Tag: history of science

In the Eye of the Serpent

In the Eye of the Serpent

Whitney Barlow Robles— The serpent who beguiled Eve. Medusa’s ossifying glance. The hypnotic command of Kaa in Kipling’s Jungle Book. Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, turned upside down by a basilisk…. READ MORE

Feeling the Past to Touch the Future

Feeling the Past to Touch the Future

Henry Petroski— The bubonic epidemic known as the Great Plague broke out in London in 1665 and lasted for two years. During that time, citizens who could escape to the… READ MORE

Measurements for a Green World

Measurements for a Green World

Piero Martin— Will measurements save the world? Or, better, our life as humans on this planet? Certainly, they will help. Actually, they are already doing an important job since—much better… READ MORE

Feminist Biography

Feminist Biography

Nina Rattner Gelbart— Biography is a curious genre, morphing over time, and writing about the lives of other individuals goes back to antiquity. Plutarch and Suetonius, both working from the… READ MORE

The Endangered Species of the Polymath

The Endangered Species of the Polymath

Peter Burke— People are talking more and more about polymaths these days, but at the same time, living examples of this intellectual species are becoming more and more difficult to… READ MORE

How Do You Make Electricity?

How Do You Make Electricity?

Ivo van Vulpen— One of the greatest threats to our prosperity and way of life is a shortage of energy. We don’t often pause to think about it, but our… READ MORE

The Story of Archaeology

The Story of Archaeology

Brian Fagan— There really is something to Indiana Jones, except that it’s all wrong. It’s rumored that Jones was an amalgam of several early twentieth century archaeologists, but Lucas Films… READ MORE

Out of the Shadows / Robert Hooke

Out of the Shadows / Robert Hooke

John Gribbin— Who was the first person to realise that gravity is a universal force possessed by every object in the Universe, which attracts every other object? Isaac Newton, right? Wrong!… READ MORE

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