âThose seeking a grand overview of scienceâs greatest hits over the past century will find it hereâ (The Washington Post). Peter Watsonâs bold history of science offers a powerful argumentâthat the many disparate scientific branches are converging on the same truths.
Convergence is a history of modern science with an original and significant twist. Various scientific disciplines, despite their very different beginnings, have been coming together over the years, converging and coalescing. Intimate connections have been discovered between physics and chemistry, psychology and biology, genetics and linguistics. In this groundbreaking book, Peter Watson identifies one extraordinary master narrative, capturing how the sciences are slowly resolving into one overwhelming, interlocking story about the universe.
Watson begins his narrative in the 1850s, the decade when, he argues, the convergence of the sciences began. The idea of the conservation of energy was introduced in this decade, as was Darwinâs theory of evolutionâboth of which rocketed the sciences forward and revealed unimagined interconnections and overlaps between disciplines. Decade after decade, the story captures every major scientific advance en route to the present, proceeding like a cosmic detective story, or the worldâs most massive code-breaking effort.
âFascinatingâŚHighly recommendedâŚWatson treats biology, chemistry, and physics as entangled plotlines, and readersâ excitement will build as more connections are madeâ (Library Journal, starred review). Told through the eyes of the scientists themselves, charting each discovery and breakthrough, Convergence is a âmassive tour de forceâ (Publishers Weekly) and a gripping way to learn what we now know about the universe and where our inquiries are heading.
âThose seeking a grand overview of scienceâs greatest hits over the past century will find it hereâ (The Washington Post). Peter Watsonâs bold history of science offers a powerful argumentâthat the many disparate scientific branches are converging on the same truths.
Convergence is a history of modern science with an original and significant twist. Various scientific disciplines, despite their very different beginnings, have been coming together over the years, converging and coalescing. Intimate connections have been discovered between physics and chemistry, psychology and biology, genetics and linguistics. In this groundbreaking book, Peter Watson identifies one extraordinary master narrative, capturing how the sciences are slowly resolving into one overwhelming, interlocking story about the universe.
Watson begins his narrative in the 1850s, the decade when, he argues, the convergence of the sciences began. The idea of the conservation of energy was introduced in this decade, as was Darwinâs theory of evolutionâboth of which rocketed the sciences forward and revealed unimagined interconnections and overlaps between disciplines. Decade after decade, the story captures every major scientific advance en route to the present, proceeding like a cosmic detective story, or the worldâs most massive code-breaking effort.
âFascinatingâŚHighly recommendedâŚWatson treats biology, chemistry, and physics as entangled plotlines, and readersâ excitement will build as more connections are madeâ (Library Journal, starred review). Told through the eyes of the scientists themselves, charting each discovery and breakthrough, Convergence is a âmassive tour de forceâ (Publishers Weekly) and a gripping way to learn what we now know about the universe and where our inquiries are heading.