UID:
almahu_9949530841802882
Format:
1 online resource (xxx, 266 pages) :
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17 colour illustrations.
Edition:
Revised edition.
ISBN:
9781805110200
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9781805110217
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9781805110224
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9781805110231
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9781805110248
Content:
"No one has given the polymath Thomas Young (1773-1829) the all-round examination he so richly deserves-until now. Celebrated biographer Andrew Robinson portrays a man who solved mystery after mystery in the face of ridicule and rejection, and never sought fame. As a physicist, Young challenged the theories of Isaac Newton and proved that light is a wave. As a physician, he showed how the eye focuses and proposed the three-colour theory of vision, only confirmed a century and a half later. As an Egyptologist, he made crucial contributions to deciphering the Rosetta Stone. It is hard to grasp how much Young knew. This biography is the fascinating story of a driven yet modest hero who cared less about what others thought of him than for the joys of an unbridled pursuit of knowledge-with a new foreword by Martin Rees and a new postscript discussing polymathy in the two centuries since the time of Young. It returns this neglected genius to his proper position in the pantheon of great scientific thinkers."--Publisher's website.
Note:
Additional resources available from the publisher's website.
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Available through Open Book Publishers.
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First edition published in 2006 by Pi Press in the United States and Oneworld Publications in the United Kingdom.
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Preface / Andrew Robinson -- Introduction / Andrew Robinson -- 1. Child Prodigy / Andrew Robinson -- 2. Fellow of the Royal Society / Andrew Robinson -- 3. Itinerant Medical Student / Andrew Robinson -- 4. 'Phenomenon' Young / Andrew Robinson -- 5. Physician of Vision / Andrew Robinson -- 6. Royal Institution Lecturer / Andrew Robinson -- 7. Let There Be Light Waves / Andrew Robinson -- 8. 'Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts' / Andrew Robinson -- 9. Dr Thomas Young, M.D., F.R.C.P. / Andrew Robinson -- 10. Reading the Rosetta Stone / Andrew Robinson -- 11. Waves of Enlightenment / Andrew Robinson -- 12. Walking Encyclopaedia / Andrew Robinson -- In the Public Interest / Andrew Robinson -- 14. Grand Tour / Andrew Robinson -- 15. Duelling with Champollion / Andrew Robinson -- A Universal Man / Andrew Robinson -- Postscript: Polymathy Then-and Now? / Andrew Robinson.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Language:
English
URL:
Connect to cover image
