New Curriculum

[DoomYoshi]

By Yoshi Law, all Earth Citizens must read this book:
http://www.amazon.ca/Little-History-Science-William-Bynum/dp/0300136595

It's written for 10-year olds, so don't be intimidated.

[BigBallinStalin]

I don't support foreign countries.

[DoomYoshi]

I don't support foreign countries.

It's an American book.

[BigBallinStalin]

I don't support foreign countries.

It's an American book.

Through a Canadian website? Nasty.

[DoomYoshi]

I don't support foreign countries.

It's an American book.

Through a Canadian website? Nasty.

Amazon is an American Corporation. The fact that is says ".ca" is more a testimony to how much of a failure/lie NAFTA was. We aren't allowed to buy books from American websites in Canada without paying tremendous shipping fees (sometimes as high as 20 dollars).

[BigBallinStalin]

I don't support foreign countries.

It's an American book.

Through a Canadian website? Nasty.

Amazon is an American Corporation. The fact that is says ".ca" is more a testimony to how much of a failure/lie NAFTA was. We aren't allowed to buy books from American websites in Canada without paying tremendous shipping fees (sometimes as high as 20 dollars).

By "shipping fees," do you mean tariffs? You might want to bring that up with your Canadian government.

[2dimes]

Look here you. One does not just "bring that up with" the Canadian government.

Can you afford to "bring that up with" the Canadian Government? If Yoshi could he would have his accounting department take care of the fees.

[Lootifer]

Someone should report BBS for PS style hyjacking.

[saxitoxin]

Look here you. One does not just "bring that up with" the Canadian government.

Whatever happened to this chick? I think she got set adrift on an ice flow in Nunavut or something.

[BigBallinStalin]

Someone should report BBS for PS style hyjacking.

[Lootifer]

Mmm, twas a cheap shot, what what. Im tired ok.

[nietzsche]

Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A major disappointment, December 23, 2012
By J. Rodriguez "Loves a good story" (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: A Little History of Science (Hardcover)
I love books that look at the history of ideas and was quite disappointed by the old-fashioned, timeline minus analysis approach of this book. The lack of analysis made the book less interesting than it should have been - part of the joy of thinking about the history of science is seeing the gradual or sudden insights into physical world or the world of mathematical ideas and how these insights led to changes in how human beings saw their place in the world.

It was also old-fashioned in the sense that the West was front and center in every age, including times when there was little of scientific interest taking place in Europe. Additionally, the author downplays important Chinese and Indian contributions to science and scientific thought by comparing them to contemporary understandings and not to their historical peers. There is no presence of Mayan astronomy or mathematics, or anything else that would indicate that people were doing anything that might be described as scientific thinking in the Americas.

3.0 out of 5 stars A Little History of Science - A Review January 28, 2013
By Upstate New York Reader
Format:Hardcover
Bynum's book is not an exciting read - rather it is a survey of the people (and some events) that have defined science from its earliest beginnings in Babylon, China, India, etc., through the modern era. The reader gets little of the sense of excitement felt as the ideas contributed by the great men of science built upon each other's discoveries year after year, decade after decade.

I felt as if I was reading an overly long encyclopedia entry. The book provided a glimpse at the people who contributed to various fields of scientific inquiry, but more complete research would be needed to really understand the history of science. For example, as the early history of Chinese science was discussed, I found myself opening up Google to discover more about the Great Chinese Wall and the Grand Canal of China.

As people were mentioned, there was little focus on the actual science. Though the book provided a helpful timeline to explore the history of science, it did little to help the reader see the connections between the milestones that defined its progression. Thus, though the book came from a major university press, I found the writing more suitable for a high school or liberal arts audience than a readership with a more specialized scientific training.
______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy of this book provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring, second hand information, November 26, 2012
By Annie Termaat - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Little History of Science (Kindle Edition)
I bought this book as a consequence of a review in the Guardian. I am a teacher of science in secondary schools, and read a popular science book a week. I have also conributed to a number of science textbooks, with a focus on narrative and purpose.

There was very little in this book that was original and interesting. The s tyle may appeal to a 12 year old, but I could not see a child that age purchasing this, as there are a number of wackier, more colloquial and exciting offerings around (which are spoecifically written for that age group).

There is an over-emphasis of science by men. There are few conceptual links between chapters. The scientific developments have not been explained in relationship to other events: political, epidemiological, and environmental occuring in the world, which may help people understand why science happened.

There was a moment when I became excited by Arabic science (as there is little information on examples that occured). I am currently working in a Muslim country and more acknowledgement of the great ideas of non-Western cultures to global movements. no, soon it was back to same old, same old.... Ultimately, you could do better with other books.