El Club de los desayunos filosóficos: Cuatro notables amigos que transformaron la ciencia y cambiaron el mundo
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- Author：Laura J. Snyder
- ISBN：8418370254
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Summary
En el siglo XIX， cuatro hombres， tras descubrir en la Universidad de Cambridge su pasión compartida por el progreso científico， deciden reunirse los domingos por la mañana para hablar del estado de la ciencia en Gran Bretaña y en el mundo。 Inspirados por el gran político y reformador científico Francis Bacon， los miembros del Club de los desayunos filosóficos aunaron fuerzas para promover una nueva revolución científica。 William Whewell， Charles Babbage， John Herschel y Richard Jones， investigadores de prestigio que llevaron a cabo importantes descubrimientos en distintos ámbitos， fueron los últimos filósofos naturales， que no sólo estuvieron a la vanguardia de la modernización de la ciencia， sino que engendraron una nueva especie: el científico。 La historiadora Laura J。 Snyder explora en este deslumbrante ensayo las motivaciones políticas y religiosas， las amistades y enemistades， y la sed de conocimiento y de poder que impulsaron a estos extraordinarios hombres， protagonistas de una auténtica revolución intelectual。
Reviews
Mercedes Macías
，
Demasiada información queriendo abarcar casi todos los descubrimientos cientificos en el siglo xix， centrado en 4 investigadores que cambiaron la formación academica en Inglaterra， pero sin profundizar y en ocasiones anecdotas con poca relevancia， mucho mejor su obra previa "el ojo observador"。 Demasiada información queriendo abarcar casi todos los descubrimientos cientificos en el siglo xix， centrado en 4 investigadores que cambiaron la formación academica en Inglaterra， pero sin profundizar y en ocasiones anecdotas con poca relevancia， mucho mejor su obra previa "el ojo observador"。 。。。more
Mark
，
Laura Snyder has written an utterly captivating book about four men of science—William Whewell， John Herschel， Richard Jones， and Charles Babbage。 All born within a span of four years in the 1790s， and all attending Cambridge University at one point or another， they found themselves naturally drawn together as friends。 Additionally， their overlapping thoughts about the advancement of science led them to establish a Philosophical Breakfast Club in the early nineteenth century as a forum for discu Laura Snyder has written an utterly captivating book about four men of science—William Whewell， John Herschel， Richard Jones， and Charles Babbage。 All born within a span of four years in the 1790s， and all attending Cambridge University at one point or another， they found themselves naturally drawn together as friends。 Additionally， their overlapping thoughts about the advancement of science led them to establish a Philosophical Breakfast Club in the early nineteenth century as a forum for discussion， debate， and the development of ideas。 But their particular club would differ in critically important ways from other contemporary clubs of the era。Prevailing thinking about science was characterized by: a select few clergymen who would tinker and potter experimentally; the wealthy， whose interest in science didn’t go beyond mechanical inventions that served as amusing party tricks; and royalty whose patronage of science was no more than a feather in their cap。 These approaches to science were haphazard with no firm method driving their actions。 Furthermore， no action was connected to results， and the benefits were vague and esoteric。 Whewell， Herschel， Jones， and Babbage were determined to formalize investigation into the laws of nature with a systematic， inductive method attributable to their common hero， Francis Bacon。 In addition， their mission was to improve the lives of common men and women and to render the world a better place when they left it。These four men were gifted， highly-intelligent polymaths， studying—and mastering—multiple disciplines， including physics， astronomy， mechanics， economics， chemistry， and all aspects of mathematics。 I was surprised to learn that the word “scientist” did not exist before 1833， when Whewell coined it， and that it was criticized by other men of science as barbaric because it was a Greek-Latin hybrid！ The concept of “consilience” is also attributed to him， meaning the inductions drawn from one class of facts coincide with inductions from a different class。Whewell and Herschel were probably the first practitioners （ignorant of the modern term） of “crowd-sourcing” when they gathered global data on astronomy and the tides to map the galaxies of space and the high tides around Great Britain。 Jones’s accurate mapping of hamlets and parishes resolved many problems associated with the system of tithing practiced by the landed gentry。 Although Babbage invented the Difference Engine， a complex mechanical device for calculating values of polynomial functions using finite differences， it was his Analytical Engine that recognizes him as “father of the computer，” since this was more in line with general purpose computing。In elegant， extraordinarily accessible language， author Snyder comprehensively tracks the careers and vast accomplishments of Whewell， Herschel， Jones， and Babbage。 