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Discarded Science: Ideas That Seemed Good at the Time...
by
John Grant (Goodreads Author)
Alchemy, the flat earth theory, lost worlds, and aliens among us: these ideas once seemed plausible the acquisition of virtues through cannibalism, and much more!
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
October 28th 2006
by Artist's and Photographers' Press Ltd
(first published September 28th 2006)
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I thought this was going to be one of those toilet books - dip in and dip out, with short articles about each bit of 'discarded science', whatever that meant. I don't read in the toilet. I hate that kind of book.
Instead, it was actually very good! Grant resisted the temptation to only write about the weird, or the amusing; theories that were genuinely scientific, but just happened to be wrong, are included alongside the ones that were totally crackpot, deluded or (in my opinion) down...more
Instead, it was actually very good! Grant resisted the temptation to only write about the weird, or the amusing; theories that were genuinely scientific, but just happened to be wrong, are included alongside the ones that were totally crackpot, deluded or (in my opinion) down...more
view all 5 comments
In short, this is a nice "bathroom book"; short overviews of various attempts to describe the natural world that have not quite panned out (like spontaneous generation) mixed with the usual psuedo-science (UFOs) and the religious/mythological explanations of the natural/historical world (Creationism/Ancient Astronauts). The book isn't what I would call deep - many of the individual ideas the author examines get a few pages, at most.
But, the writing is crisp, the succinctness...more
But, the writing is crisp, the succinctness...more
I am not a scientist. On the other hand, I tend not to enjoy literature about science that is patronising. John Grant walks a happy middle line that tends to spin from people who so obviously love their subject.
Kozmo Kliegl
added it
shows that that people could rely on incorrect info well after the real truth becomes evident as well as some outright quackery preying on ignorance & gullibility.
An example not mentioned is the idea of a Geocentric Universe could hold until centuries after Galeleo found proof otherwise but the Church refuse to lose face (despite that they were using the Heliocentric model in secret)could support the Ptolemaic view and it turned that Aristarchus had the correct idea in the 3rd Cent...more
An example not mentioned is the idea of a Geocentric Universe could hold until centuries after Galeleo found proof otherwise but the Church refuse to lose face (despite that they were using the Heliocentric model in secret)could support the Ptolemaic view and it turned that Aristarchus had the correct idea in the 3rd Cent...more
Oddly enough, this book caused me to laugh aloud numerous times. It was interesting, scary, and funny. A little dense at times. Seemed to stop very apruptly.
Essentially Grant takes a look at the many scientific theories that have been held and then dismissed over time, going back to the Greeks. Of course the multiple opponents to Evolution play a major role but there are other views that have been held. Like Huygens in the 17th Century who thought that because Earth's moon existed fo...more
Essentially Grant takes a look at the many scientific theories that have been held and then dismissed over time, going back to the Greeks. Of course the multiple opponents to Evolution play a major role but there are other views that have been held. Like Huygens in the 17th Century who thought that because Earth's moon existed fo...more
This one left me a little uneasy. It's easy to look back at some of the wackier ideas that once dominated scientific discourse, but it's alarming to think at how dogmatic scientists have been throughout the ages. It makes you wonder which of today's sacred cows are doomed to fall before an increased understanding of the universe. A little humility is a positive thing, but thanks to John Grant, it's not without some laughter.
Discarded Science is about scientific theories that were believed at one point. I find this book both funny and interesting. The ludicrous ideas some people came up with make this book pretty good. I can best describe it as the freak show of science.
Amy
added it
Fun Science book about some ideas that didn't quite work out.
Sam
marked it as to-read
Fun/research.
If you think you have had some bad ideas just read over this.
Grant takes a survey of some of the not so clever ideas in various sciences. He likes to poke fun at Nazi Science, and the negative influences of Christianity on scientific thought.
Grant takes a survey of some of the not so clever ideas in various sciences. He likes to poke fun at Nazi Science, and the negative influences of Christianity on scientific thought.
I was disappointed with this book. The topic is very interesting, but the author's prose was a little too dismissive and juvenile.
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John Grant is author of some seventy books, of which about twenty-five are fiction, including novels like The World, The Hundredfold Problem, The Far-Enough Window and most recently The Dragons of Manhattan and Leaving Fortusa. His “book-length fiction” Dragonhenge, illustrated by Bob Eggleton, was shortlisted for a Hugo Award in 2003; its successor was The Stardragons. His first story collection,...more
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