NOBEL prizes in science are awarded for the fruits of curiosity moderated by discipline; Ig Nobel prizes for the results of apparently aimless curiosity. Thus, curiosity in science may inspire both respect and wariness.
Knowing where we should draw the line is not always easy, as becomes clear in Curiosity, science writer Philip Ball’s excellent, if a little idiosyncratic, investigation into the 17th century’s scientific revolution. In 1676, a decade or two after the founding of the Royal Society, Thomas Shadwell’s comic drama, The Virtuoso, poked fun at Royal Society fellows and their pursuit of knowledge. The main character,…
