Category Archives: Science

Cutting a dash: men of science as ‘historical hotties’

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I had a bit of fun this week tweeting links to portraits of some 19th-century men of science, suggesting that they were ’19thC scientific hotties’. Such a phrase is not, I should add, my usual vocabulary, and nor is a … Continue reading →

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Inside a Herbarium (finding history amongst the science)

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

This week I had the pleasure of seeing inside the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. I have, very often and from earliest childhood, enjoyed walking in the gardens and hothouses, but this was the first time I … Continue reading →

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Geologizing Women into the Field!

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

Geology usually requires outdoor activities in remote, inhospitable, hazardous or dirty environments. At the beginning of the 19th century it was hard to imagine that a gentleman would engage voluntarily in such an activity and it’s seemed even less comprehensible … Continue reading →

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Being wrong is not a crime; knowing what’s right and deliberately saying the wrong thing is!

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

Inspired or, perhaps better said, provoked by my last post mathematician and artist Edmund Harriss has written a thoughtful post on the virtues of being wrong at his blog Maxwell’s Demon. This reaction to my post has prompted me to try to explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Historiography, History, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Frauds, Fakes and Fossils

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Almost every student of earth sciences knows the hoax perpetuated on poor Dr. Johann Bartholomäus Adam Beringer (1667-1738), often told in textbooks as warning of blind faith and argument from authority in science. However careful study of the still existing “lying … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Geology, History, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

The place of science in history and history in science

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

As an historian of science working between two museum sites and with people researching or communicating both history and science, I often feel I’m a stuck-record, piggy-in-the-middle, harping on to the historians to pay attention to the science and the … Continue reading →

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Lisa commits the ‘father of’ sin.

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

What is wrong with the expression ‘father of’? A mild rant!

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

A Manned Mission to Venus

Posted on December 18, 2011 by

Before the Apollo program had even started manned flights, NASA was looking forward and planning its post-lunar missions. A new goal using existing hardware developed for the lunar program was ideal, so NASA commissioned a study on possible application of … Continue reading →

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More Science than Fiction

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

Science-fiction stories and movies are not only entertainment for a rainy day but also mirrors of the scientific abilities, ambitions, even anxieties of a society. A short overview about tales and movies shows this evolution. The decade of 1950 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Environmental History, Geology, Humour?, Science, Teaching HPS | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Science in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Posted on December 12, 2011 by

Last week I was back in Edinburgh and visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This has just reopened after renovations and I took time to consider the depiction of science in the murals of its Main Hall, and a new display … Continue reading →

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