Along the way， of course， we meet many other scientists who often benefitted from the pioneering work of the four。 For example， Snyder does a near-perfect job of describing Charles Darwin’s complicated thinking behind his theory of evolution; similarly， her vignette on Ada Lovelace assisting Babbage’s work is fascinating。In summary， Laura Snyder recounts an engrossing tale of four multi-dimensional men， whose mutual trust engendered strong bonds of friendship。 Nothing was too much for one man to do for the other three: they genuinely encouraged efforts， unselfishly promoted careers， and always provided honest feedback。 And these were busy men: as well as their scientific experiments， they were prolific authors of books that became standard texts。 Yet Snyder never fails to humanize them in authentic fashion beyond their professions—through marriages， births of children， loss of loved ones， and ultimately， aging and death。 。。。more
Andrew Langridge
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I shouldn't dwell on my own biases in a review of this book， but William Whewell is a hero of mine， so I was disappointed to find that there was very little discussion of his philosophy of science here， despite the fact that Laura Snyder is an expert on the subject - see Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy。 Having said this， I acknowledge that the narrative put his life in context in a clever and illuminating way。 Why do I think that Whewell is a great figure？ He lived at a juncture in history j I shouldn't dwell on my own biases in a review of this book， but William Whewell is a hero of mine， so I was disappointed to find that there was very little discussion of his philosophy of science here， despite the fact that Laura Snyder is an expert on the subject - see Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy。 Having said this， I acknowledge that the narrative put his life in context in a clever and illuminating way。 Why do I think that Whewell is a great figure？ He lived at a juncture in history just before science started to become specialised， when it was still possible to understand and survey the entire field。 In contrast to many modern 'armchair philosophers'， he humbly resolved to study what scientists had actually done from the Greeks up to the present day （19C） before advancing an opinion as to what science was。 He didn't allow his strong faith in God to cloud this judgement despite the fact that uniformitarian theories such as Lyell's and Darwin's were beginning to cast doubt on traditional biblical accounts of divine intervention。 Whewell recognised that scientific practice combines the rational and empirical， the conceptual and the observational， in a way that gives it a metaphysically necessary aspect， and distinguishes it from less rigorous forms of enquiry。 。。。more
Brenda
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A fascinating view of how science developed in the nineteenth century from a very amateur generalist's pursuit to a very professional specialist's pursuit。 These four men had quite interesting lives， and Snyder shows us their dreams， successes， failures， camaraderie and conflicts。 She also shows us a lot about scientific developments of the time， which are explained very clearly。 It's not a light read， but is very interesting。 A fascinating view of how science developed in the nineteenth century from a very amateur generalist's pursuit to a very professional specialist's pursuit。 These four men had quite interesting lives， and Snyder shows us their dreams， successes， failures， camaraderie and conflicts。 She also shows us a lot about scientific developments of the time， which are explained very clearly。 It's not a light read， but is very interesting。 。。。more
Mary
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Gave it up。
Randy Cook
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‘The Philosophical Breakfast Club’ by Laura Snyder tells the story of four friends from the early 1800s who went to Cambridge and formed a group that met and discussed science。 They were also instrumental is forming a new science organization that was not trapped in the older conventions。 These men helped open the sciences to more than just the hobbiest。Each of the four was famous for their endeavors。 I enjoyed the first half of the book very much。 Each man’s background and how they were able to ‘The Philosophical Breakfast Club’ by Laura Snyder tells the story of four friends from the early 1800s who went to Cambridge and formed a group that met and discussed science。 They were also instrumental is forming a new science organization that was not trapped in the older conventions。 These men helped open the sciences to more than just the hobbiest。Each of the four was famous for their endeavors。 I enjoyed the first half of the book very much。 Each man’s background and how they were able to establish themselves in their field。 While they were leading figures， I wanted more of the science。 Unfortunately for me， the later part of the book seemed to loose focus。 We had， what seemed to be long sections on dinner parties， love interests， and cyphers。I enjoyed the book， but not as much as I had hoped。 If you are interested in the early sciences this book is very good。 。。。more
Chantal LeGendre
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Was so promising a start， but by the end I was just reading it to finish the book。
