Patricia Fara is a historian of science at Cambridge University and well-known for her writings on women in science. Her forthcoming book, Life After Gravity: Isaac Newton's London Career, details the life of the titan of the so-called Scientific Revolution after his famous (though perhaps mythological) discovery under the apple tree. Her work emphasizes science as a long, continuous process composed of incremental contributions–in which women throughout history have taken a crucial part–rather than the sole province of a few monolithic innovators.
Patricia joined Tyler to discuss why Newton left Cambridge to run The Royal Mint, why he was so productive during the Great Plague, why the “Scientific Revolution” should instead be understand as a gradual process, what the Antikythera device tells us about science in the ancient world, the influence of Erasmus Darwin on his grandson, why more people should know Dorothy Hodgkin, how George Eliot inspired her to commit unhistoric acts, why she opposes any kind of sex-segregated schooling, her early experience in a startup, what modern students of science can learn from studying Renaissance art, the reasons she considers Madame Lavoisier to be the greatest female science illustrator, the unusual work habit brought to her attention by house guests, the book of caricatures she’d like to write next, and more.
Follow us on Twitter and IG: @cowenconvos
Email: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Newsletter
Ben Sasse on the Space between Nebraska and Neverland (Live at Mason)
Edward Luce on The Retreat of Western Liberalism (Live)
Jill Lepore on Traveling through Time
Tyler Cowen and Steve Davies talk Theresa May, Brexit, and Europe (Live)
Raj Chetty on Teachers, Social Mobility, and How to Find Answers to Big Questions
Garry Kasparov on AI, Chess, and the Future of Creativity
Patrick Collison has a Few Questions for Tyler (Live at Stripe)
Malcolm Gladwell Wants to Make the World Safe for Mediocrity (Live at Mason)
*The Complacent Class* with Katherine Mangu-Ward (Live at Mason)
Rabbi David Wolpe on Leadership, Religion, and Identity (Live at Sixth & I)
Chef Mark Miller on Food as the Ultimate Intellectual Exploration
Jhumpa Lahiri on Writing, Translation, and Crossing Between Cultures (Live at Mason)
Joseph Henrich on WEIRD Societies and Life Among Two Strange Tribes (Live at Mason)
Fuchsia Dunlop on Chinese Food, Culture, and Travel
Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence (Live at Mason)
Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World
Margalit Fox on Life, Death, and the Best Job in Journalism
Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters
Cass Sunstein on Judicial Minimalism, the Supreme Court, and Star Wars (Live at Mason)
Camille Paglia on her Lifestyle of Observation (Live at Mason)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
In the Great Khan’s Tent
Visualize Meditations
The No-Frills Teacher Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast