How Great Thinkers Transformed Our Ideas

"Dare to think!” This was the catch cry of the Enlightenment over 300 years ago when the breakaway from religion towards a more secular society began. Isaac Newton led the Scientific Revolution which transformed society for the next 300 years with progress not then dreamed of. Stephen Hawking revealed a new cosmology and linked Einstein’s relativity to small scale quantum mechanics. Yet what was the mind set of Newton’s age compared to Hawking’s age? What were the changes in the mind sets of society and philosophy during those 300 years and were they all linked to science? This book represents a slice of the history of ideas, science and philosophy mixed with their personal lives against how science, mathematics and philosophy evolved over those 300 years. Revealed are the truly astonishing stories and ideas of five of the greatest thinkers who ever lived who provided us rich insights into the cosmos. Their stories class them as true founders of scientific revolutions, battlers with feats of endurance, and triumphs to rise to great heights. Through the personal tragedies of Curie and Hawking to the intellectual battles fought by Einstein, Newton and Leibniz these five scientists inspire us and enrich our ideas.

A beautifully illustrated celebration of science from the clever people who bring you AQUILA magazine. Ideas are important. They change things. A single idea can start a war, save billions of lives, even rearrange whole planetary systems, or simply make a person giggle until they pee a little bit. They can be totally wrong but widely believed, or undoubtedly right and completely ignored. What's more, they're free, and anyone can have one-including you! The Book of Big Science Ideas looks at 15 brilliant science ideas and more than 50 ingenious thinkers who have helped shape our understanding of the world - whether they were right or wrong! Thinkers include, Wang Zhenyi, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, James Joule, Rosalind Franklin, Charles Darwin, Aristotle, Edith Clarke, Isaac Newton, Grace Hopper, Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace and many, many more! From established ideas like atoms, electricity and the solar system, and ideas that are still evolving such as gravity, energy and classification, right up to recent discoveries like AI and genetics - this jam-packed book takes a fresh approach to science.

Two simple yet tremendously powerful ideas that shaped virtually every aspect of civilization This book is a breathtaking examination of the two greatest ideas in human history. The first is the idea that the human mind can grasp the universe. The second is the idea that the human mind can grasp itself. Acclaimed philosopher Linda Zagzebski shows how the first unleashed a cultural awakening that swept across the world in the first millennium BCE, giving birth to philosophy, mathematics, science, and virtually all the major world religions. It dominated until the Renaissance, when the discovery of subjectivity profoundly transformed the arts and sciences. This second great idea governed our perception of reality up until the dawn of the twenty-first century. Zagzebski explores how the interplay of the two ideas led to conflicts that have left us ambivalent about the relationship between the mind and the universe, and have given rise to a host of moral and political rifts over the deepest questions human beings face. Should we organize civil society around the ideal of living in harmony with the world or that of individual autonomy? Zagzebski explains how the two greatest ideas continue to divide us today over issues such as abortion, the environment, free speech, and racial and gender identity. This panoramic book reveals what is missing in our conception of ourselves and the world, and imagines a not-too-distant future when a third great idea, the idea that human minds can grasp each other, will help us gain an idea of the whole of reality.

The Great Thinkers is a collection of some of the most important ideas of Eastern and Western culture - drawn from the works of those philosophers, political theorists, sociologists, artists and novelists whom we believe have the most to offer to us today. We've worked hard to make the thinkers in this book clear, relevant and charming, mining the history of knowledge to bring you the ideas we think have the greatest importance to our times. This 480-page book contains the canon of The School of Life, the gallery of individuals across the millennia who help to frame our intellectual project - and we have succeeded if, in the days and years ahead, you find yourself turning to our thinkers to illuminate the multiple dilemmas, joys and griefs of daily life.

John Locke was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, whose assertion that reason is the key to knowledge changed the face of philosophy. These writings on thought, ideas, perception, truth and language are some of the most influential in the history of Western thought. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.

Spanning over 2500 years of humanity’s quest for understanding, “The Great Philosophers” explores the fundamental ideas that have changed our view of the world. Interesting biographical portraits, intellectual breakthroughs and a focused explanation of the grand ideas of 50 of the most influential minds ranging from Buddha, Plato Kierkegaard, Sartre and Nietzsche. Highly accessible and thought provoking it is the perfect introduction to philosophy.

This book provides an eye-opening account of how we are using, misusing and abusing our planet's most vital resource.