Wayland Smith
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Sometimes， history stands at a tipping point， and all it needs is a good push。 Decades of effort by four men helped have a huge impact on science， and how we view so many things， as well as making many discoveries on their own。 Charles Babbage， the grandfather of the computer， John Herschel， son of a noted astronomer who made many discoveries on his own in several fields， William Whewell， polymath， philosopher， and coined the term "scientist，" and Richard Jones， who essentially created what we n Sometimes， history stands at a tipping point， and all it needs is a good push。 Decades of effort by four men helped have a huge impact on science， and how we view so many things， as well as making many discoveries on their own。 Charles Babbage， the grandfather of the computer， John Herschel， son of a noted astronomer who made many discoveries on his own in several fields， William Whewell， polymath， philosopher， and coined the term "scientist，" and Richard Jones， who essentially created what we now think of as economics。 These four were brilliant on their own， met at Cambridge University， and worked together off and for decades。 There was some fascinating stuff in here， and a great deal I didn't know。 I'm not rating it higher solely because there were a lot of odd side trips along the way。 I'm not sure we needed biographical detail on almost everyone that comes up in the text。 Their impact was widespread， through other scientists， notably Darwin among others。 Recommended for fans of history， science， and finding out how things work and how they came to be。 。。。more
Bonnye Reed
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BookBub 199
Toglietemi tutto， ma non i miei libri
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Ho comprato "Il club dei filosofi che volevano cambiare il mondo" convinta che fosse un romanzo， invece è una pedante biografia。Questa cosa mi ha scocciato molto。 Su Amazon， il libro è segnato come narrativa e dalla copertina e dalla trama sembrava proprio una versione romanzata della storia dei quattro scienziati， di romanzato in questo libro， però， non c'è proprio nulla！Perché fuorviare così tanto il lettore！？ Perché， altrimenti， molto probabilmente nessuno leggerebbe questo mattone di libro （ Ho comprato "Il club dei filosofi che volevano cambiare il mondo" convinta che fosse un romanzo， invece è una pedante biografia。Questa cosa mi ha scocciato molto。 Su Amazon， il libro è segnato come narrativa e dalla copertina e dalla trama sembrava proprio una versione romanzata della storia dei quattro scienziati， di romanzato in questo libro， però， non c'è proprio nulla！Perché fuorviare così tanto il lettore！？ Perché， altrimenti， molto probabilmente nessuno leggerebbe questo mattone di libro （mattone non per la lunghezza ma la pesantezza del testo！）。 。。。more
Kaye
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Enjoyed this， but it did seem to drag on forever。 A good follow-on book to The Age of Wonder， since one of the major characters is John Herschel， son of William Herschel a principal "character" of that book。I was very surprised to learn from this book that David Hockney is an American artist。 Where was the editor？ Enjoyed this， but it did seem to drag on forever。 A good follow-on book to The Age of Wonder， since one of the major characters is John Herschel， son of William Herschel a principal "character" of that book。I was very surprised to learn from this book that David Hockney is an American artist。 Where was the editor？ 。。。more
Bozworth
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The transition from "natural philosopher" to "scientist" was well captured through the biographical lens of key players from the Victorian era。 Covering a breadth of topics - inevitably， as Whewell is characterized as a "mathematician-mineralogist-architectural historian-linguist-classicist-physicist-geologist-historian-philosopher-theologian-mountainclimbing-poet" - the story remains engaging throughout。 Also enjoyed how characters featured in PBS "Victoria" pop in the storyline。 The transition from "natural philosopher" to "scientist" was well captured through the biographical lens of key players from the Victorian era。 Covering a breadth of topics - inevitably， as Whewell is characterized as a "mathematician-mineralogist-architectural historian-linguist-classicist-physicist-geologist-historian-philosopher-theologian-mountainclimbing-poet" - the story remains engaging throughout。 Also enjoyed how characters featured in PBS "Victoria" pop in the storyline。 。。。more
Sondra Rice
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Unfocused The author drops names， wonders around science， does not make a compelling case for the breakfast club contributions and does not do justice to these men。 Poor writing， not a good read。 Read the bios of these men and draw your own conclusions。
Raghav Aggarwal
