Public Understanding of Science A History of Communicating Scientific Ideas

About this book

Between the French Revolution (1789) and the `Chemists' War' (1914-18) science became culturally and economically crucial: it seemed pervasive but difficult. David Knight explores how science was disseminated in this period, moving from a time in the late eighteenth century when science was not widely regarded as a necessary tool for investigating the world to the start of the twentieth century when it was crucial.

Asking questions, such as did scientists have an easily-learned method? Or could the interesting parts of science be communicated in sermons, poems, pictures, lectures, museums, travel books, or journalism? Who was best at communicating it: scientists, popularisers or critics? David Knight examines the history of science to reveal that the successes and failures of our ancestors can help us to achieve understanding.

Contents

1. Understanding
2. God's Clockworld
3. Holding Forth
4. Poetry, Metaphor and Algebra
5. Picturing Science
6. Ballyhoo
7. Display
8. Travel
9. Imagining
10. Science Gossip
11. Suspending Judgement
12. Classical Physics
13. Promoters and Popularisers

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Biography

University of Durham, UK