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His
tory
of S
cien
tific
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History of Scientific Communication
AGED 520V
His
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books
• Socrates– 400-300 B.C. philosopher whose interests
were law, morals, and logic– Wrote no books; communicated through
speeches to students and colleagues
• Plato– 400 B.C. student of Socrates– Wrote Apology, Crito, Republic
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books, cont’d
• Aristotle– 400-300 B.C. student of Plato who was
most interested in finding organization and logic in all things
– Wrote Metaphysics, Categories, Logic
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books, cont’d
• Nicholas Copernicus– 16th-17th Century Polish astronomer who
explained that the Earth was not at the center of the universe
– Wrote De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
• Francis Bacon– 16th-17th Century English philosopher and natural
scientist who introduced the inductive method– Wrote Novum organum and The New Atlantis
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books, cont’d
• Galileo Galilei– 16th-17th Century Italian astronomer who designed the
scientific method, perfected the telescope and described outer space to the world
– Wrote Discourses and Mathematical demonstrations concerning the two new sciences
• René Descarte– 16th-17th Century French philosopher who focused on
questions of being (I think; therefore, I am).– Wrote Principia Philosophiae and La Geometrie
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books, cont’d
• Isaac Newton– 17th Century English physicist and philosopher who
explained properties of light and color and principles of gravity to the scientific world
– Wrote Optiks
• Benjamin Franklin– 18th Century farmer, philosopher, inventor, and politician
who invented bifocals, lightning rods, and the Franklin stove– Wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac
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Philosophers, Scientists, and Their Books, cont’d
• Charles Darwin– 19th Century English naturalist who explained the theories of
evolution and natural selection.– Wrote The Origin of the Species
• Albert Einstein– 20th Century German-American physicist who changed science
with his theories on time, space, and matter– Wrote Relativity
• Steven Hawking– 20th-21st Century physicist who first described black holes and who
furthered Einstein’s explanation of time, space, and matter– Wrote A Brief History of Time
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Letters as Intellectual Media
• From the early philosophers, through the Dark Ages, and into the present, letters have remained an important medium
• Early letters were disseminated through an informal network of scholars
• Much like Paul’s letters to his fellow Christians in the New Testament
• E-mail is a result of scientists’ desires to communicate by letter with each other
• The most highly esteemed journals, like Science and Nature, still print letters and essays from esteemed scholars
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The Royal Society of London
• Begun by a group of 12 scientists who met weekly to discuss their (and others’) work
• Became the first professional society and began electing Fellows
• Launched the first scientific journal, Philosophical Transactions
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Mathematical Plainness
• Members sought to……reject “amplifications, digressions, and swellings of style…bringing all things as near the Mathematical plainness, as they can: and preferring the language of Artizans, Countrymen, and Merchants, before that of Wits and Scholars.”
• The flowery prose of academic writing was difficult to avoid, but Mathematical Plainness remained the emphasis (see example)
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Mathematical Plainness, cont’d
• Metaphors and anthromorphism were overused and problematic:In the middle of July, I drew and gathered of the Milk of Lactuca syl. Costa spinosa, C.B. and of all our English Plants, that I have met with, this most freely and plentifully affords it. It springs out of the Wound thick as Cream and Ropes, and is White, and yet the Milk which came out of the Wounds, made towards the top of the Plant, was plainly streaked or mixt with a purple Juice, as though one had dashed or sprinkled Cream with a few drops of Claret. And indeed, the Skin of the Plant thereabouts was purplish also, perhaps with Veins. Again, in the Shell I drew it, it turned still yellower and thicker, and by and by curdled, that is, the white and thick caseous part did separate from a thin purple Whey.
--Martin Lister, entomologist, Philosophical Transactions
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Other European Societies and Journals
• Acadamie Royale (Journal des scavans), France
• Accademia del Cimento (Saggi di naturali esperienzi), Italy
• Acta eruditorum and Miscellaneau curiosa medico-physica, German journals (published in Latin)
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American Philosophical Society
• The first American “learned society”• Founded by Ben Franklin et al. in 1743• Published Transactions (America’s first
professional journal, still in print)• Notable Members:
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Marshall, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Margaret Meade, Thomas Edison
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Professional Journals
• Progression of journals– General scientific journal– Specialty journal– Single-subject journal– Interdisciplinary journal
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Professional Journals, cont’d
• Types of articles– Theoretical
• Explain natural events and suggest directions for further research; offer new conceptual variations that drive scientific progress
– Experimental• Recount the manipulations of natural objects, usually in
labs; provide empirical information to guide further research and practice
– Observational• Describe natural objects or phenomena outside the lab;
Usually follow inductive logic and may lead to hypotheses for further empirical research
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Professional Journals, cont’d
• Types of articles, cont’d– Methodological articles
• present new means for facilitating and creating experiments and improving observations; they may evaluate methods
– Review articles• Synthesize and evaluate existing research and interpret
the body of research as a whole• Should be peer-reviewed carefully because many will
base their future research on existing literature reviews
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Professional Dialectic
• The ongoing professional discussion and public argument about topics and issues in a discipline and/or profession
• Actively participating in the dialectic is a characteristic of a successful professional
• Most dialectic occurs…– In trade publications
• Editorials• Letters• Columns• Invited articles
– In academic journals (see list of article types on previous slide)– At professional meetings
• Symposia• Research presentations• Poster presentations• Professional organization business meetings
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The Purpose of This Class
• To enhance your ability to participate effectively in the dialectic of your discipline or profession
• To teach you how to write a scientific or professional article that contributes to your discipline or profession