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Overall engaging and fun to read， but Snyder tries to oversell the contributions of her protagonists particularly that of Baggage's influence on Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" who attended his soirées。 The facts presented in the book seem to imply that Whewell has a rigid attitude towards methods of science as well as religion， but Whewell is shown to be omniscient and the perfect human to have ever lived。 He， like Babbage， has been excessively credited even for insignificant and highly spe Overall engaging and fun to read， but Snyder tries to oversell the contributions of her protagonists particularly that of Baggage's influence on Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" who attended his soirées。 The facts presented in the book seem to imply that Whewell has a rigid attitude towards methods of science as well as religion， but Whewell is shown to be omniscient and the perfect human to have ever lived。 He， like Babbage， has been excessively credited even for insignificant and highly speculative contributions。 Lastly， it seems that Jones has been dragged along with the other three "super scientists" with no meaningful contributions to either science or its methods。 He seems to pursue everything at Whewell's will。 。。。more
Mariah Birgen
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This was an absolutely fascinating tale of the evolution of British math and science from natural philosophy to science。
Bob Gustafson
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This book is excellent。 As the title suggests， this book is fundamentally four interwoven biographies of British natural philosophers who met at Cambridge University in 1811 and had breakfast together。 They decided to do it weekly。 It didn't last for long， but the friendships forged there lasted a lifetime。 They decided that natural philosophy should be a profession of paid intellectuals and that the direction it would take would use the philosophy of Francis Bacon as its guiding light。Natural p This book is excellent。 As the title suggests， this book is fundamentally four interwoven biographies of British natural philosophers who met at Cambridge University in 1811 and had breakfast together。 They decided to do it weekly。 It didn't last for long， but the friendships forged there lasted a lifetime。 They decided that natural philosophy should be a profession of paid intellectuals and that the direction it would take would use the philosophy of Francis Bacon as its guiding light。Natural philosophy had been simply a pastime of some of the royalty， a pastime of some of the bourgeoisie， and the occupation of the few that the royalty or bourgeoisie would sponsor。 The only employments of paid intellectuals were as attorneys or as clergy。 So in addition to being a collection of biographies， this book is also the story of how natural philosophy morphed into something new called "science" and a new profession， scientist， evolved。This book is very much like "The Age of Wonder" by Richard Holmes， which I reviewed previously。 It could be viewed as its sequel。 In fact， handing the two of them together to a graduating high school senior as a graduation gift might be a good idea。 。。。more
D。L。 Morrese
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The lives and times of four （quirky but brilliant） natural philosophers who helped pave the way for future scientists。
Catharine
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A lot of fascinating material on the history of science as well as the four central characters， but I felt the book needed a stronger editorial hand。
SP
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Brilliant and engaging
Duane
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It's hard to imagine a time when four monied gentlemen could sit around and discuss how they had invented a branch of science， or discovered an element， or created the foundation of the modern age。 They， I'm sure， had no idea that they were sowing the seeds of the modern world。 Charles Babbage， John Herschel， William Whewell， and Richard Jones。 Whewell （who not only invented the word “scientist，” but also founded the fields of crystallography， mathematical economics， and the science of tides）， B It's hard to imagine a time when four monied gentlemen could sit around and discuss how they had invented a branch of science， or discovered an element， or created the foundation of the modern age。 They， I'm sure， had no idea that they were sowing the seeds of the modern world。 Charles Babbage， John Herschel， William Whewell， and Richard Jones。 Whewell （who not only invented the word “scientist，” but also founded the fields of crystallography， mathematical economics， and the science of tides）， Babbage （a mathematical genius who invented the modern computer）， Herschel （who mapped the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and contributed to the invention of photography）， and Jones （a curate who shaped the science of economics） were at the vanguard of the modernization of science。 The concentration of will， genius and vision is unparalleled。 。。。more
Mike
