The definitive account of the early debate over Wegener's theory of continental drift, based on extensive interviews and archival material.

Over the course of the twentieth century, scientists came to accept four counterintuitive yet fundamental facts about the Earth: deep time, continental drift, meteorite impact, and global warming. When first suggested, each proposition violated scientific orthodoxy and was quickly denounced as scientific—and sometimes religious—heresy. Nevertheless, after decades of rejection, scientists came to accept each theory. The stories behind these four discoveries reflect more than the fascinating push and pull of scientific work. They reveal the provocative nature of science and how it raises profound and sometimes uncomfortable truths as it advances. For example, counter to common sense, the Earth and the solar system are older than all of human existence; the interactions among the moving plates and the continents they carry account for nearly all of the Earth's surface features; and nearly every important feature of our solar system results from the chance collision of objects in space. Most surprising of all, we humans have altered the climate of an entire planet and now threaten the future of civilization. This absorbing scientific history is the only book to describe the evolution of these four ideas from heresy to truth, showing how science works in practice and how it inevitably corrects the mistakes of its practitioners. Scientists can be wrong, but they do not stay wrong. In the process, astonishing ideas are born, tested, and over time take root.

In “...And it was So” Dr. Scott Ransom argues that perceived gaps between science and the Biblical account of creation are symptoms of misinterpretation. A proper understanding of the Hebrew language, the audience for which Genesis was written, the process of Biblical translation, and the nature of science coalesce into a coherent picture of creation in which science and the Bible align. Ransom takes the reader into the story of creation and the science behind it, distilling complex scientific concepts into easily digestible nuggets, and along the way introducing us to many of the lesser-known heroes of scientific discovery. In the end the reader will have a new appreciation for both science and the Bible as well as the harmony that exists between both.

'John Keay is the master storyteller and historian. This grand narrative of Himalaya is as epic as the mountains and peoples he describes' Dan Snow 'Adds the human element to the hard rock. And what a rich vein it is' Michael Palin History has not been kind to Himalaya. Empires have collided here, cultures have clashed. Buddhist India claimed it from the south, Islam put down roots in its western approaches, Mongols and Manchus rode in from the north, and, from the east, China continues to absorb what it prefers not to call Tibet. Hunters have decimated its wildlife and mountaineers have bagged its peaks. Today, machinery gouges minerals out of its rock. Roughly the size of Europe, the region is one of the most seismically active on the planet. Summers bring avalanches, rainfall triggers landslides and winters obliterate trails. Glaciers retreat, rivers change course and whole lakes quietly evaporate. To some, Himalaya is an otherworldly realm, profoundly life-changing, yet forbidding and forbidden. It has mesmerised scholars and mystics, sportsmen and spies, pilgrims and mapmakers who have mingled with the farmers and traders on the 'Roof of the World'. Himalaya is the story of one of the last great wildernesses and, in particular, of the bizarre discoveries and improbable achievements of its pioneers. Ranging from botany to trade, from the Great Game to today's geopolitics, John Keay draws on a lifetime of exploration and study to enlighten and delight with this lively biography of a region in crisis.

An Anthropogenic Table of Elements provides a contemporary rethinking of Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements, bringing together "elemental" stories to reflect on everyday life in the Anthropocene. Concise and engaging, this book provides stories of scale, toxicity, and temporality that extrapolate on ideas surrounding ethics, politics, and materiality that are fundamental to this contemporary moment. Examining elemental objects and forces, including carbon, mould, cheese, ice, and viruses, the contributors question what elemental forms are still waiting to emerge and what political possibilities of justice and environmental reparation they might usher into the world. Bringing together anthropologists, historians, and media studies scholars, this book tests a range of possible ways to tabulate and narrate the elemental as a way to bring into view fresh discussion on material constitutions and, thereby, new ethical stances, responsibilities, and power relations. In doing so, An Anthropogenic Table of Elements demonstrates through elementality that even the smallest and humblest stories are capable of powerful effects and vast journeys across time and space.

Approximately 200 years of the history of the development of the study of geology.

Evidence and logic are lacking in many areas of public debate today on hot-button issues ranging from dietary fat to vaccination. In Science Under Attack, Dr. Alexander shows how science is being abused, sidelined or ignored, making it difficult or impossible for the public to form a reasoned opinion about important issues. Readers will learn why science is becoming more corrupt, and also how it is being abused for political and economic gain, support of activism, or the propping up of religious beliefs. To illustrate how science is being ignored and abused, the author examines six different issues and the way they are currently discussed: evolution, dietary fat, climate change, vaccination, GMO crops and continental drift. In his research, he has gone back to the original source wherever possible rather than quoting second-hand sources, adding a degree of accuracy and nuance often missing. The controversial assertion that science does not support the conventional wisdom on climate change should be of particular interest. Alexander shows that the scientific evidence for a substantial human contribution to climate change is actually flimsy, and he demonstrates the fallacy of comparing the strong link between smoking and lung cancer to the much weaker connection between human activity and global warming.

