Search results for ""author tony rothman""

Whether discussing theories of cosmology, the physics of making a violin, or the impact of magazine covers on potential buyers, physicist and writer Tony Rothman brings the worlds of the scientist and nonscientist closer together, with amusing and enlightening results. These essays, which bear the mark of Rothman's outspoken humor and dislike for pretense, convey essential ideas to general readers on such topics as the future of the universe, the design of particle accelerators, the intelligent use of statistics, and the making of quality musical instruments. At the same time they provide insight into how the mind of a scientist works, not only in research but also in the "real" world of three-piece suits and mass media. The outlook of physicists, according to the author, often puts them at odds with nonscientists--but Rothman never hides his points of disagreement. In his title essay on being a major magazine editor, he recalls using bell curves and elementary statistics in an attempt to convince the circulation department that fluctuations in sales are unavoidable (despite what they thought). Although Rothman claims that scientists do enjoy playing the role of Faust, the scholar in eternal pursuit of Truth, his essays attest to a scientific interest fully in tune with human concerns. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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These iconoclastic and witty essays are about what happens when scientists jump on band-wagons. Tony Rothman applies creative skepticism to contemporary fashions in science, including the "standard model" Big Bang theory, geodesic domes, the concept of nuclear winter, and sociological applications of the second law of thermodynamics. "Rothman proves himself an excellent communicator...I am grateful to him for he has enlarged my vision, increased my understanding, and made me more aware of the beauty of the patterns and connections of all the world."--Dick Kovan, New Scientist "These six delightful essays address and substantiate the sociological underpinnings of the scientific enterprise...I highly recommend this volume of excellent essays that remind us all of the 'folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truth, and oneself for an oracle...'"--Dennis W. Cheek, Science Books & Films Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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A concise introduction to the greatest questions of modern cosmology.What came before the big bang? How will the universe evolve into the future? Will there be a big crunch? Questions like these have no definitive answers, but there are many contending theories. In A Little Book about the Big Bang, physicist and writer Tony Rothman guides expert and uninitiated readers alike through the most compelling mysteries surrounding the nature and origin of the universe.Cosmologists are busy these days, actively researching dark energy, dark matter, and quantum gravity, all at the foundation of our understanding of space, time, and the laws governing the universe. Enlisting thoughtful analogies and a step-by-step approach, Rothman breaks down what is known and what isn’t and details the pioneering experimental techniques scientists are bringing to bear on riddles of nature at once utterly basic and stunningly complex. In Rothman’s telling, modern cosmology proves to be an intricate web of theoretical predictions confirmed by exquisitely precise observations, all of which make the theory of the big bang one of the most solid edifices ever constructed in the history of science. At the same time, Rothman is careful to distinguish established physics from speculation, and in doing so highlights current controversies and avenues of future exploration.The idea of the big bang is now almost a century old, yet with each new year comes a fresh enigma. That is scientific progress in a nutshell: every groundbreaking discovery, every creative explanation, provokes new and more fundamental questions. Rothman takes stock of what we have learned and encourages readers to ponder the mysteries to come.

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Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries Japan was totally isolated from the West by imperial decree. During that time, a unique brand of homegrown mathematics flourished, one that was completely uninfluenced by developments in Western mathematics. People from all walks of life--samurai, farmers, and merchants--inscribed a wide variety of geometry problems on wooden tablets called sangaku and hung them in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. Sacred Mathematics is the first book published in the West to fully examine this tantalizing--and incredibly beautiful--mathematical tradition. Fukagawa Hidetoshi and Tony Rothman present for the first time in English excerpts from the travel diary of a nineteenth-century Japanese mathematician, Yamaguchi Kanzan, who journeyed on foot throughout Japan to collect temple geometry problems. The authors set this fascinating travel narrative--and almost everything else that is known about temple geometry--within the broader cultural and historical context of the period. They explain the sacred and devotional aspects of sangaku, and reveal how Japanese folk mathematicians discovered many well-known theorems independently of mathematicians in the West--and in some cases much earlier. The book is generously illustrated with photographs of the tablets and stunning artwork of the period. Then there are the geometry problems themselves, nearly two hundred of them, fully illustrated and ranging from the utterly simple to the virtually impossible. Solutions for most are provided. A unique book in every respect, Sacred Mathematics demonstrates how mathematical thinking can vary by culture yet transcend cultural and geographic boundaries.

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