1,721,146 research outputs found
Introduction
No full textWhy have fakes, forgeries, and the multiplicity of deception techniques, along with the personalities of their authors, been an object of interest in so many fields, including modern science, while scientific forgeries of the early modern age have raised comparatively less discussion? The history of early modern fakes is likely to underline some of the most interesting and indeed crucial aspect of specific disciplines, bodies of knowledge, and practices. The main result of the essays in this volume is bringing to the forefront the many different constructive features of frauds, falsifications and deceptions, and showing how these have contributed, through serendipity and wonder, exposure and correction, daring experiments on unusual materials, the innovative exploitation of ancient fabulae and traditions, and the fabrication of fantastic creatures, to the “advancement of learning.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Heroes, Martyrs and Saints. The Perilous Fate of Savant Relics
No full textRelics of eminent men of science possess an aura whose impact extends well beyond ordinary scientific research and rationality. It inspired semi-religious rites that, as I have suggested, began in classical antiquity and projected onto the figures of natural scientists supernatural qualities which deserved reverence and unconditional faith. Even when the imitation of religious rites faded, the relics of scientists continued to attract a great deal of attention. It was thought that the mis¬tery behind genius and the spirit of invention might be hidden in the scant remains left after their death. Although the results have been, to say the least, inconclusive (as in the case of Descartes), research on the size of the brains of eminent scientists has continued up to recent years and there is nothing to indicate that it will stop in the near future. Einstein’s brain still forms the subject of scientific research as well as of public interest
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Transmutations and Frauds in Enlightened Paris. Lavoisier and Alchemy
No full textThe essay explores the attitude by Antoine Lauarent Lavoisier towards alchemy and shows that by the second half of the 18th century alchemy was still an extremely popular discipline among established intellectuals, reputed scientists and the Court. The article is based on the survey of hitherto unpublished documen
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