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Science from Sight to Insight: How Scientists Illustrate Meaning
by Alan G. Gross Joseph E. HarmonJohn Dalton’s molecular structures. Scatter plots and geometric diagrams. Watson and Crick’s double helix. The way in which scientists understand the world—and the key concepts that explain it—is undeniably bound up in not only words, but images. Moreover, from PowerPoint presentations to articles in academic journals, scientific communication routinely relies on the relationship between words and pictures. In Science from Sight to Insight, Alan G. Gross and Joseph E. Harmon present a short history of the scientific visual, and then formulate a theory about the interaction between the visual and textual. With great insight and admirable rigor, the authors argue that scientific meaning itself comes from the complex interplay between the verbal and the visual in the form of graphs, diagrams, maps, drawings, and photographs. The authors use a variety of tools to probe the nature of scientific images, from Heidegger’s philosophy of science to Peirce’s semiotics of visual communication. Their synthesis of these elements offers readers an examination of scientific visuals at a much deeper and more meaningful level than ever before.
Science Fusion in Contemporary Mexican Literature (Bucknell Studies in Latin American Literature and Theory)
by Brian T. ChandlerScience Fusion draws on new materialist theory to analyze the relationship between science and literature in contemporary works of fiction, poetry, and theater from Mexico. In this deft new study, Brian Chandler examines how a range of contemporary Mexican writers “fuse” science and literature in their work to rethink what it means to be human in an age of climate change, mass extinctions, interpersonal violence, femicide, and social injustice. The authors under consideration here—including Alberto Blanco, Jorge Volpi, Ignacio Padilla, Sabina Berman, Maricela Guerrero, and Elisa Díaz Castelo—challenge traditional divisions that separate human from nonhuman, subject from object, culture from nature. Using science and literature to engage topics in biopolitics, historiography, metaphysics, ethics, and ecological crisis in the age of the Anthropocene, works of science fusion offer fresh perspectives to address present-day sociocultural and environmental issues.
Science Journalism in the Arab World: The Quest for ‘Ilm’ and Truth (Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South)
by Abdullah Alhuntushi Jairo Lugo-OcandoThis book examines the main issues and challenges that science journalism faces in the MENA region while analyzing how journalists in these countries cover science and engage with scientists. Most countries in the Middle East and North Africa region have set an ambitious goal for 2030: to transform their societies and become knowledge economies. This means modernizing institutions and encouraging people to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as part of their daily lives. This books claims that the main vehicle to achieve this goal is science news reporting, as it continues to be the main platform to disseminate scientific knowledge to the general public. Simultaneously, it is also poorly equipped to achieve this task. Interviewing dozens of journalists, the authors looked at specific areas such as the gender divide and its effects on science news reporting as well as the role of religion and culture in shaping journalism as a political institution. The authors conclude that traditional normative assumptions as to why science reporting does not live up to expectations need to be reviewed in light of other more structural problems such as lack of skills and specialization in science communication in the region. In so doing, the book sets out to understand the past, present and future of science news in one of the most challenging regions in the world for journalists.
Science, Literature and Rhetoric in Early Modern England (Literary and Scientific Cultures of Early Modernity)
by David BurchellThese essays throw new light on the complex relations between science, literature and rhetoric as avenues to discovery in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds examine the agency of early modern poets, playwrights, essayists, philosophers, natural philosophers and artists in remaking their culture and reforming ideas about human understanding. Analyzing the ways in which the works of such diverse writers as Shakespeare, Bacon, Hobbes, Milton, Cavendish, Boyle, Pope and Behn related to contemporary epistemological debates, these essays move us toward a better understanding of interactions between the sciences and the humanities during a seminal phase in the emergence of modern Western thought.
Science, Medicine, and Aristocratic Lineage in Victorian Popular Fiction (Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine)
by Abigail BoucherScience, Medicine, and Lineage in Popular Fiction of the Long Nineteenth Century explores the dialogue between popular literature and medical and scientific discourse in terms of how they represent the highly visible an pathologized British aristocratic body. This books explores and complicates the two major portrayals of aristocrats in nineteenth-century literature: that of the medicalised, frail, debauched, and diseased aristocrat, and that of the heroic, active, beautiful ‘noble’, both of which are frequent and resonant in popular fiction of the long nineteenth century. Abigail Boucher argues that the concept of class in the long nineteenth century implicitly includes notions of blood, lineage, and bodily ‘correctness’, and that ‘class’ was therefore frequently portrayed as an empirical, scientific, and medical certainty. Due to their elevated and highly visual social positions, both historical and fictional aristocrats were frequently pathologized in the public mind and watched for signs of physical excellence or deviance. Using popular fiction, Boucher establishes patterns across decades, genres, and demographics and considers how these patterns react to, normalise, or feed into the advent of new scientific and medical understandings.
