The Mangle of Practice - 2nd Edition by Andrew Pickering (Paperback)
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About this item
Highlights
- This ambitious book by one of the most original and provocative thinkers in science studies offers a sophisticated new understanding of the nature of scientific, mathematical, and engineering practice and the production of scientific knowledge.
- Author(s): Andrew Pickering
- 296 Pages
- Science, Philosophy & Social Aspects
Description
Book Synopsis
This ambitious book by one of the most original and provocative thinkers in science studies offers a sophisticated new understanding of the nature of scientific, mathematical, and engineering practice and the production of scientific knowledge. Andrew Pickering offers a new approach to the unpredictable nature of change in science, taking into account the extraordinary number of factors--social, technological, conceptual, and natural--that interact to affect the creation of scientific knowledge. In his view, machines, instruments, facts, theories, conceptual and mathematical structures, disciplined practices, and human beings are in constantly shifting relationships with one another--"mangled" together in unforeseeable ways that are shaped by the contingencies of culture, time, and place. Situating material as well as human agency in their larger cultural context, Pickering uses case studies to show how this picture of the open, changeable nature of science advances a richer understanding of scientific work both past and present. Pickering examines in detail the building of the bubble chamber in particle physics, the search for the quark, the construction of the quarternion system in mathematics, and the introduction of computer-controlled machine tools in industry. He uses these examples to address the most basic elements of scientific practice--the development of experimental apparatus, the production of facts, the development of theory, and the interrelation of machines and social organization.Dimensions (Overall): 9.0 Inches (H) x 6.0 Inches (W) x .66 Inches (D)
Weight: .89 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 296
Genre: Science
Sub-Genre: Philosophy & Social Aspects
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Format: Paperback
Author: Andrew Pickering
Language: English
Street Date: August 15, 1995
TCIN: 1006089250
UPC: 9780226668031
Item Number (DPCI): 247-08-1886
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.66 inches length x 6 inches width x 9 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.89 pounds
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