A Controversial British historian, E.H. Carr, reckoned that his subject was shaped by the very process of studying it. "The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the interpretation of the historian is a preposterous fallacy," he wrote, "but one which it is very hard to eradicate." Patricia Fara provides a reminder that science is also a human activity.rnThe birth of science is often dated to 1660, when the Royal Society was founded in London by the followers of Francis Bacon, who argued that knowledge could come only by testing ideas through experiment. Ms Fara, however, points out that they did not start with a blank slate. She places the roots of science back in ancient Babylon, where court advisers developed mathematical and astronomical expertise.
展开▼
