Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
Abstracts of the History of Science Society 2004 Austin Meeting 18 ...
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incorporated into, <strong>the</strong> state administration’s efforts to establish <strong>the</strong> Museum as a site <strong>of</strong> public education on natural history and natural<br />
philosophy.<br />
Patrick McCray, University <strong>of</strong> California, Santa Barbara (pmccray@history.ucsb.edu)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 3:30 - 5:30 PM - Texas Ballroom II<br />
Caltech, Project Vista, and <strong>the</strong> Dilemmas <strong>of</strong> Lee DuBridge<br />
In <strong>the</strong> summer <strong>of</strong> 1951, more than one hundred scientists and o<strong>the</strong>r academics participated in a secret study hosted by <strong>the</strong> California<br />
Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology. The purpose <strong>of</strong> Project Vista was to determine how existing technologies – tactical nuclear weapons, in particular<br />
could <strong>of</strong>fset NATO’s weaker conventional forces and repel a massive Soviet invasion <strong>of</strong> Europe many perceived as likely if not<br />
imminent. Lee A. DuBridge, a former physicist and Caltech’s first president, convinced <strong>the</strong> school’s trustees and administration to carry<br />
out <strong>the</strong> project for several reasons among o<strong>the</strong>rs, it brought an lucrative government contract to <strong>the</strong> school while it performed a national<br />
service at a time <strong>of</strong> great international tension. This paper explores how Project Vista came to Caltech and how DuBridge’s reluctant<br />
acquiescence to Caltech’s conscription in Project Vista during a state <strong>of</strong> national emergency conflicted with his initial goals for Caltech<br />
as <strong>the</strong> school adjusted to <strong>the</strong> postwar environment. More broadly, this paper’s focus on <strong>the</strong> local institutional environment provides a<br />
window onto scientists’ experiences and responsibilities as <strong>the</strong>y attempted to apply <strong>the</strong>ir expertise to <strong>the</strong> relatively unfamiliar world <strong>of</strong><br />
tactics and warfare during <strong>the</strong> early years <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cold War.<br />
Peter McLaughlin, University <strong>of</strong> Heidelberg (peter.mclaughlin@urz.uni-heidelberg.de)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 1:30 - 3:10 PM - Hill Country D<br />
Rethinking Internalism in <strong>the</strong> Scientific Revolution<br />
The story <strong>of</strong> Boris Hessen’s famous lecture on “The Social and Economic Roots <strong>of</strong> Newton’s ‘Principia’/Mechanics” has been<br />
rehearsed from a number <strong>of</strong> different angles. Although <strong>the</strong> talk reportedly had a powerful effect on a number <strong>of</strong> those attending, those<br />
not personally present have been almost uniformly derogatory in <strong>the</strong>ir evaluations. Two exceptions were Henryk Grossmann and R. K.<br />
Merton, who explicitly defended Hessen against <strong>the</strong> misunderstandings and misrepresentations widely accepted by historians, especially<br />
following G. N. Clark’s attack. In this paper I take <strong>the</strong>se dissident readings <strong>of</strong> Hessen as a starting point to reevaluate <strong>the</strong> origin <strong>of</strong><br />
internalism in <strong>the</strong> historiography <strong>of</strong> science, which defined itself in opposition to a position that never existed, leading it to study <strong>the</strong><br />
mechanization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world picture in <strong>the</strong> Scientific Revolution in abstraction from practical mechanics and technology.<br />
Colin Milburn, Harvard University (milburn@fas.harvard.edu)<br />
Friday, 19-Nov-04, 9:00 - 11:45 AM - Texas Ballroom III<br />
Nano Worlds: Vision Beyond <strong>the</strong> Limits <strong>of</strong> Fabrication<br />
The recent history <strong>of</strong> nanotechnology has been characterized by double-vision: in visualizing <strong>the</strong> nanoscale, in making molecular structures<br />
accessible through imaging technologies such as <strong>the</strong> scanning tunneling microscope, nanotechnology simultaneously imagines <strong>the</strong><br />
future. Speculative visions <strong>of</strong> monumental social, economic and technological changes appear regularly in <strong>the</strong> writings <strong>of</strong> scientists and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rs involved in <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> nanotechnology, and <strong>the</strong>se visions are usually linked to experimental successes in bringing <strong>the</strong><br />
invisible atomic world to light. This paper analyzes <strong>the</strong> double-vision <strong>of</strong> nanotechnology and suggests that “seeing” <strong>the</strong> future is a<br />
media-specific effect <strong>of</strong> “seeing” <strong>the</strong> nanoscale, that <strong>the</strong> fantasy <strong>of</strong> a disembodied gaze capable <strong>of</strong> scrutinizing beyond <strong>the</strong> limits <strong>of</strong><br />
sight and foresight structures <strong>the</strong> thinking <strong>of</strong> nanotechnology from its earliest history to <strong>the</strong> present day. The paper fur<strong>the</strong>r suggests<br />
that this double-vision works to make radical technological change possible in <strong>the</strong> present by unfolding an alienating “world <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
future” from within <strong>the</strong> maps and <strong>the</strong> media generated by its explorations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new molecular frontier.<br />
David Marshall Miller, University <strong>of</strong> Pittsburgh (dmmst115@pitt.edu)<br />
Saturday, 20-Nov-04, 9:00 - 11:45 AM - Texas Ballroom V<br />
The Thirty Years War and <strong>the</strong> Galileo Affair: A Plea for Political Contextualization<br />
All too <strong>of</strong>ten, historians <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “Galileo Affair” focus <strong>the</strong>ir attention on <strong>the</strong> intellectual bases <strong>of</strong> Galileo’s fateful interaction with <strong>the</strong><br />
Holy Roman Church. They fail to recognize <strong>the</strong> dynamic – indeed, tumultuous – nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> political landscape surrounding Galileo’s<br />
condemnation and <strong>the</strong> events leading to it. This was a landscape rent by <strong>the</strong> Thirty Years War, which dominated <strong>the</strong> affairs <strong>of</strong> European<br />
rulers, including Galileo’s patrons. In fact, Galileo’s publication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “Dialogo” in 1632 could not have come at a more ill-advised<br />
moment: in <strong>the</strong> aftermath <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> battle <strong>of</strong> Breitenfeld, <strong>the</strong> nadir <strong>of</strong> Catholicism in Germany. Blame for this calamitous defeat fell on<br />
Galileo’s most important protector, Pope Urban VIII. Thus, when Galileo’s book appeared, Galileo became a useful example by which<br />
Urban could consolidate his severely weakened position. The Pope carefully crafted <strong>the</strong> public image <strong>of</strong> an unusual trial, at <strong>the</strong> expense<br />
<strong>of</strong> his old friend. By telling this story, I aim to focus some attention on <strong>the</strong> political context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “Galileo Affair.” Certainly, Galileo’s<br />
trial resulted from pr<strong>of</strong>ound intellectual tensions that pervaded <strong>the</strong> early modern period, but it must also be understood in light <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
political exigencies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> moment. Historians’ extensive exploration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> intellectual aspects <strong>of</strong> Galileo’s condemnation should be<br />
accompanied by more research regarding <strong>the</strong> less cerebral motivations <strong>of</strong> those involved.