The Scientific iemper

Transcription

1 Yellow Buttons at the Top and Bottom of pages indicate links Anthony R.Michaelis The Scientific iemper An Anthology of Stories on Matters of Science To _ Synopsis If you wish to skip introductoly matter To... The Author's Watercolor Paintings IT0 Preface - Internet Edition I I A limited number of copies of The Scientific Temper is available for purchase from the author. Each book contains color pictures of the author's 13 original watercolor illustrations to the contents. To purchase a copy of the book send a bank check of Euro 36 or U.S. $45 to: Dr. Anthony Michaelis, The Augustinum, Heidelberg 69126,Germany. Universitatsverlag C. WINTER Heidelberg

2 The Scientific Temper is the Spirit of our Time at its best. It tries, wherever possible, to introduce Science into the Culture of Men and Women for their Benefit.

3 j Die Deutsche Bibliothek - cip-einheitsaufnahme Michaelis, Anthony R.: The Scientific Temper: An Anthology of Stones on Matter of Science I Anthony R. Michaelis. - Heidelberg: Winter, 2001 ISBN The watercolour illustrations are the work of the author. For the explanations of the details of the medal on the front and back cover, see page 528,Title 439 A ISBN I This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways and storage of databanks A. R. Michaelis Printed in Germany. Imprimt en Allemagne Publisher: Universitatsverlag C. Winter Heidelberg GmbH Printing: Betz-Druck GmbH, Darmstadt Printed on acid-free paper

4 THE SCIENTIFIC TEMPER Is for me the Spirit of our Time at its best. Trying, wherever possible, to introduce Science into the Culture of Men and Women for their Benefit. The Scientific Temper is not a new ethos and has guided many great scientists in the past. It was central to the philosophy of Nehru, himself a trained scientist, when he was able to introduce Science as a significant influence to solve the many problems of India. To him, the application of reason to human affairs and a disinterested search for truth, were the criteria which guided his life, but he did not succeed in overcoming all of India s conservative and popular beliefs [See Title I first came across the phrase Scientific Temper in the article by Professor S. Gopal Nehru and Science in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews VollOI2, p. 105 (1985) where Gopal discussed Nehru, after he became India s first Prime Minister in It also occurs often in Jawaharlal Nehru on Science and Society, A Collection of his Writings and Speeches, edited by Balder Singh, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi The short, interdisciplinary scientific stories in this book reflect a few examples of my own scientific temper as an influence on human affairs and culture, which I was able to find, report and publish. A.R.M The Augustinum Heidel berg V

5 A Token of Thanks First and foremost I want to thank my Father for sending me from Berlin to London in September 1933 and I therefore escaped the Nazi terrors. I deeply regret that he never saw the results of his wisdom and foresight. I have tried to follow his example, his spirit of liberal tolerance, his unselfish devotion to work for the benefit of others, and his great dedication to culture and science. Much later I met Stefanie Maison who became my partner in life and who gave me the love and all-embracing help without which I could not have written this book. I can never be grateful enough for all the happiness she gave me. My sincere gratitude goes to the many scientists who gave me their time, talking to me about their work, or writing about their research; most of them are mentioned in this book by name. A special thankyou goes to Romila Thapar for her Foreword. I also appreciate the great ease which my Macintosh Powerbook, my first electronic aid, afforded me in writing this book, as compared to my previous mechanical typing experience. But my computer would not always co-operate with me, and I was sometimes forced to capitulate. However, two good friends, Gunter Heyden in London and Dr Volker Thewalt in Wiesenbach, came to my rescue, and I should like to thank them both. Last, but not least, I am very grateful to the team of the Universitatsverlag C. Winter Heidelberg, the oldest in the town, tracing its origin back to 1801, a period when they published the books of Justus von Liebig. Two hundred years later, their task of converting my computer disks into this elegant book was no doubt equally onerous, and I would like to thank Ruprecht Schulze, Eilert Erfling and Gisbert Pisch, as well as Olaf Lange and the excellent Designer, very much for their efforts on my behalf. I enjoyed the professional knowledge and skill of Margit Roth-Fein which ensured the accuracy of the Indexes, and for that I am most grateful to her. VII

6 Foreword Professor Romila lhpac, Emeritus, Ancient Indian History, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a Member of the ISR Editorial Board. Author s Collection. VIII

7 Foreword It is indeed a privilege and a pleasure for me that Dr Anthony Michaelis has asked me to write a Foreword to this book. I am a historian and not a scientist and the justification for my writing this Foreword is, (as he has reminded me), that I am his oldest academic friend. I met Anthony Michaelis in 1957 when he was editing Discovery. I had returned from a brief visit to a couple of historical and archaeological sites in China and he asked me to contribute an article on the subject. Getting to know him involved much discussion on science and its contribution to human civilisation. He insisted that science, if properly used, could be immensely beneficial to human society. I had some reservations about the possibility of monitoring science, given the kinds of ambitions nurtured by those who have used it unwisely. But if it could be monitored then the best fantasies of science fiction would cease to be fiction. This was all part of an on-going discussion that took place over the years on my occasional visits to London and his to Delhi. I was also intrigued by the range of his interests, reflected in part by the many scientific objects that he collected. Some were easily identified but others were puzzling pieces of earlier technologies. It was in a sense this range of interests that prompted him to think of the idea of a journal based on interdisciplinary research. In this case it meant the inter-weaving of ideas into and from science, through various disciplines, both from the sciences and from the humanities. Many of us were intellectually excited by the Journal, which in its own special way, was doing what Anthony Michaelis always believed in - the possibilities of a creative use of science: in fact a fundamental aspect of what has been called a Scientific Temper. For those of us who have been his friend over many years,* reading his autobiography is to recall conversations with him. But even more than that it is to recognise once again the high quality of his commitment to the human good. April 2001 Romila Thapar * See Title 341 IX

8 PREFACE FOR THE INTERNET EDITION This book can, of course, be read like any other book from page 1 to page 530. A full Synopsis (1 to 14) which appears in the back of the printed edition has now been brought to the forefront and each entry on the synopsis pages has been linked to the actual Title page. This allows the reader to click on any item listed on the synopsis pages and go directly to that Title page. Each page of this book contains a full story. It is hoped that this, perhaps, NOVEL approach allows for easier reference to a special interest of the reader. A full Index of Names and a full Index of Subjects complete the book.