Monthly Archives: February 2012

The disciplinary landscape of the historian of science

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

A post looking at the latest issue of the British Society for the History of Science’s Viewpoint magazine, including some visualisations of the nature and academic landscape of the historian of science. [Read more]

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AAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!!!!!

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

The title of this post is the sound of me screaming in a state of total frustration and despair. Who or what has reduced me to this state of mental despondency? You might well ask and the answer [can be … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Physics | Leave a comment

On this day: the role of anniversaries

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Newspapers, magazines, blogs and Twitter are awash with anniversaries. Today’s Birthdays, On this Day in History, #OTD and so on greet me every morning. I know a handful of famous people or events that share my birthday, and I am … Continue reading →

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John Glenn: The Man Behind the Hero

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Today marks the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s Friendship 7 flight. While he looked and played the part of the heroic astronaut, he wasn’t NASA’s first choice to make the first flight. How Glenn ended up flying this historic mission … Continue reading →

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How far the moon?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Anyone coming to the history of the search for a method to accurately determine longitude through Dava Sobel’s Longitude might be forgiven for thinking that the lunar distance method was just some sort of excuse dreamed up by Neville Maskelyne … Continue reading →

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Giants’ Shoulders #44 The Grand Bazaar Edition

Posted on February 17, 2012 by

The 44th edition of the history of science blog carnival The Giants’ Shoulder: The Grand Bazaar Edition is up at The Renaissance Mathematicus. The 45th edition will be hosted by Dr SkySkull at Skulls in the Stars on 16th March … Continue reading →

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Mr Punch does transits, constellations and coiffures

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

Punch, or the London Charivari is a wonderful source for history of science. It is impossible to think of a popular magazine today including jokes that span politics, science, the arts, classical reference and what we might call observational comedy. [Read more]

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Midwifery in the evolution of science

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

Georg Joachim Rheticus who was born 16th February 1514 was responsible for persuading Copernicus to publish his De revolutionises but who was he? to find the answer go here

Posted in astronomy, Early Scientific Printing, History, mathematics | Leave a comment

Apart from Muhammad Ali there aint no such thing as ‘The Greatest’

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

A post in which I take Larry Moran to task for being stupid and explain why in my opinion the concept of the the greatest in science is rubbish. [read more here]

Posted in General Science, History | Leave a comment

A conversation about science and progress

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

Over on teleskopos, I have tried to recapture a twitter conversation between me (@beckyfh), Thomas Soderqvist (@museionist), Thony Christie (@rmathematicus), James Poskett (@jamesposkett) on science and progress. It all started with a question from @dannybirchall… [Read more]

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