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Fascinating stuff - I found myself alternately overwhelmed by the amount of progress that has been made in scientific disciplines in the past 200 years and humbled by the genius of thinkers who were laying the groundwork for scientific thought all the way up to the present。 While I suspect that the author did a little bit of creative editing to protect the narrative of four geniuses from the same school who collectively changed the world， the "breakfast club" is still a staggering group of men w Fascinating stuff - I found myself alternately overwhelmed by the amount of progress that has been made in scientific disciplines in the past 200 years and humbled by the genius of thinkers who were laying the groundwork for scientific thought all the way up to the present。 While I suspect that the author did a little bit of creative editing to protect the narrative of four geniuses from the same school who collectively changed the world， the "breakfast club" is still a staggering group of men who were inarguably essential to the progress that was made during their time。 A great read for anyone who is interested in the path of scientific progress and the evolution therein。 。。。more
Stephen Case
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The best popular book about John Herschel's life out there right now is not about him only。 It's about him and three friends-- William Whewell， Richard Jones， and Charles Babbage-- who attended Cambridge together and， as Laura Snyder's subtitle has it， "transformed science and changed the world。" With the exception of perhaps Babbage （the most irascible of the bunch） not many people have heard of the others， but Snyder brings them to life using their published works and unpublished correspondenc The best popular book about John Herschel's life out there right now is not about him only。 It's about him and three friends-- William Whewell， Richard Jones， and Charles Babbage-- who attended Cambridge together and， as Laura Snyder's subtitle has it， "transformed science and changed the world。" With the exception of perhaps Babbage （the most irascible of the bunch） not many people have heard of the others， but Snyder brings them to life using their published works and unpublished correspondence to build a compelling， interwoven narrative of their lives and work。The book is episodic， dipping into their lives at various points， highlighting their incredibly varied careers。 Whewell functions as a center of sorts， probably due to the fact that he was the focus of some of Snyder's previous research。 She covers his rise from humble beginnings to centrality in the British scientific community of the mid-1800s as master of Trinity College， Cambridge; his seminal works that established the field of the history and philosophy of science; and his pioneering of big， government-funded science with his program of organizing worldwide tide observations。Jones， perhaps the most obscure of the bunch， steps slightly out of the shadows with Snyder's rounded personal portrait and outline of his work: establishing a political economy in the context of the work of Malthus and Ricardo but inductive and empirical in opposition to their deductive approach。 In Babbage we get a glimpse of his stormy disposition and even stormier relationship with the British government and many of his scientific peers， the design and partial construction of his famous computing machines， and some discussion on his work on cryptography。 Finally， Herschel， the most polyvalent of all-- Snyder gives here a good sketch of his astronomical career， his early chemical investigations， and his pioneering work on photography。What holds these disparate characters and their wide-ranging interests together， besides their friendship and the slew of letters that passed between them for decades？ Snyder's organizing theme is that in their student days at Cambridge they formed a Philosophical Breakfast Club （always capitalized in her account） with a self-conscious and self-declared purpose to transform science by professionalizing it and establishing true Baconian induction as its methodology。 Thought it makes a good narrative umbrella， I think her Breakfast Club is largely a narrative device。 It's certainly true that Babbage， Herschel， Whewell， and Jones （along with others） met regularly for breakfasts at Cambridge and reflected fondly on these memories in later days， but they never talk about it （and certainly never title it） as such an organized society in their letters （not as they do the Analytical Society， for example， which Herschel and Babbage were instrumental in forming around this same time）。 She's reified their socializations into something more for the same of her narrative， which is an understandable creation。 Popular narratives need something to hang together on。I think she's on more stable ground with her emphasis on the Baconian approach in their scientific careers （at least those of Whewell， Jones， and Herschel）。 Though they didn't make a clear manifesto in their student days， they did carry out this program in their work and writings throughout their lives。 Whewell and Herschel especially advanced and even defined this approach for their generation。 Snyder emphasizes the influence of their work on Darwin and in an afterward holds up Maxwell as an embodiment of their approach， illustrating their influence on science even though no theories bear the names of Herschel or Whewell。Snyder's claims as to the role of the Breakfast Club on the professionalization of science are a bit fuzzier。 Snyder does an excellent job showing how the practice of science changed in Britain during the lifetime of these men， but here it's more difficult to trace these transformations to the work of these four men alone。 