Ancient philosopher Anaximander's discoveries about rain, wind and the cosmos may make him the true force behind modern science, argues physicist Carlo Rovelli in his newly republished first book ...

In Anaximander, first published in French in 2009 and now translated into English by Marion Lignana Rosenberg, Carlo Rovelli argues that Anaximander was the world’s first scientist. He doesn’t spend ...

Anaximander. By Carlo Rovelli. Translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg. Riverhead Books; 272 pages; $18. Allen Lane; £16.99 O f the three men usually credited with founding the disciplines of ...

Yes, Anaximander’s account of the origin of the cosmos resembles the modern Big Bang theory, but “it is important not to mistake this vague similarity for some mysterious foresight”.

In discussing how Anaximander paved the way for scientific knowledge, I highlighted a certain number of aspects of science itself. Now I shall make these observations more explicit.

Anaximander ignored all that to devise that what was above was also below. Look what happened to Copernicus and Gallileo centuries later, for their views on the Earth’s place in the Universe.

Anaximander: And the Birth of Science Carlo Rovelli, trans. from the Italian by Marion Lignana Rosenberg. Riverhead, $18 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-0-593-54236-1 ...

He is, in short, Rovelli’s hero, and Anaximander and the Nature of Science sets out to show how important he was. The interest here, though, is less biographical than historical and philosophical.

Anaximander's map was expanded and corrected by a fellow Milesian, Ancient Greek historian and geographer Hecataeus. An example of Hecataeus' map can be viewed in the 1901 book, Cram's Atlas of ...