A Modern-Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court and other essays on science

by Alan Lightman

The author offers a collection of essays that addresses questions ranging from why scientists do their most original work in their youth, and how progress has handicapped society to the physiology of a smile to the mysteries of the night sky

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Science

183 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 1988

About the author

Alan Lightman is an American writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. Born in 1948, he was educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a PhD in theoretical physics. He has received five honorary doctoral degrees. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities. He is currently professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. His scientific research in astrophysics has concerned
black holes, relativity theory, radiative processes, and the dynamics of systems of stars. His essays and articles have appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper’s, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, Salon, and many other publications. His essays are often chosen by the New York Times as among the best essays of the year. He is the author of 6 novels, several collections of essays, a memoir, and a book-length narrative poem, as well as several books on science. His novel Einstein’s Dreams was an international bestseller and has been the basis for dozens of independent theatrical and musical adaptations around the world. His novel The Diagnosis was a finalist for the National Book Award. His most recent books are The Accidental Universe, which was chosen by Brain Pickings as one of the 10 best books of 2014, his memoir Screening Room, which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the best books of the year for 2016,
and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine (2018), an extended meditation on science and religion – which was the basis for an essay
on PBS Newshour. Lightman is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also the founder of the Harpswell Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to advance a new generation of women leaders in Southeast Asia.” He has received the gold medal for humanitarian service from the government of Cambodia.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more elementary and not as comprehensive as Bill Bryson's a Short History of Nearly Everything but a delight to read nonetheless. And it has a ghost as well as a time traveler; what else could one possible want?

[Aaron Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised that this book isn't assigned as reading for young people in academia. Alan Lightman in a AMDYIACC has written many great short stories based on science. These short stories incorporate scientific principles and their historical progression, literary creative fiction, and an element of novelty. It is very hard to describe how Lightman has written these stories. Nevertheless, Lightman provides coherent, creative and unique prose on a array of scientific and philosophical subjects ranging from how nuclear bombs work and affect mankind to narratives involving how science history has illuminated life exponentially. I found a new appreciation for science based subjects because of Lightman's creative writing approach.