Some people say that the lack of logic classes in schools leads to a lack of critical thinking and hinders our thinking, cognition and communication.
In fact, there is another course that is no less important than logic, but which is valued far less seriously than logic, both by experts and by the general public: the "history of science".
According to Wu Guosheng, an expert on the history of science, there are only a handful of universities that offer courses related to the history of scienceAt the primary and secondary school levels, there are only specific science courses, not the history of scienceFor the average reader, science fiction literature, movies, popular science books, and even biographies of scientists are far more appealing than the history of science.
In fact, in this age where science dominates everythingThere are at least five values in the history of science that deserve to be read again and again.
Value 1: The history of science can be brokenScience misunderstands and sees through the essence of science
When we think of science, the first thing that comes to mind is countless formulas, equations, and conclusions. In fact, this is the biggest misconception of science. The essence of science is a set of dynamic processes such as seeing phenomena, summarizing laws, and proving conclusions with control variable experiments. More important than scientific conclusions is to understand the process of proving conclusions. Therefore, we often hear people say that more important than scientific knowledge is the scientific method.
The history of science is to go back to the scene where science happened and see how scientists proved great conclusions through ingenious experiments. For example, Fizzard's observation of a turtle on a Pacific island to his idea of evolutionary theory, and the elevator thought experiment triggered Einstein's thinking about general relativity.
So,History of ScienceWe can return to the scene of science and understand the essence of science.
Value 2: History of Science, which can bridge the rift between the natural sciences and the humanities.
This is an era when the discipline is serious, and the phenomenon of science and humanities becoming increasingly estranged, incomprehensible and even contemptuous can be seen everywhere. In fact, as the famous British writer ** said, science and humanities are equally important, and not understanding the second law of thermodynamics is just as bad as not understanding Shakespeare.
The history of science is concerned with the process of the development of "science", which itself belongs to the humanities category of "history". In other words, the history of science is concerned not only with the discovery of Newton's laws of mechanics, but also with the social and religious realities of Newton himself and his time. Scientific discovery is inseparable from the nourishment of the soil of humanities, and the progress of humanities also depends on the development of science.
Therefore, the history of science is the only way to make up for the current situation of the discipline of "Taoism is the crack of the world" and to rebuild the cultural bridge between the natural sciences and the humanitiesRoad.
Value 3: History of Sciencecan help us understand the characteristics of Western civilization.
Modern science is undoubtedly a product of Western civilization. Looking back at the history of science, we will find that modern science was born in the context of Western civilization and did not arise out of thin air.
Modern science not only contains the rational spirit of ancient Greece, but also contains the nominalistic ideas of scholasticism, as well as the British experience, mathematical and experimental traditions, and the technical support of Arab civilization. A history of scientific discoveries is also a history of the development of Western civilization.
So,History of Science, YesReturning to the scene of science is also returning to the core of Western civilization and even world civilization.
Value 4: ScienceHistory, which can reflect on Chinese cultural traditions and the current state of science.
Modern science is a unique product of Western civilization, and no modern science has ever been produced in the ancient East, Africa, or the Americas. Therefore, the "Needham question" is actually a false question, and instead of asking why China did not produce science, we should ask why the West produced science.
It is precisely because of the emergence of the history of science that Chinese began to examine the scientific and technological inventions of ancient China, so that they had the answer to Joseph Needham's question, and the great scientific and technological achievements such as Mozi, Zu Chongzhi, Guo Shoujing, and the four great inventions.
So,RightA review of the scientific achievements of ancient and modern China and foreign countries can help us see the scientific and technological achievements of ancient ChinaIt can also help us reflect on the spiritual characteristics of Chinese culture, which emphasizes reality and practicality, and ignores logic and experimental thinkingIt can help us examine the key to China's current science and technology bottleneck - the lack of "scientific spirit".
Value Five:The history of science can help us reflect on modern scientific and technological civilization.
It is a history of the development of science and the destruction of civilization. The burning of coal, oil and mineral resources brings global warming, progress brings war and killing, and insecticides cause a silent spring.
Looking back at the history of science, we can find that whether it is the contempt for technology in ancient Greece, or Rousseau's opposition to industrial and commercial civilization, or the modern civil rights movement's concern for genetically modified organisms and global warming, the development of Western science has always been accompanied by a wave of anti-scientific and technological development.
So,ScienceHistory undoubtedly provides the most perspectives and perspectives to help us examine the gains and losses of modern scientific and technological civilization
Therefore, attaching importance to the value of the history of science is not only the only way to make up for the lack of logic and understand science, but also the only way to understand the similarities and differences between humanities and Eastern and Western civilizations and reflect on modern civilization.
The few works on the history of science on the market, most of which are mostly professional works, are of course immeasurable value, but they undoubtedly increase the difficulty of getting started and reading.
To this end, I recommend a copy of William Bynum, professor emeritus of the history of medicine at the College of London, "Yale's Minimalist History of Science", which is an easy-to-understand "simple" science history book, which undoubtedly makes up for this shortcoming。Bynum has concentrated 5,000 years of human scientific exploration in one book. The book contains the names of well-known scientists, as well as the personal stories of some unknown scientists, and the writing is concise and beautiful, and it is fascinating. It's a great primer on the history of science.
Click on the product card belowYou can collect our exclusive book, A Minimalist History of Science at Yale, with one click.