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Truth or Beauty: Science and the Quest for Order
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Truth or Beauty: Science and the Quest for Order Hardcover - 2012

by David Orrell


From the publisher

In this sweeping book, applied mathematician and popular author David Orrell questions the promises and pitfalls of associating beauty with truth, showing how ideas of mathematical elegance have inspired--and have sometimes misled--scientists attempting to understand nature.

Orrell shows how the ancient Greeks constructed a concept of the world based on musical harmony; later thinkers replaced this model with a program, based on Newton's "rational mechanics," to reduce the universe to a few simple equations. He then turns to current physical theories, such as supersymmetric string theory--again influenced by deep aesthetic principles. The book sheds new light on historical investigations and also recent research, including the examinations ongoing at the Large Hadron Collider. Finally, broadening his discussion to other fields of research, including economics, architecture, and health, Orrell questions whether these aesthetic principles reflect an accurate way to explain and understand the structure of our world.

Details

  • Title Truth or Beauty: Science and the Quest for Order
  • Author David Orrell
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 356
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Yale University Press
  • Date 2012-11-27
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780300186611 / 0300186614
  • Weight 1.28 lbs (0.58 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.22 x 6.34 x 1.18 in (23.42 x 16.10 x 3.00 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Science - History, Science - Aesthetics
  • Dewey Decimal Code 501

Media reviews

Citations

  • Choice, 05/01/2013, Page 0
  • Quill & Quire, 01/01/2013, Page 30

About the author

David Orrell is an applied mathematician and popular author. In early 2012, he completed an honorary visiting research fellowship at the Oxford University Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

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Truth or Beauty: Science and the Quest for Order
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by Orrell, David

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