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This 'self-educator based on the social background of scientific discovery's is an unusual popularization. It is unbelievably comprehensive and is written in a stimulating, almost racy style. It is a survey of the bases of modern science, developed historically. It
covers not only the physical sciences but also the biological and psychological. And it does this always against the background of the essential social problem of man's ability to live with his fellows in peace and plenty. The author vigorously attacks the artificial separation of pure and applied science and shows that science is a unity of theory and practice. Thermodynamics followed Watts' steam engine. 'Today we look upon Joule's determination of the mechanical equivalent of heat as the cornerstone of "thermodynamics". Thermodynamics, which has now superseded the mechanics of Newton, is the queen of theoretical science. The position it occupies was not won by discoveries made within the framework of the preëxisting social culture. The researches which led to the determination of the mechanical equivalent of heat were directly prompted by new social requirements, and the leaders of contemporary theoretical science were extraordinarily reluctant to explore their implications. Indeed, the Royal Society refused to publish the greater part of one of Joule's most epoch-making contributions.' Not only are pure and applied science, scientific theory and practice an inseparable unity, but the 'Dividing line between progress in science and progress in morals is not clear cut. Our moral attitude to witch-burning is not unconnected with advancing scientific knowledge of chemistry, and advancing scientific knowledge of medicine is not unconnected with social mores concerning the health of the masses. So the social use of science is not exhausted by material welfare, as the term is ordinarily defined.'
The book is the second of the Primers for the Age of Plenty, the first being Mathematics for the Mi