The Grand Contraption: The World as Myth, Number, and Chance

350 Pages·2007·30.374 MB·English

by  David Park

(cid:1) THE GRAND CONTRAPTION (cid:1)
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THE GRAND CONTRAPTION
(cid:1) (cid:1) (cid:1)
The World as Myth, Number and Chance
David Park
princeton university press
princeton and oxford
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Copyright © 2005 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock,
Oxfordshire OX20 1SY
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Park, David Allen, 1919–
The grand contraption : the world as myth, number, and chance/David Park.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-12133-8 (acid-free paper)
1. Science—History. 2. Science—Social aspects. 3. Science and civilization. I. Title.
Q125.P323 2005
509—dc22 2004022624
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Sabon
Printed on acid-free paper.
pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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(cid:1) CONTENTS (cid:1)
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xiii
ONE
Voices from the Sands 1
1.1 The Biblical Universe 1
1.2 Tales from Sumer and Egypt 6
1.3 Two More Worlds 15
1.4 Deluge 18
1.5 The Twisted Axle 22
TWO
Managing the World 26
2.1 Dramatis Personae 27
2.2 The Lower Tier 31
2.3 The Shape of the World 35
2.4 Fortune-Telling 40
2.5 The Stars Move Westward 44
2.6 Guiding Hands 47
THREE
Guesswork 54
3.1 A Mass of Rock 54
3.2 Ionians 57
3.3 Earth, Sun, Moon, and Law 60
3.4 A World Made of Numbers 62
3.5 Change and Eternity 68
3.6 Theories of Matter 72
3.7 Atoms and the Pursuit of Happiness 78
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vi • Contents
FOUR
Earth and Heaven 83
4.1 Law and Nature 83
4.2 Measuring Months and Years 87
4.3 Plato’s Fantasy 88
4.4 Aristotle’s Optimism 96
FIVE
Beginnings and Endings 107
5.1 Time and Space 107
5.2 Creation 111
5.3 The Universe Recycled 116
5.4 The End of Everything 120
SIX
Philosophy Continued 126
6.1 The Stars in Motion 126
6.2 Stars, Earth, and Numbers 132
6.3 Omens and Demons 136
6.4 Remembrance of Things Past 142
6.5 Motes of Dust 148
6.6 The Great Design 153
INTERLUDE
The World Map 161
I.1 Earth and Cosmos 162
I.2 Explorers and Traders 164
I.3 The Christian Earth 168
I.4 Travelers’ Tales 172
I.5 The Age of Exploration 180
SEVEN
Toward a New Astronomy 190
7.1 The Sun Stands Still 191
7.2 The Mathematical Plan 197
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Contents • vii
7.3 The World Observed 204
7.4 A World Invented 210
7.5 Isaac Newton 217
EIGHT
What Is the World Made Of? 225
8.1 Atoms Reborn 226
8.2 Transformations 228
8.3 A Theory of Matter 231
8.4 Atoms and Numbers 233
8.5 Ether and the Nature of Light 239
NINE
The Universe Measured 245
9.1 Surveyors at Work 245
9.2 The Age of the Earth 251
9.3 The Long Descent of Man 255
TEN
The Exploding Universe 269
10.1 The Cosmos in Motion 269
10.2 The Big Bang 272
10.3 What’s Out There? 279
ELEVEN
The View from Here 283
11.1 Is There Anyone Else? 283
11.2 The Best of All Possible Worlds? 286
11.3 Will It Ever End? 289
11.4 Reflections 292
References and Further Reading 297
Bibliography 311
Index 327
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