Research Catalog
Beauty and the beast : the aesthetic moment in science
- Title
- Beauty and the beast : the aesthetic moment in science / Ernst Peter Fischer ; translated from German by Elizabeth Oehlkers.
- Author
- Fischer, Ernst Peter, 1947-
- Publication
- New York : Plenum Trade, ©1999.
Items in the Library & Off-site
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | Q172 .F546913 1999 | Off-site |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Wright, Elizabeth Oehlkers
- Description
- xiv, 202 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- In this engaging treatise, science historian Dr. Ernst Peter Fischer puts forth a convincing appeal to both the public and scientists, urging us to reconsider the way we arrive at the truth in science. Encouraging us to approach science with all our senses, Fischer posits a universal aesthetic sense that spurs our imagination and leads it to profound revelations about human and cosmic nature. He delves into the lives of major thinkers and scientists from Bacon to Watson and Crick, pinpointing how they have been guided by their instinct and individual sense of beauty in the pursuit of knowledge.
- Showing how the aesthetic delights of thought, analysis, research, and discovery are leading components of the scientific mind and process, he examines everything from snowflakes to the overall makeup of the space-time continuum. He explores these concepts and others including the golden mean, evolution, symmetry in nature, as well as imaginary numbers and irrationality as proof of beauty in science. He presents truth as a state of beauty - and beauty as the embodiment of truth. This book will appeal to lay people and scientists alike.
- Uniform Title
- Schöne und das Biest. English
- Alternative Title
- Schöne und das Biest.
- Subject
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-197) and index.
- Contents
- Beginning with a Fairy Tale: Beauty and the Beast -- 1. Aesthetic Science: Beautiful Ideas and Elegant Experiments -- 2. All that Beauty Can Be: The Lengthy Consideration of a Simple Concept -- 3. The Irrational Measure of Things: The Long and Short of the Golden Section -- 4. On Illumination of the Soul: How Pleasing Pictures Lead Science to the Truth -- 5. Beauty in Revolution: The Aesthetics of Scientific Progress -- 6. The Distinct Form of Symmetry: A Look in the Mirror and Other Operations -- 7. Perception and Selection: The Origin of Beauty and How It Determines Our Lives -- 8. New Values for Science: An Appeal for the Aesthetic Transformation of Scientific Research -- Epilogue: Ending with a Dream: The Scientist and Beauty.
- ISBN
- 0306460114
- 9780306460111
- LCCN
- 99017913
- OCLC
- ocm40762705
- 40762705
- SCSB-737574
- Owning Institutions
- Princeton University Library