The surprising truth behind many of the most cherished "facts" in science history
Morse invented the telegraph, Bell the telephone, Edison the light bulb, and Marconi the radio . . . right? Well . . . the truth is slightly more complicated. The history of science and technology is riddled with apocrypha, inaccuracies, and falsehoods, and physicist Tony Rothman has taken it upon himself to throw a monkey wrench into the works.
Combining a storyteller's gifts with a scientist's focus and hardheaded devotion to the facts--such as they may be--Rothman breaks down many of the most famous "just-so" stories of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and technology to give credit where credit is truly due. From Einstein's possible misunderstanding of his own theories to actress Hedy Lemarr's role in the invention of the radio-controlled torpedo, he dredges his way through the legends of science history in relating the fascinating stories behind some of the most important, and often unsung, breakthroughs in science.
Related Subjects
PsychologyThis author, who is an expert in science, goes through many firsts in science and engineering and shows how many people worked on an idea and only one got the credit. Frequently the person who heard of the other discoverers before they ever thought about the idea. There is one defect in the book and that is the author's bias against spiritual-religious beliefs. He is ignorant of the basics of these systems and makes false...
0Report
This is a book about priority in science --- who gets the credit for being there first? One undisputed case is between Darwin and Wallace. Wallace came up with evolution on his own, but he was a friend of Darwin. When Wallace informed Darwin that he planned to publish the theory, Darwin quickly finished his Origin of Species. The rest is history. Evolution is credited to Darwin, but far fewer people know about Wallace.Tony...
0Report
Did Einstein really say "everything's relative"? Who invented the telegraph? the telephone? TV? And what is Hedy Lamar doing in a book like this? Chances are that your answers are wrong -- or only partly right.In this engaging, entertaining, witty, sometimes funny and always meticulously researched book, Rothman takes us on a tour of the many "just so" stories that our science or history teachers used to tell us. For those...
0Report
Forget what you learned in school! Wish I had this to read then.Rothman's enlightening excursions into the winding nature of scientific discoveries are absolutely enthralling. Elegantly written, witty, humorous, exquisitely detailed---a mind-popping eye opener from start to finish.
0Report
The tremendous amount of research that must have been involved in the writing of this book simply boggles my mind. And to be able to present the findings with such wit and clarity says a lot about the capabilities of this most gifted author. In addition, this book is a real eye opener - anyone who has read it will not be able to look at history without a healthy dose of skepticism. Just because some discovery is synonymous...
0Report