The Science of Character: Human Objecthood and the Ends of Victorian Realism (Thinking Literature Ser.)
by S. Pearl BrilmyerThe Science of Character makes a bold new claim for the power of the literary by showing how Victorian novelists used fiction to theorize how character forms. In 1843, the Victorian philosopher John Stuart Mill called for the establishment of a new science, “the science of the formation of character.” Although Mill’s proposal failed as scientific practice, S. Pearl Brilmyer maintains that it found its true home in realist fiction of the period, which employed the literary figure of character to investigate the nature of embodied experience. Bringing to life Mill’s unrealized dream of a science of character, novelists such as George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, and Olive Schreiner turned to narrative to explore how traits and behaviors in organisms emerge and develop, and how aesthetic features—shapes, colors, and gestures—come to take on cultural meaning through certain categories, such as race and sex. Engaged with materialist science and philosophy, these authors transformed character from the liberal notion of the inner truth of an individual into a materially determined figuration produced through shifts in the boundaries between the body’s inside and outside. In their hands, Brilmyer argues, literature became a science, not in the sense that its claims were falsifiable or even systematically articulated, but in its commitment to uncovering, through a fictional staging of realistic events, the laws governing physical and affective life. The Science of Character redraws late Victorian literary history to show how women and feminist novelists pushed realism to its aesthetic and philosophical limits in the crucial span between 1870 and 1920.
The Science of Citizen Science
by Roeland Samson Katrin Vohland Anne Land-Zandstra Luigi Ceccaroni Rob Lemmens Josep Perelló Marisa Ponti Katherin WagenknechtThis open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.
The Science of Dune: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science Behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe
by Kevin R. GrazierCould sandworms really exist? What’s in that mélange, anyway? The Science of Dune provides the answers to these questions... and many more!Since its original publication in 1965, the Dune series has entranced generations of readers with its complex plotting, fascinating characters, grand scope, and incredible scientific predictions. This guide offers fascinating scientific speculation on topics including quantum physics, biochemistry, ecology, evolution, psychology, technology, and genetics. It scrutinizes Frank Herbert’s science fiction world by asking questions such as: Is the ecology of Dune realistic? Is it theoretically possible to get information from the future? Could humans really evolve as Herbert suggests? Which of Herbert’s inventions have already come to life? This companion is a must-have for any fan who wants to revisit the world of Dune and explore it even further.
The Science of Harry Potter
by Roger HighfieldCan Fluffy the three-headed dog be explained by advances in molecular biology? Could the discovery of cosmic "gravity-shielding effects" unlock the secret to the Nimbus 2000 broomstick's ability to fly? Is the griffin really none other than the dinosaur Protoceratops? Roger Highfield, author of the critically acclaimed The Physics of Christmas, explores the fascinating links between magic and science to reveal that much of what strikes us as supremely strange in the Potter books can actually be explained by the conjurings of the scientific mind. This is the perfect guide for parents who want to teach their children science through their favorite adventures as well as for the millions of adult fans of the series intrigued by its marvels and mysteries.
The Science of James Bond: From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Films
by Lois H. Gresh Robert WeinbergThe science behind the gadgets, exploits, and enemies of the world's greatest spy. From the sleek Aston Martin that spits out bullets, nails, and passengers at the push of a button to the microjet that makes hairpin turns to avoid a heat-seeking missile, the science and technology of James Bond films have kept millions of movie fans guessing for decades. Are these amazing feats and gadgets truly possible? The Science of James Bond takes you on a fascinating excursion through the true science that underlies Bond's most fantastic and off-the-wall accoutrements. The acclaimed science-fiction authors Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg provide a highly entertaining, informative look at the real-world achievements and brilliant imaginations behind such singular Bond gadgets as the buzz-saw Rolex, the car that turns into a submarine, and the ever-popular rocket-firing cigarette. They examine hundreds of Q Division's ingenious inventions; analyze Bond's astonishing battles beneath the earth and sea, in the skies, and even in outer space; and ask intriguing questions that lead to enlightening discussions about the limits of science, the laws of nature, and the future of technology. Filled with entertaining anecdotes from Bond movie shoots and supplemented with "tech" ratings for all of the Bond movies, The Science of James Bond separates scientific fact from film fantasy--with some very surprising results.