Whewell did originally coin the term "scientist，" and promoted large-scale government-sponsored investigations， and Babbage and Herschel both worked to reform the Royal Society of London， and all three were eventually influential in the British Association for the Advancement of Science-- but they were certainly not alone in this and even among themselves had quite distinct differences of opinion。 Snyder， for instance， points out that Herschel continually resisted greater government involvement and sponsorship of science。 She also recognizes that all four would have been dismayed by the fragmentation of knowledge that professionalization and specialization in science has resulted in。The only real danger here is that her account is so Anglo-centric。 A general reader might be excused after reading this to assume from Snyder's book that the transformation of natural philosophy into modern science came about entirely in a British context。 This certainly is not the entire story， but apart from some discussion of the influence of Kant's philosophy and a meeting of European scientists being the germ for Babbage's original proposal for the BAAS， we get very little discussion of the context of the Breakfast Club's work in light of a wider European scene。 The rise of professional chemistry in Germany and the restructuring of the German university system， the birth of French analysis in the classrooms of Parisian artillery academies-- these are just a couple things happening on the periphery of Snyder's British story that feed into the overall professionalization of science （which actually was a bit slower in Britain than elsewhere）。 A nod in this direction and some discussion of whether Herschel and company were influenced or helped influence these wider trends would have been helpful for general readers。In all though， for a popularization of the science during this period and for portraits of the men who were influential in many of these changes， this is a great book and an ideal place to start if you're interested in digging deeper into any of the various topics or individuals explored。 。。。more
Barak
，
An excellent exposition of the "vestiges" of modern science， demonstrated by Snyder through four key players: William Whewell （of whom she is a known scholar）， John Herschel， Charles Babbage， and Richard Jones。Despite already possessing relatively good knowledge of both the period and some of these players （even to the extent of reading some works by them and writing essays about them） there were still both new facts and minutiae that were new to me。 It was interesting to discover and rediscover An excellent exposition of the "vestiges" of modern science， demonstrated by Snyder through four key players: William Whewell （of whom she is a known scholar）， John Herschel， Charles Babbage， and Richard Jones。Despite already possessing relatively good knowledge of both the period and some of these players （even to the extent of reading some works by them and writing essays about them） there were still both new facts and minutiae that were new to me。 It was interesting to discover and rediscover some of the connections between the protagonists and other eminent people of their time， scientists （or natural philosophers）， artists and others。Also， I was always curious about Whewell's death falling off a horse at 75， and was glad to discover in the book the story behind it， as well as other facts of his personal life I was not aware of before。Lastly， I've just finished before reading this book Darwin's biography （by Desmond and Moore， 1991） and was also aware of both his connections with the first 3 （not sure about Darwin and Jones） and Whewell's reply letter to him concerning "On the Origin。。。"。Having Snyder analyzing Whewell's tentative rejection of Darwin's theory （using technical terms such as Whewell's "consilience"） was a real treat， even if my own interpretation agrees with hers only to some extent （I believe Whewell's methodological hesitation lies more in Darwin's explication of ideas （in genetics， in statistics） and hence the "strength" of the coligation （or if one wills， the status of the induction as a true one） - that is， his deductive part - than in the consilience part）In any case， the book is a very good one， and can be enjoyed by both academics， laymen， or someone in between， such as yours truly。 。。。more
Phil Cerveny
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What an interesting history that demonstrates that one or a few people can make a big difference to for the betterment of society。
Donna
