Natural Experiments of History

Natural Experiments of History

Author: Jared Diamond

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2012-10-01

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0674076729

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Some central questions in the natural and social sciences can't be answered by controlled laboratory experiments, often considered to be the hallmark of the scientific method. This impossibility holds for any science concerned with the past. In addition, many manipulative experiments, while possible, would be considered immoral or illegal. One has to devise other methods of observing, describing, and explaining the world. In the historical disciplines, a fruitful approach has been to use natural experiments or the comparative method. This book consists of eight comparative studies drawn from history, archeology, economics, economic history, geography, and political science. The studies cover a spectrum of approaches, ranging from a non-quantitative narrative style in the early chapters to quantitative statistical analyses in the later chapters. The studies range from a simple two-way comparison of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, to comparisons of 81 Pacific islands and 233 areas of India. The societies discussed are contemporary ones, literate societies of recent centuries, and non-literate past societies. Geographically, they include the United States, Mexico, Brazil, western Europe, tropical Africa, India, Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands. In an Afterword, the editors discuss how to cope with methodological problems common to these and other natural experiments of history.


Experiments Past

Experiments Past

Author: Jodi Reeves Flores

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789088902512

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

With Experiments Past the important role that experimental archaeology has played in the development of archaeology is finally uncovered and understood. Experimental archaeology is a method to attempt to replicate archaeological artefacts and/or processes to test certain hypotheses or discover information about those artefacts and/or processes. It has been a key part of archaeology for well over a century, but such experiments are often embedded in wider research, conducted in isolation or never published or reported. Experiments Pasts provides readers with a glimpse of experimental work and experience that was previously inaccessible due to language, geographic and documentation barriers, while establishing a historical context for the issues confronting experimental archaeology today. This volume contains formal papers on the history of experimental methodologies in archaeology, as well as personal experiences of the development of experimental archaeology from early leaders in the field, such as Hans-Ole Hansen. Also represented in these chapters are the histories of experimental approaches to taphonomy, the archaeology of boats, building structures and agricultural practices, as well as narratives on how experimental archaeology has developed on a national level in several European countries and its role in encouraging a wide-scale interest and engagement with the past.


Seeing the Past with Computers

Seeing the Past with Computers

Author: Kevin Kee

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2019-01-24

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0472131117

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Recent developments in computer technology are providing historians with new ways to see—and seek to hear, touch, or smell—traces of the past. Place-based augmented reality applications are an increasingly common feature at heritage sites and museums, allowing historians to create immersive, multifaceted learning experiences. Now that computer vision can be directed at the past, research involving thousands of images can recreate lost or destroyed objects or environments, and discern patterns in vast datasets that could not be perceived by the naked eye. Seeing the Past with Computers is a collection of twelve thought-pieces on the current and potential uses of augmented reality and computer vision in historical research, teaching, and presentation. The experts gathered here reflect upon their experiences working with new technologies, share their ideas for best practices, and assess the implications of—and imagine future possibilities for—new methods of historical study. Among the experimental topics they explore are the use of augmented reality that empowers students to challenge the presentation of historical material in their textbooks; the application of seeing computers to unlock unusual cultural knowledge, such as the secrets of vaudevillian stage magic; hacking facial recognition technology to reveal victims of racism in a century-old Australian archive; and rebuilding the soundscape of an Iron Age village with aural augmented reality. This volume is a valuable resource for scholars and students of history and the digital humanities more broadly. It will inspire them to apply innovative methods to open new paths for conducting and sharing their own research.


Experiments in Rethinking History

Experiments in Rethinking History

Author: Alun Munslow

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780415301466

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

History is a narrative discourse, full of unfinished stories. This collection of innovative and experimental pieces of historical writing shows there are fascinating and important new ways of thinking and writing about the past.


Chemical Magic

Chemical Magic

Author: Leonard A. Ford

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2012-09-19

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 0486136736

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Classic guide provides intriguing entertainment while elucidating sound scientific principles, with more than 100 unusual stunts: cold fire, dust explosions, a nylon rope trick, a disappearing beaker, much more.


Scientific History

Scientific History

Author: Elena Aronova

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-04-02

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 022676141X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Increasingly, scholars in the humanities are calling for a reengagement with the natural sciences. Taking their cues from recent breakthroughs in genetics and the neurosciences, advocates of “big history” are reassessing long-held assumptions about the very definition of history, its methods, and its evidentiary base. In Scientific History, Elena Aronova maps out historians’ continuous engagement with the methods, tools, values, and scale of the natural sciences by examining several waves of their experimentation that surged highest at perceived times of trouble, from the crisis-ridden decades of the early twentieth century to the ruptures of the Cold War. The book explores the intertwined trajectories of six intellectuals and the larger programs they set in motion: Henri Berr (1863–1954), Nikolai Bukharin (1888–1938), Lucien Febvre (1878–1956), Nikolai Vavilov (1887–1943), Julian Huxley (1887–1975), and John Desmond Bernal (1901–1971). Though they held different political views, spoke different languages, and pursued different goals, these thinkers are representative of a larger motley crew who joined the techniques, approaches, and values of science with the writing of history, and who created powerful institutions and networks to support their projects. In tracing these submerged stories, Aronova reveals encounters that profoundly shaped our knowledge of the past, reminding us that it is often the forgotten parts of history that are the most revealing.


