Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...

The American mathematician Leonard Dickson played a key role in the consolidation and growth of the American mathematical
research community in the opening decades of the twentieth century primarily from his position at the University of Chicago. His seminal
publications and voluminous output (more than 300 manuscripts and 18 books over a forty-year career) reflected a dogged work
ethic and fiercely independent personality that proved critical in the process that propelled American research-level mathematics forward
as American science developed in general. This particular combination of qualities distinguished Dickson from his contemporaries
in an energetic mathematical community that acquired not only momentum but also, increasingly, worldwide respect in the first four
decades of the twentieth century. A native Texan, Dickson was a fascinating character in the history of mathematics, and the history
of science more generally. This talk, highlighting material culled from The Center for American History in The University of Texas
Archives, will emphasize how Dickson’s Texas heritage influenced his personality and his professional career.
Mary Carmel Finley, University of California, San Diego (mfinley@ucsd.edu)
Friday, 19-Nov-04, 9:00 - 11:45 AM - Hill Country C
All the Fish in the Sea: Science and the Development of Maximum Sustained Yield (MSY)
In 1955, experts from 45 countries convened in Rome under the sponsorship of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nations for the International Technical Conference on the Living Resources of the Sea. Participants adopted Maximum Sustained Yield
(MSY) as the goal of international fisheries management. Participants worked to develop a “scientific basis for a conservation plan,”
but the goal and was deeply embedded in the social and political events of the 1950s, in which increasing the harvest from the sea was
seen as a solution to problems of world hunger and world peace.
Saul Fisher, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (sf@mellon.org)
Saturday, 19-Nov-04, 3:30 - 5:30 PM - Big Bend A, B, & C
Gassendi and Puy-de-Dôme: Abandoning the “Regressus” for a Method of Hypothesis
Does Pierre Gassendi employ the “regressus” method of the “Institutio Logica” in his own scientific practice? To answer this question
I examine Gassendi’s most detailed reasoning about experimental episodes—his accounts of the barometric and vacuum-related experiments
of 1648. This case study should show that his scientific practice conforms to the method of the “Institutio” just in case the reasoning
of these accounts may be construed as plausible instances of ‘probabilist’ deductive brand of argument, and as comprising resolution
or composition steps performed to realize discovery tasks. Yet the reasoning of these experimental accounts instead fits poorly
with, or runs orthogonal to, the prescribed method of the “Institutio.” In Gassendi’s reconstruction of the Pascalian barometry
experiment, the search for the middle term is rife with mystery—there is no univocal way to reconstruct the reasoning that underlies
each account in syllogistic form. In addition, it is a daunting if not unfeasible task to find a judgment-realizing step that corresponds
to the discovery-realizing step which is the primary feature of these experimental accounts. Even more importantly, these experimental
analyses reveal a central methodological issue not as much as glanced upon in the “Institutio” perspective: what are the guidelines
for hypothetical reasoning? Though Gassendi maintains a vision of science based on information from the senses, his own reasoning
in these and other writings relies on hypothetical assumptions for which we have no direct sensory evidence. Indeed, he follows a familiar
method of hypothesis, embracing substantive assumptions about the kinds of causes there may be, deducing their effects, and then
explaining the data as effects of only such causes. (Notably, he assumes that only a corpuscularian-mechanical picture and an interparticulate
void allow for the motion of bodies.) I briefly sketch Gassendi’s views—quite apart from his “regressus” method of the
“Institutio” —as to what proper role such assumptions may have in advancing empirical inquiry, and how he believes we are to judge
their merits and admissibility.
Jed Foland, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (foland@history.umass.edu)
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 1:30 - 3:10 PM - Texas Ballroom VI
Crossing Species: Buffon and the Science of Experimentation.
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon spent a lifetime collecting and cataloging the known species of the world. In order to organize
creatures, he developed a unique system of classification which differentiated species based on their ability to reproduce fertile offspring.
To determine reproducibility, Buffon conducted inter-species breeding experiments. Buffon also undertook microscopic observations
involving sperm as well as vivisection experiments in order to determine the process of fertilization. For these and other scientific
endeavors, Buffon converted his own estate at Montbard into an extensive botanical garden and he transformed the Paris Jardin du
Roi into an elaborate center for scientific investigation. This research documents Buffon’s unique methods of experimentation. Such an
examination will explain the logic behind his theory of species degeneration as well as the canon of reproductive knowledge which
would persist until Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Brian Frehner, University of Oklahoma (bfrehner@ou.edu)
Friday, 19-Nov-04, 3:30 - 5:30 PM - Texas Ballroom VI
Mapping Nature: The Role of Field Work in the Oklahoma Geological Survey
The state of Oklahoma’s efforts to promote innovations in the science of petroleum geology in the early-twentieth century produced