The Science of Language
by Noam Chomsky James McgilvrayNoam Chomsky is one of the most influential thinkers of our time, yet his views are often misunderstood. In this previously unpublished series of interviews, Chomsky discusses his iconoclastic and important ideas concerning language, human nature and politics. In dialogue with James McGilvray, Professor of Philosophy at McGill University, Chomsky takes up a wide variety of topics Ai the nature of language, the philosophies of language and mind, morality and universality, science and common sense, and the evolution of language. McGilvray's extensive commentary helps make this incisive set of interviews accessible to a variety of readers. The volume is essential reading for those involved in the study of language and mind, as well as anyone with an interest in Chomsky's ideas. "
The Science of Language: Interviews with James Mcgilvray
by Noam Chomsky James McgilvrayIn this previously unpublished series of interviews, Chomsky discusses his iconoclastic and important ideas concerning language, human nature and politics.
The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: With an Introduction by Philip Pullman
by John Gribbin Mary GribbinThe amazing true science behind the fiction of His Dark Materials, ideal for fans of the original trilogy and The Book of Dust, with an introduction by Philip Pullman.Award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal how the world of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) is rooted in astonishing scientific truth. Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, they answer fascinating questions such as: could parallel worlds like Will's and Lyra's really exist? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra's hair? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials?
The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: With an Introduction by Philip Pullman
by John Gribbin Mary GribbinThe amazing true science behind the fiction of His Dark Materials, ideal for fans of the original trilogy and The Book of Dust, with an introduction by Philip Pullman.Award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal how the world of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) is rooted in astonishing scientific truth. Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, they answer fascinating questions such as: could parallel worlds like Will's and Lyra's really exist? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra's hair? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials?
The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America
by Adrian JohnsFor the first time, the story of how and why we have plumbed the mysteries of reading, and why it matters today. Reading is perhaps the essential practice of modern civilization. For centuries, it has been seen as key to both personal fulfillment and social progress, and millions today depend on it to participate fully in our society. Yet, at its heart, reading is a surprisingly elusive practice. This book tells for the first time the story of how American scientists and others have sought to understand reading, and, by understanding it, to improve how people do it. Starting around 1900, researchers—convinced of the urgent need to comprehend a practice central to industrial democracy—began to devise instruments and experiments to investigate what happened to people when they read. They traced how a good reader’s eyes moved across a page of printed characters, and they asked how their mind apprehended meanings as they did so. In schools across the country, millions of Americans learned to read through the application of this science of reading. At the same time, workers fanned out across the land to extend the science of reading into the social realm, mapping the very geography of information for the first time. Their pioneering efforts revealed that the nation’s most pressing problems were rooted in drastic informational inequities, between North and South, city and country, and white and Black—and they suggested ways to tackle those problems. Today, much of how we experience our information society reflects the influence of these enterprises. This book explains both how the science of reading shaped our age and why, with so-called reading wars still plaguing schools across the nation, it remains bitterly contested.
The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America
by Adrian JohnsFor the first time, the story of how and why we have plumbed the mysteries of reading, and why it matters today. Reading is perhaps the essential practice of modern civilization. For centuries, it has been seen as key to both personal fulfillment and social progress, and millions today depend on it to participate fully in our society. Yet, at its heart, reading is a surprisingly elusive practice. This book tells for the first time the story of how American scientists and others have sought to understand reading, and, by understanding it, to improve how people do it. Starting around 1900, researchers—convinced of the urgent need to comprehend a practice central to industrial democracy—began to devise instruments and experiments to investigate what happened to people when they read. They traced how a good reader’s eyes moved across a page of printed characters, and they asked how their mind apprehended meanings as they did so. In schools across the country, millions of Americans learned to read through the application of this science of reading. At the same time, workers fanned out across the land to extend the science of reading into the social realm, mapping the very geography of information for the first time. Their pioneering efforts revealed that the nation’s most pressing problems were rooted in drastic informational inequities, between North and South, city and country, and white and Black—and they suggested ways to tackle those problems. Today, much of how we experience our information society reflects the influence of these enterprises. This book explains both how the science of reading shaped our age and why, with so-called reading wars still plaguing schools across the nation, it remains bitterly contested.
