SCI 481 H01 ST:Readings in the History of Science
Tu & Th 09:45 am - 11:15 am WHIT 104
Instructor(s): Gary Stoudt
The "official" blurb:
In this course, we will study excerpts from the great works of some of the following authors: Newton, Archimedes, Euclid, Apollonius, Kepler, Galileo, and Huygens. We will be reading from the original sources, not secondary sources explaining these works. In this study, we will attempt to place these works in historical context, restate results in modern mathematical and scientific language in order to see the scientists' great insight, and try to see what makes these works "truly great."
The unofficial blurb:
This course has run twice before, so after this time we must either abandon it or make it a new course. The first time we read excerpts from Galileo "Two New Sciences," Kepler "Epitome of Copernican Astronomy," and Newton "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica." The second time we just stuck to "Principia Mathematica."
To be honest, and I think the former students would agree ;-), Newton is rough going. I spent too much time deciphering Newton for the class when what I really wanted was for the class to decipher him for me. In other words, I did most of the work. This time around I am thinking we will work on one of the following: Galileo "Two New Sciences" or Archimedes "Works." I am hoping with these works the students can better understand what is going on and we can have more give and take in class.
Galileo is responsible for a lot of cool stuff, and there has been plenty of talk lately about Archimedes with the auctioning off of a rare manuscript of his work.
I am willing to let the students who sign up for the course decide which author to pursue.
Prerequisites:
This is really designed for upperclass science students, but all classes and majors are welcome. You should have taken calculus, so we at least have a common knowledge base to work from and have a certain "quantitative maturity," so to speak. Remembering your high school geometry will be a plus.
Grading:
A midterm that will mostly deal with content of the work. A paper in which you analyze a "great work" in a scientific discipline of your choice: what is REALLY in it, why was/is it important, what where the circumstances under which it was written, what does it tell us today, etc. Typical homework: work these problems, restate these results, etc. Class presentation(s)