The Story of Science: Newton at the Center
by Joy Hakim
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joy HakimBrand: Books
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-25
ISBN: 1588341615
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Smithsonian Books
Book Reviews of The Story of Science: Newton at the Center
Book Review: I returned my copy for a refund.
Summary: 1 Stars
I was sorely disappointed by the actual content- the text, the *words* which were supposed to communicate something of the glory and wonder of science to my children.
The book had promise- I was impressed with a my first glance in the bookstore. It's beautifully laid out- lovely pictures, interesting sidebars- but once I sat down and tried to read the text, those sidebars were horribly, awfully distracting. I don't know who chose the formatting, but it's guaranteed to interrupt any chain of thought a reader might have. At least one 'sidebar' interrupted the flow of a passage in midsentence, then the 'sidebar' continued on, taking up two entire pages before returning to the next word in the interrupted sentence!
It's like a commercial or a video game- distracting to the utmost. I also thought the writing was choppy, a little bit condescending, and very much designed to foster a sort of vacuous, uninformed arrogance in the student.
Ancient history, says a well educated homeschooling father I've read from time to time, should not be taught as 'how the peasants lived back then,' because we really aren't any smarter than those who went before us. We stand on their shoulders so we have more information at our fingertips, information they discovered, but we are not smarter than they. It is a natural tendency to think that we are 'it,' that nobody has thought the thoughts we have, figured out the things that we know, and that we have advanced beyond any society before us. This is a superficial understanding at best, and a broad study of history should go a long way toward correcting that. Unfortunately, Hakim's book encourages that attitude. She does seem to teach science history along the lines of 'how the peasants lived.'
At the beginning of her book she hubristically tells her students that when they finish reading her book they will know more than Isaac Newton. Since he invented Calculus, that's just a bizarre thing to say. She's feeding her readers a false image of what it means to 'know' and what knowledge is, and just who Isaac Newton really was. They will, perhaps, have more facts at their disposal, assuming they remember everything.
They will know more history, since much of what is in her book happened after Newton's death. But will they have more knowledge than Isaac Newton? That is highly doubtful, and it does not do students any favors to confuse knowledge with a handy list of data points.
Summary of The Story of Science: Newton at the Center
In volume two, students will watch as Copernicus's systematic observations place the sun at the center of our universe?to the dismay of establishment thinkers. After students follow the achievements and frustrations of Galileo, Kepler, and Descartes, they will appreciate the amazing Isaac Newton, whose discoveries about gravity, motion, colors, calculus, and Earth's place in the universe set the stage for modern physics, astronomy, mathematics, and chemistry.In the three-book The Story of Science series, master storyteller Joy Hakim narrates the evolution of scientific thought from ancient times to the present. With lively, character-driven narrative, Hakim spotlights the achievements of some of the world's greatest scientists and encourages a similiar spirit of inquiry in readers. The books include hundreds of color photographs, charts, maps, and diagrams; informative sidebars; suggestions for further reading; and excerpts from the writings of great scientists.
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