Science and pseudoscience : a conversation with Michael Gordin / edited with an introduction by Howard Burton.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Burton, Howard, editor.

Series:

Ideas Roadshow Conversations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pseudoscience.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (61 pages)

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : Ideas Roadshow, [2020]

Summary:

This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Michael Gordin, Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Princeton University. This thought-provoking, extensive conversation examines the strange case of Immanuel Velikovsky, author of the bestselling book "Worlds in Collision" that managed to provocatively combine unbridled scientific speculation with ancient myth, as a way of probing the often-problematic boundary between science and pseudoscience.By all accounts, Velikovsky was a decidedly curious character. The notorious Russian-born doctor-turned psychoanalyst-turned astronomer-historian-autodidact not only had a flair for writing and boatloads of charisma and energy, he also was on record for making a couple of concrete predictions of his radical new theory of the solar system that turned out, much to the dismay of the authorities of the day, to actually be correct.This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Harnessing the Fringe, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter. Howard Burton was the Founding Director of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics and an MA in philosophy. This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert in a focused yet informal setting to provide a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks.

Contents:

Intro

A Note on the Text

Introduction

The Conversation

I. A Counterculture Hero

II. An Ideal Case

III. The Lysenko Lesson

IV. A Freudian Cosmology

V. Enter Einstein

VI. Responses and Reactions

VII. Digging In

VIII. Science vs. Pseudoscience

IX. Fringe Benefits

X. Learning From History

XI. Anthropic Digression

XII. Better Science?

Continuing the Conversation.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781771700542

1771700548

OCLC:

1250074589