Could Doing Things The Old-Fashioned Way Make Us Better Modern Scientists?
Popular Science|Spring 2020
Today, we imagine lab experiments as part of a separate realm from fine arts like painting or trades like carpentry.
Kate Baggaley
Could Doing Things The Old-Fashioned Way Make Us Better Modern Scientists?

But artisans helped lay the groundwork for the scientific revolution. For the past five years, Pamela Smith, a historian of science at Columbia University in New York, has devoted herself to re-creating their long-forgotten techniques. “So much exploration, experimentation, and innovation happens in craft,” she says. “It’s the same as science; it’s the human exploration of the material world.”

Smith didn’t get into academia to spend her days gilding and mixing. “I’m not very handy,” she admits. Artisans caught her attention when she penned a dissertation on Johann Joachim Becher, a 17th-century writer who pondered the economics of alchemy and crafts. Then, while doing research for her 2004 book, The Body of the Artisan, she came across a 16th-century French manuscript containing nearly 1,000 sets of instructions, covering subjects from cannon casting to finding the best sand in Toulouse.

Denne historien er fra Spring 2020-utgaven av Popular Science.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Spring 2020-utgaven av Popular Science.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA POPULAR SCIENCESe alt
Popular Science

They Might Be Giants

A photographer-and-ecologist team are on a mission to document the forests’ mightiest members.

time-read
3 mins  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Droplet Stoppers

Covid-19 made face masks a crucial part of every outfit, and we’re likely to don them in the future when we feel ill. Fortunately, there’s a style for every need.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Landing a Lifeline

For those whose livelihood depends on the ocean, a covid-spurred interruption in the seafood market might speed progress toward a more sustainable future—for them and for fish.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2020
Headtrip – Your brain on video chat
Popular Science

Headtrip – Your brain on video chat

Dating, Catching up with family, and going to happy hour are best in person.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Behind The Cover
Popular Science

Behind The Cover

Butterflies may seem delicate, but they are surprisingly tough.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars
Popular Science

Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars

Kellie Gerardi, bioastronautics researcher at the International Institute for Austronautical Science

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

The Needs Of The Few

Designing with the marginalized in mind can improve all of out lives.

time-read
6 mins  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Life On The Line

On the Western edge of Borneo, a novel conservation-minded health-care model could provide the world with a blueprint to stop next pandemic before it starts.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Winter 2020
waste watchers
Popular Science

waste watchers

YOU CAN TURN FOOD SCRAPS INTO FERTILIZER IN ALMOST ANY CONTAINER. THESE BINS USE THEIR OWN METHODS TO ENCOURAGE THE PROCESS, BUT BOTH KEEP BUGS AND STINK AT BAY.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
why can't i forget how to ride a bike?
Popular Science

why can't i forget how to ride a bike?

LEARNING TO PEDAL IS NO EASY FEAT.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020