Chaos and Harmony: Perspectives on Scientific Revolutions of the 20th Century

Thaun, Trin Xuan

Thuan recounts how a profound change in our worldview has come about, as the Newtonian picture of a sterile mechanistic and deterministic world, which dominated Western thought for 300 years, has, in the 20th century, given way to a liberated world brimming with creativity. We now recognise that reality is moulded by contingent events. The book details, in clear prose, how this sweeping change in world view has come about, using examples drawn from Astronomy, Physics, Biology and Mathematics. The science is presented soberly and accurately, but the book is suffused with passion and effectively communicates the feelings and values which accompany scientific understanding.

EAN

9780195129175

Publisher

Oxford University Press Inc

Published

15 February 2001

Pages

380