Author Archives: John M. Lynch

About John M. Lynch

teacher, historian, biologist, beer snob. not necessarily in that order.

History of Science Society annual meeting

Posted on July 15, 2011 by John M. Lynch

The History of Science Society (HSS) is meeting in Cleveland between November 3rd and 6th. The meeting will be co-located with the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). Registration for … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, History | 1 Comment

[Review] The Genius of Erasmus Darwin

Posted on July 14, 2011 by John M. Lynch

C.U.M. Smith & Robert Arnott, eds. The Genius of Erasmus Darwin , Burlington VT: Ashgate, 2005, xvii + 416 pp., illus, $130. As we approach [This review appeared in Journal of the History of Biology 41(4): 766 – 768 in 2008] the bicentennial of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book Reviews, History | 1 Comment

Why should we care about the history of science?

Posted on July 9, 2011 by John M. Lynch

Why should we care about the history of science? Historian of science Nathaniel Comfort offers his perspective in a multi-part posting. See here, here, here and here.

Posted in History | 1 Comment

Some Thoughts on Historians and Contemporary Anti-evolutionism.

Posted on July 9, 2011 by John M. Lynch

In a recent book review for The British Journal for the History of Science, Thomas Dixon asks what contribution historians of science can make to the debate about intelligent design (ID). As myself and others noted in a 2008 Isis Focus article, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Religion | 3 Comments

WG on Fb

Posted on July 8, 2011 by John M. Lynch

Whewell’s Ghost is now on Facebook! If you are a reader, feel free to “like” our page. Update: And we’re on Twitter!

Posted in Administrative | Leave a comment

[Review] Richard Owen. Biology Without Darwin.

Posted on July 8, 2011 by John M. Lynch

Nicolass Rupke. Richard Owen: Biology without Darwin. xxiv + 344pp., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. $29.00, (paper). The Natural History Museum in London recently unveiled its Darwin Center, the most significant expansion of the Museum since it opened at its present site in … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book Reviews, History, Institutions, Museums, Religion | 1 Comment

Congratulations!

Posted on January 7, 2011 by John M. Lynch

Congratulations to our very own Thony Christie for winning the “Best Individual Blog” Award at the 2010 Cliopatras. The awards were announced last night at the AHA Meeting. Thony’s blog is – if you don’t already know – Renaissance Mathematicus.

Posted in Administrative | 3 Comments

Somewhere in space …

Posted on December 27, 2010 by John M. Lynch

Just a brief notice that, over at Vintage Space, our blogmate Amy Teitel has some recent posts up on the X-15 craft and the Apollo 8 mission.  

Posted in Space Exploration | Leave a comment

The “missing” Darwin-Mivart letters

Posted on December 27, 2010 by John M. Lynch

I’ve been examining the life and work of St George Jackson Mivart for some time now, so the following caught my eye. Creationist journalist, Denyse O’Leary is making much of a claim that the correspondence between Mivart and Darwin has … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, History | 8 Comments

Should Governments Fund Big Science?

Posted on December 20, 2010 by John M. Lynch

Over at The Bubble Chamber, Boaz Miller asks: What stand should humanities and social science people, in particular HPS and STS people, take on this issue? Should they ally themselves with their fellow researchers and support their quest for knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science | 1 Comment