false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178138662m/763029.jpg 763029 3 Physics textbooks identify Thomas Young (1773-1829) as the experimenter who first proved that light is a wave--not a stream of corpuscles as Newton proclaimed. In any book on the eye and vision, Young is the London physician who showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-color theory of vision confirmed only in 1959. In any book on ancient Egypt, Young is credited for his crucial detective work in deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much he knew.<BR>Invited to contribute to a new edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Young offered the following subjects: Alphabet, Annuities, Attraction, Capillary Action, Cohesion, Colour, Dew, Egypt, Eye, Focus, Friction, Halo, Hieroglyphic, Hydraulics, Motion, Resistance, Ship, Sound, Strength, Tides, Waves, and anything of a medical nature. He asked that all his contributions be kept anonymous. <BR>While not yet thirty he gave a course of lectures at the Royal Institution covering virtually all of known science. But polymathy made him unpopular in the academy. An early attack on his wave theory of light was so scathing that English physicists buried it for nearly two decades until it was rediscovered in France. But slowly, after his death, great scientists recognized his genius.<BR>Today, in an age of professional specialization unimaginable in 1800, polymathy still disturbs us. Is this kind of curiosity selfish, even irresponsible? Here is the story of a driven yet modest hero, the last man who knew everything. 114682 7 12 2005 The Last Man Who Knew Everything: Thomas Young, The Anonymous Polymath Who Proved Newton Wrong, Explained How We See, Cured the Sick, and Deciphered the Rosetta Stone, Among Other Feats of Genius total:42|5:11|4:12|3:8|2:8|1:3| 42 146 107 14 1 1 false false Wed May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 27 17:05:52 -0800 2007 Wed May 28 22:35:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 15:11:33 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 10:23:42 -0800 2009 1
This is also a very dry book, but, seriously, it's incredibly difficult to make physics sexy. Not to me...more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 27 09:00:24 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 18 09:14:20 -0800 2007
I don't think I can add anything more to the comments Sam wrote about this book here on 05/02/07. ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 17:56:12 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 08:54:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 19:33:48 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 19:42:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 07 14:41:11 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 07 14:48:39 -0800 2007
I have to admit, before reading this book, the word "polymath" was not in my vocabulary. However, now that it is I'll...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 20 10:29:33 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 10:31:58 -0700 2008
This book was a humbling experience, and would be, I think, fo anyone that considers themselves smart/intellectual/gifted/etc. The story of Thomas Young, who was not only highly intelligent, but also spent an amazi...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed May 02 13:44:38 -0700 2007 Wed May 02 13:46:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Feb 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 05 07:50:30 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 26 11:27:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 04 18:37:54 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 18:36:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 15:34:20 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 15:35:06 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Dec 03 15:43:31 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 17:54:57 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Tue Oct 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 12:22:25 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 12:22:48 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jul 22 09:48:37 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 09:48:37 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Nov 28 05:47:51 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 05:48:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 08:48:22 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 08:48:22 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 31 22:44:12 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 22:44:12 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 30 08:41:19 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 08:41:23 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 22 21:19:14 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 21:19:14 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 14 06:50:13 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 06:50:13 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=763029