Sarton Memorial Lecture: Knowledge in the Early Modern Era: The Origins of Experimental Error

2010 George Sarton Memorial Lecture in the History and Philosophy of Science: Jed Z. Buchwald, Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Professor of History, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Saturday, February 20, 2010: 12:30 PM-1:15 PM
Room 6F (San Diego Convention Center)
Buchwald has written books and articles on the histories of optics and electromagnetism, and continues to work and publish in these areas. Since arriving at Caltech, his interests also include issues that arose in the 18th and 19th centuries from attempts by scientists and others to engage with new archaeological discoveries and with historical chronology. This led to collaboration with his colleague, Moti Feingold to write a book on Isaac Newton's attempt to redate the past using astronomical evidence. Along the way they have discovered what they believe to be important issues concerning the understanding and manipulation of data before the development of statistical methods. Buchwald was previously director of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology at MIT. He won the McArthur Fellowship in 1995. George Sarton, professor of the history of science at Harvard from 1940 to 1951, is widely regarded as one of the key figures in the establishment of the history of science as a discipline in its own right. In 1960, the History of Science Society, under the auspices of AAAS, established the George Sarton Memorial Lecture. The first lecturer was Rene Dubos. The lecture is coordinated through the AAAS History and Philosophy of Science Section and delivered at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
Speaker:
Jed Z. Buchwald, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
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