The Science of Reading
by Margaret J. Snowling Charles HulmeThe Science of Reading: A Handbook brings together state-of-the-art reviews of reading research from leading names in the field, to create a highly authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of contemporary knowledge about reading and related skills.Provides comprehensive coverage of the subject, including theoretical approaches, reading processes, stage models of reading, cross-linguistic studies of reading, reading difficulties, the biology of reading, and reading instruction Divided into seven sections:Word Recognition Processes in Reading; Learning to Read and Spell; Reading Comprehension; Reading in Different Languages; Disorders of Reading and Spelling; Biological Bases of Reading; Teaching Reading Edited by well-respected senior figures in the field
The Science of Reading: A Handbook (Wiley Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology #9)
by Margaret J. Snowling Charles Hulme Kate NationProvides an overview of state-of-the-art research on the science of reading, revised and updated throughout The Science of Reading presents the most recent advances in the study of reading and related skills. Bringing together contributions from a multidisciplinary team of experts, this comprehensive volume reviews theoretical approaches, stage models of reading, cross-linguistic studies of reading, reading instruction, the neurobiology of reading, and more. Divided into six parts, the book explores word recognition processes in skilled reading, learning to read and spell, reading comprehension and its development, reading and writing in different languages, developmental and acquired reading disorders, and the social, biological, and environmental factors of literacy. The second edition of The Science of Reading is extensively revised to reflect contemporary theoretical insights and methodological advances. Two entirely new chapters on co-occurrence and complexity are accompanied by reviews of recent findings and discussion of future trends and research directions. Updated chapters cover the development of reading and language in preschools, the social correlates of reading, experimental research on sentence processing, learning to read in alphabetic orthographies, comorbidities that occur frequently with dyslexia, and other central topics. Demonstrates how different knowledge sources underpin reading processes using a wide range of methodologies Presents critical appraisals of theoretical and computational models of word recognition and evidence-based research on reading intervention Reviews evidence on skilled visual word recognition, the role of phonology, methods for identifying dyslexia, and the molecular genetics of reading and language Highlights the importance of language as a foundation for literacy and as a risk factor for developmental dyslexia and other reading disorders Discusses learning to read in different types of writing systems, with a language impairment, and in variations of the home literacy environment Describes the role of contemporary analytical tools such as dominance analysis and quantile regression in modelling the development of reading and comprehensionPart of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology series, the second edition of The Science of Reading: A Handbook remains an invaluable resource for advanced students, researchers, and specialist educators looking for an up-to-date overview of the field.
The Science of Sensibility: Reading Burke's Philosophical Enquiry
by Koen Vermeir Michael Funk DeckardAttracting philosophers, politicians, artists as well as the educated reader, Edmund Burke's Philosophical Enquiry, first published in 1757, was a milestone in western thinking. This edited volume will take the 250th anniversary of the Philosophical Enquiry as an occasion to reassess Burke's prominence in the history of ideas. Situated on the threshold between early modern philosophy and the Enlightenment, Burke's oeuvre combines reflections on aesthetics, politics and the sciences. This collection is the first book length work devoted primarily to Burke's Philosophical Enquiry in both its historical context and for its contemporary relevance. It will establish the fact that the Enquiry is an important philosophical and literary work in its own right.
The Science of Writing: Theories, Methods, Individual Differences and Applications
by C. Michael Levy Sarah RansdellConceived as the successor to Gregg and Steinberg's Cognitive Processes in Writing, this book takes a multidisciplinary approach to writing research. The authors describe their current thinking and data in such a way that readers in psychology, English, education, and linguistics will find it readable and stimulating. It should serve as a resource book of theory, tools and techniques, and applications that should stimulate and guide the field for the next decade. The chapters showcase approaches taken by active researchers in eight countries. Some of these researchers have published widely in their native language but little of their work has appeared in English-language publications.
