Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science

By Thomas Levenson

Book Overview

An account of how scientific thinking developed from its Pythagorean origins to the present day. The story unfolds through the tales of both scientific instruments and musical ones: the organ, the microscope, the still, scales, violins and cellos, computers and electronic synthesisers. Yet the tools that have enabled us to scrutinize nature have also revealed to us the limitations of the scientific approach. In every age they have provided new answers, but in the process they have rewritten the questions we thought we were asking, altering the scope and shape of scientific enquiry.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671787306
• ISBN13: 9780671787301
• Release Date: August 1994
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 351 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended for those interested in music and science

This is a must-read for anyone interested in music and/or science and the history thereof. It is not an exhaustive history, nor is it intended to be. Rather, specific examples are carefully selected as illustration of parallel historical trends in both disciplines. The book is carefully researched and thought-out. Levenson has a lovely lyrical style of writing, richly expressive, complemented by well-chosen illustrations. I came away from the book with a new understanding and appreciation of the evolution of these two surprisingly similar arts, music and science, and what they have to teach us. Very highly recommended!