With wit, charm, and insight, Peter Atkins offers a fascinating guided tour of ten revolutionary ideas that changed science--and our view of the world--forever. Here is a thought-provoking introduction to such pivotal ideas as evolution by natural selection, the structure of DNA and its role in heredity, the conservation of energy, entropy, the atomic structure of matter, the realization that waves behave like particles and particles behave like waves, the expanding universe, the curvature of space, and Godel's theory of incompleteness. Atkins in effect presents ten studies in the history of ideas, not simply discussing the idea in its final form, but also describing the historical backdrop, often from the ancient Greeks on forward, to give an intriguing look at humanity as it groped toward the final blinding insight. For instance, Atkins explores the notion of the atom from Heraclitus and Lucretius right up to Erwin Schrodinger and Nils Bohr, from the earliest understanding to our present belief. We also see how the central concept of energy gradually dawned on scientists as they mastered the motion of particles and the concept of heat. And in considering Godel's theory, we also learn the origin of numbers and arithmetic, see how the philosophy of mathematics lets us understand the nature of this most cerebral of subjects, and are brought to the limits of its power. Galileo's Finger provides an intriguing primer on the essential ideas of Western science. It is an extraordinary volume that not only will make you literate in science, but also give you deep enjoyment on the way.
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