“Whereas there is nothing more necessary for promoting the improvement of Philosophical Matters, than the communicating to such, as apply their Studies and Endeavours that way, such things as are discovered or put in practise by others; it is therefore thought to employ the Press, as the most proper way to gratifie those, whose engagement in such studies, and delight in the advancement of Learning and profitable Discoveries, doth entitle them to the knowledge of what this Kingdom, or other parts of the World, do, from time to time, afford, as well of the progress of the Studies, Labours, and attempts of the Curious and learned in things of this kind, as of their compleat Discoveries and performances; To the end, that such Productions being clearly and truly communicated, desires after solid and usefull knowledge may be further entertained, ingenious Endeavours and Undertakings cherished, and those, addicted to and conversant in such matters, may be invited and encouraged to search, try, and find out new things, impart their knowledge to one another, and contribute what they can to the grand design of improving Natural knowledge, and perfecting all Philosophical Arts, and Sciences. All for the Glory of God, the Honour and Advantage of these Kingdoms, and the Universal Good of Mankind.” – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, The Introduction. Volume 1, 1665.
Science is about telling stories: I did such and such, and as a result this thing happened; then I made this change, and something different happened. That’s it. Scientists are storytellers trying to answer the questions “how?” and “why?”. Of course, modern science tends to rely lots of expensive equipment to generate data sets involving thousands (if not millions or billions) of individual measurements. We are sequencing genomes at a frantic pace, building giant colliders in search of the illusive Higgs bosun, and beginning to understand the molecular processes that occur inside our brains when we feel or think. There are many excellent blogs that explain these advances and their numerous implications.
This blog will not be one of them.
I am a modern scientist (a microbiologist, to be exact). I benefit daily from all of the technological resources available to me. I cannot even begin to imagine what the boundaries of science will look like in 10, 50, or 100 years. I know that whatever I could imagine would likely fall far short.
Yet, all of these technological marvels cannot really begin to compare with the first age of scientific discovery. Between 1600 and 1900 scientists working without computers, mostly without electricity, laid the foundation upon which modern science is based- gravity, the cellular basis of life, taxonomy, the atom, and evolution.
The goal of this blog is to tell their stories – their triumphs and failures, their quirks and foibles, their wonder and joy. I hope to let them tell their stories in their original words, while I supply a bit of commentary and clarification. At the end of each post I will include a list of references, with a decided preference for those resources accessible beyond academia. Your comments, suggestions, and ideas are deeply appreciated.
Search. Try. Find. Impart. Contribute.
Old School Science 