Natural Experiments of History

Natural Experiments of History

Author: Jared Diamond

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2012-11

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0674076710

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In eight case studies by leading scholars in history, archaeology, business, economics, geography, and political science, the authors showcase the “natural experiment” or “comparative method”—well-known in any science concerned with the past—on the discipline of human history. That means, according to the editors, “comparing, preferably quantitatively and aided by statistical analyses, different systems that are similar in many respects, but that differ with respect to the factors whose influence one wishes to study.” The case studies in the book support two overall conclusions about the study of human history: First, historical comparisons have the potential for yielding insights that cannot be extracted from a single case study alone. Second, insofar as is possible, when one proposes a conclusion, one may be able to strengthen one’s conclusion by gathering quantitative evidence (or at least ranking one’s outcomes from big to small), and then by testing the conclusion’s validity statistically.


Elephants on Acid

Elephants on Acid

Author: Alex Boese

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Published: 2011-03-21

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 075222686X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Discover a world of outrageous experiments with the Sunday Times top ten bestseller, Elephants on Acid. Guided by Alex Boese's engaging storytelling, unearth answers to questions that have tickled your curious mind – from the unusual to the hilariously absurd. 'Excellent accounts of some of the most important and interesting experiments in biology and psychology' – Simon Singh, author of The Code Book A riveting look at historical experiments that challenge conventional thinking: If left to their own devices, would babies instinctively choose a well-balanced diet? - Discover the secret of how to sleep on planes - Which really tastes better in a blind tasting - Coke or Pepsi? - Would your dog run to fetch help if you fell down a disused mineshaft? - What would happen if you gave an elephant the largest ever single dose of LSD? Elephants on Acid humorously delves into these and more, delivering a unique blend of popular psychology and historical science – a fascinating insight into the bizarre world of scientific experiments.


The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Chemistry for Kids

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Chemistry for Kids

Author: Liz Lee Heinecke

Publisher: Quarry Books

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 1631598309

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Replicate a chemical reaction similar to one Marie Curie used to purify radioactive elements! Distill perfume using a method created in ancient Mesopotamia by a woman named Tapputi! Aspiring chemists will discover these and more amazing role models and memorable experiments in Chemistry for Kids. This engaging guide offers a series of snapshots of 25 scientists famous for their work with chemistry, from ancient history through today. Each lab tells the story of a scientist along with some background about the importance of their work, and a description of where it is still being used or reflected in today’s world. A step-by-step illustrated experiment paired with each story offers kids a hands-on opportunity for exploring concepts the scientists pursued, or are working on today. Experiments range from very simple projects using materials you probably already have on hand, to more complicated ones that may require a few inexpensive items you can purchase online. Just a few of the incredible people and scientific concepts you'll explore: Galan b. 129 AD Make soap from soap base, oil and citrus peels. Modern application: medical disinfectants Joseph Priestly b. 1733 Carbonate a beverage using CO2 from yeast or baking soda and vinegar mixture. Modern application: soda fountains Alessandra Volta b. 1745 Make a battery using a series of lemons and use it to light a LED. Modern application: car battery Tu Youyou b. 1930 Extract compounds from plants. Modern application: pharmaceuticals and cosmetics People have been tinkering with chemistry for thousands of years. Whether out of curiosity or by necessity, Homo sapiens have long loved to play with fire: mixing and boiling concoctions to see what interesting, beautiful, and useful amalgamations they could create. Early humans ground pigments to create durable paint for cave walls, and over the next 70 thousand years or so as civilizations took hold around the globe, people learned to make better medicines and discovered how to extract, mix, and smelt metals for cooking vessels, weapons, and jewelry. Early chemists distilled perfume, made soap, and perfected natural inks and dyes. Modern chemistry was born around 250 years ago, when measurement, mathematics, and the scientific method were officially applied to experimentation. In 1896, after the first draft of the periodic table was published, scientists rushed to fill in the blanks. The elemental discoveries that followed gave scientists the tools to visualize the building blocks of matter for the first time in history, and they proceeded to deconstruct the atom. Since then, discovery has accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At times, modern chemistry and its creations have caused heartbreaking, unthinkable harm, but more often than not, it makes our lives better. With this fascinating, hands-on exploration of the history of chemistry, inspire the next generation of great scientists.