Waller presents 13 mythical stories in total, starring such scientific icons as Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Charles Darwin and Alexander Fleming. In most cases, the scientists that were directly involved are shown to manipulate reality to edify their own myths. In the other, maybe more interesting, cases, the myth was created without the participant's intervention. Each story is well researched and the bibliographic sources are listed and correctly credited. For me, each plot was completely unexpected, illuminative and interesting. Waller's CV includes a Masters in human biology, and this explains his proficiency in the complex subjects of biology and medicine. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and social structure of science.
Anatomical terms are the vocabulary of medicine. Anatomy began as a descriptive science in the days when Latin was the universal scientific language. Early anatomists described the structures they saw in that language, comparing them to common and familiar objects, or borrowing terms from the Greek and Arabic masters before them. In anatomic terminology, common Latin or Greek words are used as such for any part of the body for which the ancients had a name. For many other structures, scientific names have been invented either by using certain classical words which appear to be descriptive of the part concerned, or commonly, by combining Greek or Latin roots to form a new compound term. Memorization of such terms without understanding their meaning can lead to mental indigestion.
Derived from the content of the respected McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th Edition, each title provides thousands of definitions of words and phrases encountered in a specific discipline. All include: * A pronunciation guide for every term * Acronyms, cross-references, and abbreviations * Appendices with conversion tables; listings of scientific, technical, and mathematical notation; tables of relevant data; and more * A convenient, quick-find format
Items in this Dictionary have been researched by anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists, linguists, psychiatrists, psychologists, semioticians, and others who have studied human communication from a scientific point of view.
Throughout human history, thoughts, values and
behaviours have been coloured by language and the prevailing view of
the universe. With the advent of Quantum Mechanics, relativity,
non-Euclidean geometries, non-Aristotelian logic and General Semantics,
the scientific view of the world has changed dramatically from just a
few decades ago. Nonetheless, human thinking is still deeply rooted in
the cosmology of the middle ages. This is the book to change your way
of perceiving yourself - and the universe. Some say it's materialistic,
others call it scientific and still others insist it's mystical. It is
all of these - and none. The book for the 21st Century, complete with
exercises. Picks up where "Prometheus Rising" left off. Some say it's
materialistic, others call it scientific and still others insist it's
mystical. It is all of these - and none.
Waller presents 13 mythical stories in total, starring such scientific icons as Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Charles Darwin and Alexander Fleming. In most cases, the scientists that were directly involved are shown to manipulate reality to edify their own myths. In the other, maybe more interesting, cases, the myth was created without the participant's intervention. Each story is well researched and the bibliographic sources are listed and correctly credited. For me, each plot was completely unexpected, illuminative and interesting. Waller's CV includes a Masters in human biology, and this explains his proficiency in the complex subjects of biology and medicine. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and social structure of science.
Anatomical terms are the vocabulary of medicine. Anatomy began as a descriptive science in the days when Latin was the universal scientific language. Early anatomists described the structures they saw in that language, comparing them to common and familiar objects, or borrowing terms from the Greek and Arabic masters before them. In anatomic terminology, common Latin or Greek words are used as such for any part of the body for which the ancients had a name. For many other structures, scientific names have been invented either by using certain classical words which appear to be descriptive of the part concerned, or commonly, by combining Greek or Latin roots to form a new compound term. Memorization of such terms without understanding their meaning can lead to mental indigestion.
