The Discoverers (Knowledge Series Book 2)

by Daniel J. Boorstin

culture, the story of Man the

While he drew on the best observations made before him, he emphasized the need for repeated, increasingly precise observation. In fact, Ptolemy was a harbinger of the scientific spirit, an unsung pioneer of the experimental method. In trigonometry,

Meanwhile, Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos remained the bible of astrology. It was republished twice—once in England, once in Germany—during World War II, when it still was thought useful.

fact, the

The Chinese, perhaps because they were not confused by belief in a “soul,” were not blocked by notions of optical

emissions from the eye. Instead they studied the activity of light rays coming from the object.

“And yet with all this, the Chinese astronomers take no pains whatever to reduce the phenomena of celestial bodies to the discipline of mathematics.… they

Since Roman custom in his time forbade dissection