Category: S

Philosopher of science who argued for the demarcation between true science and pseudoscience by means of a criterion he called falsifiability. Born and educated in Vienna, Popper was trained in mathematics, physics, and philosophy during the same era that produced logical positivism. He was not, however, a member of the famed Vienna circle and in…

Mathematician and physicist whose ground-breaking work revolutionized the study of the physical world. Born at Woolsthorpe, England, Newton graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1665. That autumn, Newton retired to Woolsthorpe for some 18 months to avoid the plague, during which time he formulated the basic features of his greatest works in mathematics, mechanics, astronomy,…

Geologist who vigorously attacked the theories of catastrophism. Lyell believed instead in uniformitarianism the uniformity of geological forces that requires an Earth old enough for these forces to account for its present state. Lyell was a powerful influence on Charles Darwin, providing for him the stage on which he could set his theory of evolution…

Miracle attributed to the blood of the bishop of Benevento and patron saint of Naples, believed to have been martyred in 305 C.E. januarius’s exact identity is unknown; in fact, there is no evidence that he was an historical person. His fame rests solely on a relic: a vial of what is alleged to be…

An eminent British theoretical astrophysicist, Fellow of the Royal Society from 1957, and Cambridge University’s Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy from 1958 until his retirement. He has been extraordinarily productive in several areas of science, in particular in his work on nucleosynthesis, the processes by which the heavier elements have been formed in…

A biologist, he was the chief zoologist on the ship Discovery during the British 1925-27 expedition to the Antarctic. The experience furthered his interest in marine biology, which led Hardy in 1938 to found the Oceanographic Laboratory in Edinburgh and the journal Bulletins of Marine Ecology and to write many books and articles. It was…

American dietary reformer, minister, and founder of Grahamism. Sylvester Graham was born in West Suffield, Connecticut, into a family with a long history of service in the ministry and as physicians. He worked in a variety of occupations, including farmhand, clerk, and teacher, before contracting tuberculosis in the 1820s. He attended Amherst Academy in 1823…

A major contributor to the pseudoscience debate. His various books and articles, all aimed at the general reader, make clear what is acceptable as legitimate science and what is not. At the same time he shows that scientific understanding is open to amendment as our knowledge and comprehension grow. So, for example, the whole new…

Remembered best for his fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, and for his involvement in spiritualism. He received a medical degree from Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary and practiced medicine in Hampshire until 1891 and then left medicine to write his detective novels, short stories and historical romances. Doyle had an interest in psychic phenomena throughout his life, but…

One of England’s outstanding scientists who during the early years of his career became involved in psychical research and with one of the most controversial mediums of modern spiritualism, Florence Cook. After graduating from the Royal College of Chemistry, he went to work in the Meteorological Department at Radcliffe Observatory. His first major contribution was…