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Henri Poincaré
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Science and Hypothesis Paperback – May 1, 2007

by Henri Poincar (Author), W J Greenstreet (Translator)
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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"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)."
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cosimo Classics
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.58 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1602065055
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1602065055
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cosimo Classics (May 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1602065055
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1602065055
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.58 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

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Henri Poincaré

Henri Poincaré

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
We don’t use a simple average to calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star. Our system gives more weight to certain factors—including how recent the review is and if the reviewer bought it on Amazon. Learn more
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Richard Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars Fine reproduction of a scientific classic
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2009
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This book is a 1905 English translation of Poincare's "La Science et l'hypothèse" which was originally published in 1903. It is an excellent reproduction, obviously photographic, with none of the contamination rife in books "re-created" by optical character recognition software. It is published by Forgotten Books ([...]), who say on their webpage: "We reprint classical literature and old books that have long been out of print."
10 people found this helpful
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David Milliern
3.0 out of 5 stars Get the Stephen Jay Gould Edition
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013
Take my word for it, and look into the Stephen Jay Gould Edition of Poincare's works. There is an additional note be made on this, the Dover, edition: It does not contain the small, but very, very important section, entitled "ancestral experience." You are as well off getting the Kindle version, if you really need just "Science and Hypothesis."
6 people found this helpful
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Vlad
4.0 out of 5 stars are not as useful, although he makes a pitch for a continuum ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2014
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This is a fascinating book, for reasons other reviewers note - insights into the science of the day, for example - but also because Poincare is such a thoughtful and interesting man, and a, generally, engaging writer. His views, sometimes asides, on science, scientific reasoning and the philosophy of science, and their implications for scientific education, are strikingly modern and relevant today.

The opening chapters, in which mathematics and mathematical reasoning are dealt with, are not as useful, although he makes a pitch for a continuum of reasoning that sort of hangs together. In those days math was regarded, at least by Poincare, as a "science", and so he subjects the process of mathematical reasoning (we review the proof that "2+2 = 4" for example) to the same kind of analysis that he later applies, much more stimulatingly, IMHO, to experimental science.

Finally, a note on this "book" - it is undated, with an nice introductory note by "J. Larmor" who is otherwise unidentified here, but who turns out to have been the 14th Lucasian Professor (Newton was the 2nd, Hawking the 18th) at Cambridge, and no mean physicist in his own right. There is no indication anywhere in the volume that I have of who printed the book, when, or where, so that's weird too.

I liked it, but concede that it might not be to everyone's taste. BTW, it seems that there are free pdfs of Poincare's essay available on-line...
3 people found this helpful
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jasperfay
5.0 out of 5 stars great book. happy to have found it
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017
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great book. happy to have found it.
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Kilassi Rulikira
5.0 out of 5 stars Own and Read This Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2013
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This is definitely a very good book for me who aspire to be known for illuminating the hidden secrets of nature.
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Guang Wu
5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply insight book
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2008
This book does give a deep insight into science and hypothesis although sometimes the reading becomes uninteresting.

Although the book was written more than 100 years ago, I got some new concept, for example, in Chapter 2: Mathematical Magnitude and Experiment, it reads: "It has, for instance, been observed that a weight A of 10 grammes and a weight B of 11 grammes produced identical sensations, that the weight B could no longer be distinguished from a weight C of 12 grammes, but that the weight A was readily distinguished from the weight C. Thus the rough results of the experiments may be expressed by the following relations: A=B, B=C, A < C, which may be regarded as the formula of the physical continuum."

My understanding on our daily life is that we have no difference between today and yesterday, between tomorrow and today, but we might have difference between tomorrow and yesterday.

Also it is very insightful regarding where we should stop our so-called research, in Chapter 9: Hypotheses in Physics, it reads: "If we study the history of science we see produced two phenomena which are, so to speak, each the inverse of the other. Sometimes it is simplicity which is hidden under what is apparently complex; sometimes, on the contrary, it is simplicity which is apparent, and which conceals extremely complex realities. . . . We must stop somewhere, and for science to be possible we must stop where we have found simplicity."

My understanding on our daily life is that the analysis becomes more and more complex without sense, for example, we could not judge if the economics is good or not because there are too many indicators.

Still, regarding the hypothesis, in Chapter 9, it read: "Let us also notice that it is important not to multiply hypotheses indefinitely. If we construct a theory based upon multiple hypotheses, and if experiment condemns it, which of the premisses must be changed ? It is impossible to tell. Conversely, if the experiment succeeds, must we suppose that it has verified all these hypotheses at once ?"

My understanding on our daily life is how many missions are committed based upon multiple hypotheses?
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xia mao
5.0 out of 5 stars great book---both pop sci & thought-provoking
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2000
it is philosophy,precisely it is positivism(with slightly revised)! people who like read Henri Poincare might compare his with Ernst Mach.
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Top reviews from other countries

Carsten Agger
1.0 out of 5 stars This edition is a scam
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2024
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The content of this book - the text itself - is excellent.

But the edition --- formulas are not renderes properly, they'r OCR'ed to text. The lines are too wide.

Buy a proper paperback or hardback edition instead, not this print on demand s*****.
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Client d'Amazon
2.0 out of 5 stars Font size in paperback is enormous
Reviewed in France on November 19, 2016
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The paperback version of this book is physically huge. There are 10 words per line. Do not buy the paperback.
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Quintus Horatius Flaccus
2.0 out of 5 stars More for the historian of science
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2013
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bought this book hoping for a counterexample to an acquaintance who said that the modern view of the scientific methodd began with Popper. Nope, she won...speaks to ideas from the 19th century that we don't worry about any more.
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Daniel
4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any Mathematician
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2014
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Heard of the Poincaré conjecture? You know, the one with the three spheres and 4D interaction.

His contribution was massive, I would say especially in the fields of quantum theory, special theory of relativity and celestial mechanics. This is to name but a few, for in reality Poincaré was a true polymath, and who wouldn't want to learn from what a genuine polymath has written?

[This is a re-production, based upon an early twentieth century translation. While not perfect, be assured that there are no (overly critical) points worth raising here]
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2018
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low quality printing, not edited. weird font.
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