There was a time when curiosity was condemned. To be curious was to delve into matters that didn't concern you - after all, the original sin stemmed from a desire for forbidden knowledge. Through curiosity our innocence was lost.
Yet this hasn't deterred us. Today we spend vast sums trying to recreate the first instants of creation in particle accelerators, out of pure desire to know. There seems now to be no question too vast or too trivial to be ruled out of bounds: Why can fleas jump so high? What is gravity? What shape are clouds? Today curiosity is no longer reviled, but celebrated.
Examining how our inquisitive impulse first became sanctioned, changing from a vice to a virtue, Curiosity begins with the age when modern science began, a time that spans the lives of Galileo and Isaac Newton. It reveals a complex story, in which the liberation – and the taming – of curiosity was linked to magic, religion, literature, travel, trade and empire.
By examining the rise of curiosity, we can ask what has become of it today: how it functions in science, how it is spun and packaged and sold, how well it is being sustained and honoured, and how the changing shape of science influences the kinds of questions it may ask.
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Philip Ball writes regularly in the scientific and popular media and worked for many years as an editor for physical sciences at Nature. His books cover a wide range of scientific and cultural phenomena, and include Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads To Another (winner of the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books), The Music Instinct, Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything, Serving The Reich: The Struggle for the Soul of Science Under Hitler and Invisible: The History of the Unseen from Plato to Particle Physics.
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Da: Persephone's Books, Gastonia, NC, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condizione: Near Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. vii, 465 pp. First printing. The book is slightly cocked. The binding is tight and the text is clean. Codice articolo 070060
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Da: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, Regno Unito
Paperback. Condizione: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Codice articolo GOR003968095
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Da: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, Regno Unito
Condizione: Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Codice articolo GRP95353052
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Da: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, Regno Unito
Condizione: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. Codice articolo rev7629693274
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Da: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Irlanda
First Edition. Fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust-wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: viii, 465 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Subjects: Curiosity. Science History ; Popular works. Genre: Science. Language: English. 1 Kg. Codice articolo 365797
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Da: Cambridge Recycled Books, Cambridge, Regno Unito
Hardcover. Condizione: Good. Condizione sovraccoperta: Good. Pages edges are tanned but appears to have hardly been read. Codice articolo SS29221004014
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Da: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition. Fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-nicked and dust-dulled dust-wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: viii, 465 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Subjects: Curiosity. Science History ; Popular works. Genre: Science. Language: English. 1 Kg. Codice articolo 365797
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Da: PEMBERLEY NATURAL HISTORY BOOKS BA, ABA, Iver, Regno Unito
Condizione: Fine. viii, 465, text figs. . HB. Fine. . [9781847921727]. Codice articolo S53660
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Da: Anytime Books, London, Regno Unito
Soft cover. Condizione: Fine. Where has curiosity led humans? pp486. ARC. Unread. Codice articolo 005779
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Da: Mooney's bookstore, Den Helder, Paesi Bassi
Condizione: Very Good. Codice articolo F328B6876680483
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