An expert researcher argues for a revolutionary new understanding of quantum mechanics The received wisdom in quantum physics is that, at the deepest levels of reality, there are no actual causes for atomic events. This idea led to the outlandish belief that quantum objects—indeed, reality itself—aren’t real unless shaped by human measurement. Einstein mocked this idea, asking whether his bed spread out across his room unless he looked at it. And yet it remains one of the most influential ideas in science and our culture. In Escape from Shadow Physics, Adam Forrest Kay takes up Einstein’s torch: reality isn’t mysterious or dependent on human measurement, but predictable and independent of us. At the heart of his argument is groundbreaking research with little drops of oil. These droplets behave as particles do in the long-overlooked quantum theory of pilot waves; crucially, they showcase quantum behavior while being described by classical physics. And that classical-quantum interface points to a true understanding of quantum mechanics and a reasonable universe. A bold and essential reset of the field, Escape from Shadow Physics describes the kind of true scientific revolution that comes along just once—or less—in a century.

One of this book’s main themes is how God’s ‘Book of Nature’ is concordant with His ‘Book of Scripture’. In their writings, many of the pioneers of the Scientific Revolution often referred to God’s two ‘Books’. These brilliant naturalists were also devout Christians. But that was back then. Is modern science actually compatible with Scripture? More to the point, are the findings of 21st-century science concordant with the Genesis creation story? What else does the text of Genesis 1-2 have to say? While making an honest effort to answer those questions, some vitally-important theological concepts (which were introduced by Moses in the first two chapters of Genesis) are also examined and discussed in this volume. This comprehensive study (on how modern science is concordant with the intended meaning of the text of Genesis 1-2) has many useful features, including the following: Much of the first two parts of the book consists of background material on: (1) logic, (2) history and philosophy of science, and (3) ‘scientific method’, as well as (4) basic geological principles, (5) descriptions of Plate Tectonic theory, and (6) the principles and methods of radiometric dating. This background material is designed to help the reader to understand the implications of the empirical evidence presented in Part Two: God’s Book of Nature. Similarly, there is also extensive material on: (1) Biblical interpretation and hermeneutics, (2) textual criticism, (3) the history of ancient Israel, (4) development of the Hebrew language, and (5) some of the basic elements of Biblical Hebrew. This material is given prior to looking at the literary structure and genre of the Genesis 1-2 text, and then conducting thorough and complete exegetical analyses of the various textual units of Genesis 1-2 in Part Four: God’s Book of Scripture. Prior to the exegetical analyses for each of the textual units of Genesis 1-2, (1) the Biblical Hebrew text, (2) a standard English translation, and (3) an Interlinear version of the text of that unit are provided. The Interlinear version consists of (a) the Hebrew text, with (b) SBL transliterations and (c) English glosses below each one of the Hebrew words. Color coding and other types of annotations/highlighting are used throughout Part Four: God’s Book of Scripture, in order to help the reader identify important Biblical Hebrew elements, including recurring phrases, important BH words, and key BHVS verb forms. There are more than 2000 detailed footnotes. Many of these footnotes also cross-reference other topics in the book to make it easier for the reader to refer back to a discussion of some important theme or concept. Excerpts from the entries of reputable Hebrew and Greek lexicons (for words written in the original languages of the Biblical text) are also footnoted. An Appendix is included with a Key to Transliteration and Pronunciation for Biblical Hebrew graphemes; it also has a short section on Biblical Hebrew Accent Markings. Numerous detailed, colored figures are sprinkled throughout the text. In many of these figures, the artwork itself is worth the inexpensive price of the digital edition of this book. Part Six: The Good News is worth reading as a stand-alone exposition of God’s Grace, but it also helps put the rest of the book in context. Although the most common (and logical) way to read A Fresh Look at Genesis 1-2 is from start to finish, this 1100-page book was also intended to be used as a reference work. Footnotes direct the reader back to pertinent material in preceding chapters that might not have been read already (or that readers might want to revisit, in order to refresh their memory on some topic). More information is available at https://a-fresh-look-at-genesis.org

The effects of tectonic processes on archaeological sites are evidenced by earthquake damage, volcanic eruptions, and tsunami destruction, but these processes also affect a broader sphere of landform structures, environment, and climate. An overview of tectonic archaeology is followed by a detailed summary of geoarchaeological fieldwork in Japan.