Quirky Sides of Scientists: True Tales of Ingenuity and Error from Physics and Astronomy - Paperback

by David R. Topper (Author)

These historical narratives of scientific behavior reveal the often irrational way scientists arrive at and assess their theories. The book clearly demonstrates that the greatest minds throughout history arrived at their famous scientific theories in very unorganized ways and they often did not fully grasp the significance and implications of their own work. There are stories of Einstein's stubbornness leading him to reject a correct interpretation of an experiment and miss an important deduction from his own theory, and Newton missing the important deduction from one of his most celebrated discoveries. Outside a circle of specialized academics, these little-known yet fascinating stories are told in a clear and engaging style to captivate the scientific-educated reader. A theme running throughout the book is the notion that what is obvious today was not so in the past. Scientists seen in their historical context shatter myths and show them to be less modern than we often like to think of them.

Back Jacket

These historical narratives of scientific behavior reveal the often irrational way scientists arrive at and assess their theories. There are stories of Einstein's stubbornness leading him to reject a correct interpretation of an experiment and miss an important deduction from his own theory, and Newton missing the important deduction from one of his most celebrated discoveries. Copernicus and Galileo are found surpressing information. A theme running throughout the book is the notion that what is obvious today was not so in the past. Scientists seen in their historical context shatter myths and show them to be less modern than we often like to think of them.

Author Biography

http: //history.uwinnipeg.ca/topper.html

David R. Topper is Professor of History at the University of Winnipeg where, since 1970, he has taught courses in the history of science and the history of art. He was the recipient of two teaching awards: the Robson Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Winnipeg (1981), and the National 3M Teaching Fellowship (1987). Since 1982 he has been an international co-editor and, from 2005, honorary editor of the journal Leonardo. His recent publications are on matters related to the work of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein.