Imagery/Imaging/Imaginal Reality Record Type: Review   ID: 550
Imagery in Scientific Thought: Creating 20th-Century Physics Miller, Arthur I.
According to the author, "this book explores the connection of creative scientific thinking with the origins of scientific concepts and the ways in which this connection may provide a better understanding of scientific progress" (p. xi). The individual case is emphasized. Miller studies Niels Bohr, Ludwig Boltzmann, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Henri Poincare. His analyses of their work stresses the thinking styles and mental imagery modes of these scientists. He proposes that "the creative act in science emphasizes invention over discovery, while the construction of knowledge emphasizes discovery over invention" (p. 310). Moreover, "each well-developed theory has images" (p. 310). He concludes that when a scientist holds a particular theory, he also holds a particular mode of imagery. Thus, "the progress of science is linked with transformations of perceptions and imagery" (p. 312).
Publisher Information:	Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986 (c1984). 355p. Bibliography: 315-338; Chapter notes; 22 figs; 14 illus; Index: 339-355

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