{"product_id":"instruments-and-the-imagination-princeton-legacy-library-volume-0-9780691005492","title":"Instruments and the Imagination (Princeton Legacy Library) (Volume 0)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThomas Hankins and Robert Silverman investigate an array of instruments from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century that seem at first to be marginal to science--magnetic clocks that were said to operate by the movements of sunflower seeds  magic lanterns  ocular harpsichords (machines that played different colored lights in harmonious mixtures)  Aeolian harps (a form of wind chime)  and other instruments of \"natural magic\" designed to produce wondrous effects. By looking at these and the first recording instruments  the stereoscope  and speaking machines  the authors show that \"scientific instruments\" first made their appearance as devices used to evoke wonder in the beholder  as in works of magic and the theater.  The authors also demonstrate that these instruments  even though they were often \"tricks \" were seen by their inventors as more than trickery. In the view of Athanasius Kircher  for instance  the sunflower clock was not merely a hoax  but an effort to demonstrate  however fraudulently  his truly held belief that the ability of a flower to follow the sun was due to the same cosmic magnetic influence as that which moved the planets and caused the rotation of the earth. The marvels revealed in this work raise and answer questions about the connections between natural science and natural magic  the meaning of demonstration  the role of language and the senses in science  and the connections among art  music  literature  and natural science.  Originally published in 1995.  The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45277035135029,"sku":"ByrdShop_0691005494","price":97.52,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780691005492.jpg?v=1780570336","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/instruments-and-the-imagination-princeton-legacy-library-volume-0-9780691005492","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}