole too), though it can get a bit too much at times. For someone who left contact with the study of science in secondary school, I found the science mostly followable for about two thirds or so of the book. It also brought back some clear flashbacks of old classrooms, with the sudden realisation, 'ah, so that's what they were talking about,' and a small pang of regret that I wasn't more in to it at the time.

The author makes the point that he believes in and has written the book to demonstrate his belief that scientific progress moves forward in increments, building on what came before, rather than the more fashionable (at least in historic and sociological circles) view of science consisting of a sequence of 'revolutions'. This makes for a smooth narrative flow, and it can be quite addictive reading. I would recommend taking advantage of this, and not taking a break like I did and reading another book when I was about 150 pages from the end, as it somewhat broke the fragile foundations of scientific knowledge I had ghosted in to being by fusing the text's short descriptions with my own hazy memories.

[Francisco Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found particularly fascinating how wrong the first scientists were in the things they first studied. From our privileged position in history these scientists may seem almost blind to the obvious, yet when you try to think from their point of view you realize that they are almost always thinking brilliantly and with an amazing perseverance. They frequently err, but what else can they do? Being completely blind to nature, with no one to teach them, they had to open their way through its secrets by guessing and most of the time getting it wrong, and, some precious times, succeeding.

This book increased enormously my appreciation for Science. It made me love some scientific topics which I previously considered boring, thanks to almost experiencing the views of those who dedicated their lives to them.

One of the best books I have ever read.

[Mdaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book, covering all the main insights from science in the last 500 years. I think the author oversteps the mark is his extrapolation of scientific knowledge to his dismissal of religious belief which is apparent throughout the book. Although he does give a very balanced account of Galileo's troubles with Church authorities over his heliocentric model of the universe.
What I found surprising was that some discoveries, which we all take for granted, are quite recently discovered. The one unstated learning from this book is never take the consensus view as gospel, until the evidence is overwhelming. Einstein's discoveries being a case in point.
Well written and pacy book that reveals the politics behind some scientific discoveries, and more importantly,who gets recognised for them.

[Rod Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of science with an emphasis on individual scientists and their accomplishments and struggles - all told along a timeline from 1543 to 2001. I am a community college instructor of physics and astronomy, and often read history of science books so that I can add interesting details to class lectures. This book has helped me see the interconnectedness and persons behind the development of the various sciences: biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the people behind the evolution of natural philosophy into modern science.

[Laura Walin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit too tedious reading (took me five months) to rate it "I like it" although there were bits and pieces that were more fascinating to me than others. In teh final pages of the book it became clear to me why it was so: The author himself was an astrophysiscist while I myself am a biologist. Hence, the biology parts where more or less familiar to me, and the physics parts were not that well popularised (in my view :)). But I must admit that quantum physics were quite captivatengly presented.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is impressive: the lives, the times, the ideas of so many Western scientists from the Renaissance on. In a couple of places, the science is not explained as well as one might hope, but this is forgivable in a book that has such scope. The themes (evolution rather than revolutions in ideas; ideas having their time, meaning that any one of several contenders might be famous for their discovery) are well brought out. Notable too is how the 20th century heralds a change from significant individuals to a much more collective enterprise.

[Daniel Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that was absolutely chock full of information, if you’re after a whistle-stop tour of some of sciences most ingenious minds this is the perfect book for you.

The only reason my rating is not higher is simply because I found the book to be a little dry. Furthermore, I wished it took a bit more of an in-depth look at the people behind the great scientists. Nonetheless, this book is rich with information, and the author clearly understands the underlying scientific theory being presented!

[Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book with just the right balance between detail on scientific developments and interesting insights into many scientists' lives. Ties together the history of science very neatly and provides the reader with an invaluable picture of how we came to know what we do about the world and the universe.

[Cagdas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kitabı bir türlü sevemedim. Bu yüzden yarısına kadar okudum. Gribbin bir İngiliz. İngiliz bir bilim insanı varsa 7 ceddini, başarılarını anlatıyor sayfalarca. Bilim insanı ingiliz değilse, bir sayfa bilemedin iki sayfa anlatılıyor. Son sözüm şu; bilimin milliyeti, milliyetçili olmaz; bilim evrenseldir.

[Matthew White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Runs through an amazing history of various concepts and left me buzzing; that's right, buzzing! And no, I wasn't smoking illegal substances at the time. Totally worthy of time and energy.

[Guenterwahl50]

A very detailed history of science only I miss the geographical location and the innovation like is consecutive series of discoveries in a cluster of institutions, are there regional spatial distribution of innovation, did all science happen in London and Cambridge?

[AStar Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combining two of my favorite subjects, science and history, I found this book highly interesting and entertaining. I loved understanding how incredible concepts were given light, and the very human faces that were behind that work. Well written and well paced!

[Johan Dahlbäck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tries to tell the history of science though both the experiments and the scientists. The science parts were fun, but all the personal stories were quite similar and could actually have been left out. 600 pages that could have been told in 300.

[Francois Danis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. No, really amazing. I am dyslexic, I read only scientific book. That is history, that has 616 pages and I read all of them. It is well presented, the area are well defined, I learnt a lot. The author write in a very nice English. Thank you.