Science on Stage in Early Modern Spain (Toronto Iberic)
by Enrique Garcia Santo-TomasScience on Stage in Early Modern Spain features essays by leading scholars in the fields of literary studies and the history of science, exploring the relationship between technical innovations and theatrical events that incorporated scientific content into dramatic productions. Focusing on Spanish dramas between 1500 and 1700, through the birth and development of its playhouses and coliseums and the phenomenal success of its major writers, this collection addresses a unique phenomenon through the most popular, versatile, and generous medium of the time. The contributors tackle subjects and disciplines as diverse as alchemy, optics, astronomy, acoustics, geometry, mechanics, and mathematics to reveal how theatre could be used to deploy scientific knowledge. While Science on Stage contributes to cultural and performance studies it also engages with issues of censorship, the effect of the Spanish Inquisition on the circulation of ideas, and the influence of the Eastern traditions in Spain.
Science on the Ropes: Decline of Scientific Culture in the Era of Fake News
by Carlos ElíasIn this controversial essay, Carlos Elías addresses the worldwide phenomenon that is threatening the scientific and economic progress of Western countries. The rise and influence of magic and irrationality in the media, in social networks and at universities is a disturbing phenomenon: many Western students no longer want to pursue STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Math) careers. This lucid and well-written book addresses one of the key issues of public debate: the deteriorating state of science in Western countries and their governments, and its rise in Asian countries. The author compares two distinct models: the Spanish or Latin model, which closed the door on science with the Counter-Reformation, and that employed by a second group of countries where science was encouraged. Elías suggests that a similar development could now be taking place between Western countries (where the press, television and social science academics are becoming increasingly critical towards science) and Asia, where most prime ministers (and other politicians) are scientists or engineers. This book is intended for STEM educators (both at secondary schools and universities), scientists and academics interested in scientific culture in the era of fake news.
Science Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Constructing Scientific Communities
by Gowan Dawson Bernard Lightman Sally Shuttleworth Jonathan R. TophamPeriodicals played a vital role in the developments in science and medicine that transformed nineteenth-century Britain. Proliferating from a mere handful to many hundreds of titles, they catered to audiences ranging from gentlemanly members of metropolitan societies to working-class participants in local natural history clubs. In addition to disseminating authorized scientific discovery, they fostered a sense of collective identity among their geographically dispersed and often socially disparate readers by facilitating the reciprocal interchange of ideas and information. As such, they offer privileged access into the workings of scientific communities in the period. The essays in this volume set the historical exploration of the scientific and medical periodicals of the era on a new footing, examining their precise function and role in the making of nineteenth-century science and enhancing our vision of the shifting communities and practices of science in the period. This radical rethinking of the scientific journal offers a new approach to the reconfiguration of the sciences in nineteenth-century Britain and sheds instructive light on contemporary debates about the purpose, practices, and price of scientific journals.
Science Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Britain: Constructing Scientific Communities
by Gowan Dawson Bernard Lightman Sally Shuttleworth Jonathan R. TophamPeriodicals played a vital role in the developments in science and medicine that transformed nineteenth-century Britain. Proliferating from a mere handful to many hundreds of titles, they catered to audiences ranging from gentlemanly members of metropolitan societies to working-class participants in local natural history clubs. In addition to disseminating authorized scientific discovery, they fostered a sense of collective identity among their geographically dispersed and often socially disparate readers by facilitating the reciprocal interchange of ideas and information. As such, they offer privileged access into the workings of scientific communities in the period. The essays in this volume set the historical exploration of the scientific and medical periodicals of the era on a new footing, examining their precise function and role in the making of nineteenth-century science and enhancing our vision of the shifting communities and practices of science in the period. This radical rethinking of the scientific journal offers a new approach to the reconfiguration of the sciences in nineteenth-century Britain and sheds instructive light on contemporary debates about the purpose, practices, and price of scientific journals.
Science, Sexuality and Sensation Novels
by Laurie GarrisonThis fascinating new book offers a detailed account of the prolific debate about the sensation novel and considers the genre's dialogues with a number of sciences. Well-known and obscure sensation novels are read against this context in order to recover the forgotten history of sensual reading the genre inspired.