Description
Book SynopsisNamed a Top Ten Book of 2011 by Physics World, UK.There are many books that endeavor to bridge the gap between scientists and laymen, yet too many overemphasize the presentation of scientific findings as hard facts and end up alienating readers from the critical thinking processes involved in science.Whiting attempts to break away from the norm in this revolutionary review of popular astronomy books written from 1833 to 1944. He examines these important works by acknowledged authorities in the field to see how they have stood the test of time. Where the luminaries have failed, he looks for clues that the layman reader could have used to raise doubts about what was being said. The aim of this highly accessible book is to develop tools for the non-scientist to evaluate the strange and marvelous results that astronomers report, in place of the highly-developed scientific and mathematical techniques available to the scientists themselves. A must-read for all science and astronomy enthusiasts.
Table of ContentsOne Question and Two Ironies; Positions, Orbits and Calculations; Sir John Herschel, Treatise on Astronomy, 1833; Sir George Bidell Airy, Popular Astronomy, 1848; Heat, Light and The Milky Way; Sir John Herschel, Outlines of Astronomy, 1868; Simon Newcomb, Popular Astronomy, 1878; Sir Robert Ball, In the High Heavens, 1893; Simon Newcomb, Astronomy for Everybody, 1902; Quanta and Curved Space; Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, Stars and Atoms, 1927; Sir James Jeans, The Universe Around Us, 1929; Sir James Jeans, The Universe Around Us, 1944; How Far Can You Trust an Astronomer?.
