Science and Hypothesis

But it s not that simple, argues Henri Poincare in the preface to Science and Hypothesis, his exposition on hypothesis and its place in the physical sciences. To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. And so, in the interests of reflection, Poincare divides his treatise into four sections ( Number and Magnitude, Space, Force, and Nature ) and rigorously examines the development of: mathematical reasoning non-Euclidean geometries the classical mechanics relative and absolute motion energy and thermodynamics the calculus of probabilities optics and electricity electrodynamics and much more. Written as a series of nontechnical essays, Science and Hypothesis will especially be of interest to students of the history and philosophy of science. French theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, and mathematician HENRI POINCARE (1854 1912) also wrote New Methods of Celestial Mechanics (1892 99) and Lessons of Celestial Mechanics. (1905 10).