Atkins P. Galileo's Finger: The Ten Great Ideas of Science

New York: Oxford University, 2003. — 363 p. — ISBN 9780198609414, 0198609418Why Galileo's finger? Galileo, one of whose fingers is preserved in a vessel displayed in Florence, provided much of the impetus for modern science, pointing the way out of medieval ignorance. In this brilliant account of the central ideas of contemporary science, Peter Atkins celebrates the effectiveness of Galileo's symbolic finger for revealing the nature of our universe, our world, and ourselves. Galileo's Finger takes the reader on an extraordinary journey that embraces the ten central ideas of current science. "By a great idea," writes Peter Atkins, "I mean a simple concept of great reach, an acorn of an idea that ramifies into a great oak tree of application, a spider of an idea that can spin a great web and draw in a feast of explanation and elucidation. With wit, charm, and patience, Atkins leads the reader to an understanding of the essence of the whole of science, from evolution and the emergence of complexity, to entropy, the spring of all change in the universe; from energy, the universalization of accountancy, to symmetry, the quantification of beauty; and from cosmology, the globalization of reality, to spacetime, the arena of all action.My intention is for us to travel to the high ridges of science," Atkins tells us. "As the journey progresses and I lead you carefully to the summit of understanding, you will experience the deep joy of illumination that science alone provides. Galileo's Finger breaks new ground in communicating science to the general reader. Here are the essential ideas of today's science, explained in magical prose.
Atkins presents a breathtaking review of present understanding, Madliox J., Times Literary Supplement. a charming and ambitious book, Nature. It is a testament to [Atkins'] skills as a writer and tutors that, despite the subject matter, it is difficult to get lost. Atkins has a gift for making complex principles very clear. . This book is the perfect guide for the intelligent lay person who has always wanted to understand science more deeply, but has never known where to begin. — Mark Henderson, The Times.Prologue: The Emergence of Understanding
Evolution: The Emergence of Complexity
DNA: The Rationalization of Biology
Energy: The Universalization of Accountancy
Entropy: The Spring of Change
Atoms: The Reduction of Matter
Symmetry: The Quantification of Beauty
Quanta: The Simplification of Understanding
Cosmology: The Globalization of Reality
Spacetime: The Arena of Action
Arithmetic: The Limits of Reason
Epilogue: The Future of Understanding
Further reading
Acknowledgements