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Excellent book about the tremendous influence on science of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage， John Herschel， William Whewell， and Richard Jones。 Just to mention a few of the stories that particularly struck me:Whewell's work on tides which included what must have been the first global crowd-sourced science project in which he got people around the world to take tidal measurements every 15 minutes for the same two week period。Herschel as one of the inventors o Excellent book about the tremendous influence on science of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage， John Herschel， William Whewell， and Richard Jones。 Just to mention a few of the stories that particularly struck me:Whewell's work on tides which included what must have been the first global crowd-sourced science project in which he got people around the world to take tidal measurements every 15 minutes for the same two week period。Herschel as one of the inventors of photography。 I never would have guessed that the word "snapshot" was from the very earliest days of photography。 I was also intrigued by the description of the camera lucida， which I had never heard of。I was surprised to find that life on other planets was an accepted idea as it would have been wasteful of God to have created them and not populated them。That even in the 1820's there was a mistrust of mathematics （because people couldn't understand it） that harmed the support of science。I'm glad I got around to reading this。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Rosalie
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A couple of years on and I still love this book。 It has led me down so many interesting spin-offs， such as Caroline Herschel's diaries。 It still keeps having an impact。 I will be reading an article or a new history book and something from Laura's history will come into view。 Astonishing and remains so。 A couple of years on and I still love this book。 It has led me down so many interesting spin-offs， such as Caroline Herschel's diaries。 It still keeps having an impact。 I will be reading an article or a new history book and something from Laura's history will come into view。 Astonishing and remains so。 。。。more
Glynn
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This is a book about 4 friends who in college （or the British equivalent） would meet in one of their rooms and have breakfast together。 They would then talk philosophy， which was actually science but in the 1800s there wasn’t anything like a scientist， it was all philosophy。 Later， they go on road trips which aren’t all partying and drinking but actually scientific road trips with many discoveries （and some drinking。） Over the years they stay in touch through good times and hard times， which rea This is a book about 4 friends who in college （or the British equivalent） would meet in one of their rooms and have breakfast together。 They would then talk philosophy， which was actually science but in the 1800s there wasn’t anything like a scientist， it was all philosophy。 Later， they go on road trips which aren’t all partying and drinking but actually scientific road trips with many discoveries （and some drinking。） Over the years they stay in touch through good times and hard times， which really impressed me， and the author gives you the feel for the actual real people and their daily lives。 It was a tough life in the 1800s。 They weren’t ordinary people like you or me but they were geniuses。 British geniuses。 I knew a little about 2 of them: Babbage and Herschel; but not about Whewell or Jones。Anyway， these guys pretty much invented the concept of science and the scientific method （in Britain at least） and this is a fascinating book about that。 They were men in a time when one could study science of all types and still have a poetic sense of awe at the workings of nature。 There are lots of dry sections where the author expounds on things over my head， like the workings of the difference engine a huge machine which Babbage envisioned， with tons of gears and numbers engraved on it， which was actually the precursor of the modern computer （back in the 1800s they had computers but they were people， not machines） and I tried a bit to understand but also had to keep on reading。 There are witty parts which kept me going to the end and I really actually enjoyed this book a lot。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Steve Van Slyke
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An enjoyable read about the men who were at center stage when natural philosophy became science and the age of specialization began。 Generalists became a dying breed and the future belonged to botanists， physicists， computer scientists， geologists， etc。 Mores the pity？ I particularly enjoyed the knowledge that Charles Darwin was a young man during these men's ascendance and that he undoubtedly followed them and their works very closely。 It is likely that they made it easier for him to finally pr An enjoyable read about the men who were at center stage when natural philosophy became science and the age of specialization began。 Generalists became a dying breed and the future belonged to botanists， physicists， computer scientists， geologists， etc。 Mores the pity？ I particularly enjoyed the knowledge that Charles Darwin was a young man during these men's ascendance and that he undoubtedly followed them and their works very closely。 It is likely that they made it easier for him to finally present his paradigm shifting theory to the world。 。。。more
Science For The People
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Featured on Science for the People show #253 on February 21， 2014， during an interview with author Laura J。 Snyder。 http://www。scienceforthepeople。ca/epi。。。 Featured on Science for the People show #253 on February 21， 2014， during an interview with author Laura J。 Snyder。 http://www。scienceforthepeople。ca/epi。。。 。。。more
Hood Thabit
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