Falling for Science: Objects in Mind (Mit Press)

Name: Falling for Science: Objects in Mind (Mit Press)
Brand: MIT Press
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

By Sherry Turkle

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Description

Passion for objects and love for science: scientists and students reflect on how objects fired their scientific imaginations. "This is a book about science, technology, and love,” writes Sherry Turkle. In it, we learn how a love for science can start with a love for an object—a microscope, a modem, a mud pie, a pair of dice, a fishing rod. Objects fire imagination and set young people on a path to a career in science. In this collection, distinguished scientists, engineers, and designers as well as twenty-five years of MIT students describe how objects encountered in childhood became part of the fabric of their scientific selves. In two major essays that frame the collection, Turkle tells a story of inspiration and connection through objects that is often neglected in standard science education and in our preoccupation with the virtual. The senior scientists' essays trace the arc of a life: the gears of a toy car introduce the chain of cause and effect to artificial intelligence pioneer Seymour Papert; microscopes disclose the mystery of how things work to MIT President and neuroanatomist Susan Hockfield; architect Moshe Safdie describes how his boyhood fascination with steps, terraces, and the wax hexagons of beehives lead him to a life immersed in the complexities of design. The student essays tell stories that echo these narratives: plastic eggs in an Easter basket reveal the power of centripetal force; experiments with baking illuminate the geology of planets; LEGO bricks model worlds, carefully engineered and colonized. All of these voices—students and mentors—testify to the power of objects to awaken and inform young scientific minds. This is a truth that is simple, intuitive, and easily overlooked.

Product details

Binding:: Paperback
Edition:: 1
Languages:: Published: English , Original: English
Number of Pages:: 330
Age Recommendation:: 18 and up
Publisher:: MIT Press
Publication Date:: 2011-09-30
ISBN / EAN:: 9780471137740
Weight:: 408 g
Dimensions:: 20/14/2 cm
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:: [email protected]

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