Words of Science

by Isaac Asimov

Scientific terminology arranged in dictionary form with a full page discussion of the history, root, and meaning of each word.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Reference

275 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.

Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.

Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).

People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.

Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.

Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

Reviews

[Anna Petruk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a blend of history, science and linguistics. I was surprised Isaac Asimov wrote this.

It was recommended to me by a person I admire, so I dived right in. But it took me 4 months to finish it. Why? Because it felt like reading a dictionary. In a way, it was exactly like reading a dictionary.

The book consists of page-long articles, organized alphabetically, about all kinds of scientific terms. Each term is provided with an explanation of its etymology, scientific meaning and a piece of history of science - how this material or process was first discovered, misunderstood for a while, etc.

It reminded me a lot of stuff I've already forgotten from highschool. I picked up a lot of cool and interesting facts. But ultimately I found it hard to read a book without a plot or aim propelling me forward. At times I was really bored and had to push through.

[Valerie]

I am reading this wonderful, time sucking book to my math classes a word at a time. It has long been frustrating to me that they can't decode what certain problems are asking them to do, because they don't understand how to decode or code using Greek and Latin roots.

I've had to remind them that there are only two correct responses when someone is reading outloud to you. One is to listen intently and enjoy the experience of being read to, and the other is to pretend you are listening intently, while daydreaming. Either way you learn something.

I also think it is funny that all Goodreads editions are all Greek to me. Well done, Goodreads librarians, well done.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

An encyclopedic book of 497 scientific words that are in common use today. As well as an explanation of the word the origin of the words is also defined. As you would expect, many of them have their origins in Latin or Greek but many others have surprising or accidental beginnings. Some of them have strayed from the original so that they no make much sense when compared to their roots.

This books is best read in small doses or used as reference materiel, reading it straight would be tough going. I am only giving this book 3 stars because although the book was revised in 1974 (from the 1959 original) there are many entries that are now totally outdated. It would be nice if some current scientist would take this book, revise it once more, and release it as a collaborative work. Neil DeGrasse Tyson would be my first choice.

[Ian Pitchford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in 1974 and the effect it had on my view of knowledge has persisted ever since. What often passes for knowledge is often mere familiarity or recognition rather than the deep understanding that this book exemplifies. I resolved then that I would judge my level of attainment by the extent to which I could explain a concept to someone else. It was much later that I found out this approach is known as the Feynman Technique. I've since added other metrics such as economy of expression and use of memorable phrases and diagrams. In short, Asimov's simple concept for this book became something of a foundation for my future learning.

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this guide, Isaac Asimov explains and provides historical context to some 1,500 scientific terms, arranged under 250 alphabetically arranged "words of science." Yes, the book reads a bit like an encyclopedia, but there is lots of fun here for the general-science buff. Includes an index listing all minor terms and names of relevant scientists.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read quite a few of Asimov’s popular science books over the years, and they are always enjoyable to read in that the personality of the writer shows through quite prominently, whilst dispensing a lot of interesting facts. Words of Science is not the best of these books, but still pretty good in it’s random scattergun approach to science facts.

[Curtiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Doctor shares the origins of various words used in science, in his inimitably enjoyable and informative style.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this series Asimov takes a word and explains it. In the magnificent Asimov way. I will never get tired of reading these books.

[Ivana Krekáňová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although quite an old book (might seem ancient to some, it was published in 1959), it is something of a treat for anyone who likes etymology, and the fact that it was written by Asimov is just the icing on the cake. From the fact that tyrant originally did not mean anything bad to the fact that meander got its name from river Meander in Asia Minor, this is a very informative (and sometimes quite funny) book about etymology of many scientific terms. I mean, just flip the pages to the story of Constantinople and electricity and the story of naming the element niobium, or the role Elizabethan plays had in adding the “funny” meaning to humor! Well worth picking it up in some secondhand bookstore.

[Katok · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting way to look into various scientific disciplines, both entertaining and educational.
I listened to it in audio format and it was just perfect. Maybe, this book suits listening better than reading on paper.

[Curtiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Doctor shares the origins of various words used in science, in his inimitably enjoyable and informative style.