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Anaximander review: Did Anaximander create science, asks Carlo Rovelli

Ancient philosopher Anaximander's discoveries about rain, wind and the cosmos may make him the true force behind modern science, argues physicist Carlo Rovelli in his newly republished first book

8 March 2023

Plaster bust of philosopher Anaximander and group of other busts. Portraits of ancient historical persons. Mass-product souvenir in Turkey. Copy space, selected focus; Shutterstock ID 2261783295; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: - — Most of the ideas of Anaximander (second from right) have come to us through the writing of Aristotle
Ella_Ca/shutterstock

Anaximander and the Nature of Science
Carlo Rovelli (translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg)
(Allen Lane)

ASTRONOMY was conducted at Chinese government institutions for more than 20 centuries before Jesuit missionaries turned up and, somewhat bemused, pointed out that Earth is round. Why, after so much close observation and meticulous record-keeping, did 17th-century Chinese astronomers still think Earth was flat?

Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli addresses this in Anaximander and the Nature of Science, …

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