To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science in Science and Inquiry

Sep 13, 2021 Jim marked it as did-not-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: science, 1audio, 2non-fiction, historical

A lot of good information, but it bogged down in too many details & weird names. I kept losing interest. If I knew Greek & Arabic history & names better, I'd probably have enjoyed it more. Well narrated, but I kept zoning out. I took a break a couple of times & returned to it, but finally abandoned it about halfway through. ...more

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Jun 11, 2017 Bob Finch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science

I picked this up on a whim, having read many years ago Weinberg's "Dreams of a Final Theory". I genuinely enjoyed this new book, although it took me time to get used to the author's approach. That is, most writers of history are loathe to judge the past by standards of the present. Weinberg does just that, and dutifully informs the reader in his introduction. This can make "To Explain the World" seem a little preachy at times and might offend a few readers. I got used to it and came to appreciat I picked this up on a whim, having read many years ago Weinberg's "Dreams of a Final Theory". I genuinely enjoyed this new book, although it took me time to get used to the author's approach. That is, most writers of history are loathe to judge the past by standards of the present. Weinberg does just that, and dutifully informs the reader in his introduction. This can make "To Explain the World" seem a little preachy at times and might offend a few readers. I got used to it and came to appreciate it.

Weinberg's somewhat off-putting method to achieve his unorthodox approach was via frequent digressions (progressions?) from the historical account into the present as a way to both contrast and, at times discount, methods and concepts used in the past with current understanding. He was especially harsh on purpose and beauty as conceptual paradigms so common among the classic Greek philosophers. So my initial reaction was negative, but once I got into the flow of the narrative, I relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the story.

And what a great story! Presented in a clearly understandable chronological order (periodic "progressions" notwithstanding), the reader can readily follow how ideas, concepts and theories built upon past attempts and led to further (at times fitful) refinements and improvements in understanding the world around us.

Weinberg largely limits his story to the history of cosmology through the study of the planets and their motions; that is, not much chemistry, biology, etc., though he occasionally gives a nod to other disciplines. This felt entirely appropriate and serves well as a lesson in how science in any field is actually done (Weinberg is especially critical of Bacon and Descartes, who espoused a rigorous scientific method, though I thought the author a bit too harsh on Descartes). Weinberg nicely describes the transition in scientific study from an overwhelmingly deductive approach (a la Plato and Aristotle) to an increasingly inductive one (a la Galileo and Newton). I found this whole approach very refreshing and informative.

Also refreshing was Weinberg's emphasis on how different physical models can achieve the same or closely similar results. Weinberg specifically noted that Ptolemy's model of an Earth-centric solar system works fine to account for most planetary motions, and that the acceptance of a heliocentric system was not because the latter accounted for most observations any better. This helps makes the story of one such shift in our understanding all the more fascinating, and serves as a cautionary note in feeling overly confident in our current models.

Weinberg writes for the average, potentially math-phobic, reader and does so admirably. Fortunately, he helps round out the quantitative explanations missing from the main text by providing a very thoughtful appendix with 33 technical notes tied to discussions in the main text. I read most of the text without perusing the technical notes, which I read separately after finishing the main text. The appendix is a highly enjoyable read in itself, adding depth and increased understanding to the more qualitative narrative in the main text. Even with these notes, Weinberg keeps the math to a minimum, relying on elementary geometry, algebra and a little trigonometry (his rare dives into differential calculus are so well explained that I found myself wishing I had him as a math instructor when I first learned calculus!). Even math-averse readers will learn a lot from Weinberg's technical notes.

In the end, I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of science.

On a more negative note, I do take issue with the subtitle "The discovery of modern science" and found Weinberg's explanation for it in the introduction unsatisfactory. The term "discovery" intimates a pre-existing more-or-less static object that is found intact by some discoverer(s). Modern science is an approach not a thing. Modern science has developed over time, evolving to its current state through human effort (and is likely to continue to evolve), as Weinberg himself makes abundantly clear in this excellent book. ...more

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