Hitting the Books: How 20th century science unmade Newton's universe

Science is the reason you aren't reading this by firelight nestled cozily under a rock somewhere however, its practice significantly predates its formalization by Galileo in the 16th century. Among its earliest adherents — even before pioneering efforts of Aristotle — was Animaxander, the Greek philosopher credited with first arguing that the Earth exists within a void, not atop a giant turtle shell. His other revolutionary notions include, "hey, maybe animals evolved from other, earlier animals?" and "the gods aren't angry, that's just thunder."While Animaxander isn't often mentioned alongside the later greats of Greek philosophy, his influence on the scientific method cannot be denied, argues NYT bestselling author, Carlo Rovelli, in his latest book, Animaxander and the Birth of Science, out now from Riverhead Books. In in, Rovelli celebrates Animaxander, not necessarily for his scientific acumen but for his radical scientific thinking — specifically his talent for shrugging off conventional notion to glimpse at the physical underpinnings of the natural world. In the excerpt below, Rovelli, whom astute readers will remember from last year's There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important than Kindness, illustrates how even the works of intellectual titans like Einstein and Heisenberg can and inevitably are found lacking in their explanation of natural phenomena — in just the same way that those works themselves decimated the collective understanding of... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-03-12 14:30:52 UTC ]
News tagged with: #technological advances #penguin random house

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Hitting the Books: How 20th century science unmade Newton's universe'

Viking: early book sales ‘promising’

Stationery retailer Viking has reported a “promising” start to its bookselling... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #promising start

Germany joins World Book Night

World Book Night is continuing its international spread, with Germany now set to join the UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Short story 'newspaper' hits bookshops

The team behind the successful book Change the World for a Fiver has launched a free newspaper... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short story

Waterstones launches 'book club' promotion

Waterstones has launched a "book club" promotion, with the strapline: "Books you... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #waterstones launches #book club

German book retailer to restructure to face digital challenge

The earnings of German book retailer Thalia's parent group Douglas Holding will be hit by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Saqi Books launches non-fiction imprint

Independent publisher Saqi Books is to launch a new non-fiction imprint, with plans to publish... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #non-fiction imprint

US book sales hold up, despite Borders collapse and ebook growth

Print books sales in the US fell 9% in 2011, with strong growth in digital sales appearing to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #borders collapse #ebook growth #strong growth

Outlandish science title for Profile

Profile Books is to publish a new take on the origins of life by Royal Society prizewinner Nick... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #profile books

Chinese Writers Sue Apple for Allegedly Hosting Pirated E-books

A group of Chinese writers has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's App Store sells pirated versions of the authors' works. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2012-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

Media Decoder: Author Found on Penguin's Web Site Signs Book Deal

An imprint of Penguin Group USA discovered Kerry Schafer after she posted samples on Bookcountry.com, a site that lets writers share their work. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media decoder

Elton John's first book to Hodder

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired music star Sir Elton John's first book, Love is The Cure... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder stoughton #elton john

Buzz Books at Winter Institute

Ever since Algonquin used the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute to get booksellers to read and fall in love with Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, which sold more than a million copies before being turned into a film, publishers have been using the winter bookselling confab to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #winter institute #sara gruen #million copies #bookseller attendance #chris cleave

Watson joins 10 'unputownables' for TV Book Club

"The TV Book Club" returns to More4 on Sunday 29th January with author S J Watson's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |

R&J Spring Book Club titles announced

Harper has scored two of the eight spots in Richard & Judy's Spring Book Club, with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #richard judy

SMP Looks to Capitalize On Ghonim's Revised Book Tour

At least one publisher is looking to capitalize on some last-minute changes to Wael Ghonim's upcoming book tour to promote Revolution 2.0. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wael ghonim