The Great Rift

A sturdy contribution to the history of science.--Kirkus Reviews (04/16/2018) The immense scope of the chronicle, the professional scholarship, and the depth of insight manifested in this complex and comprehensive study of the rise of Western science provides a narrative both engrossing and enlightening...This book is a gem.--Choice (11/01/2018) Hobart offers a new twist on a huge old metanarrative: the death of God. Something or other happened in Renaissance Europe, the story goes, and it eventually distanced scientists from religion. Hobart locates this great shift in the field of mathematics...To make [his] argument, Hobart presents a virtuosic array of evidence...The Great Rift contains a huge wealth of historical anecdote, and Hobart marshals it confidently.-- (04/27/2018) The Great Rift offers an innovative interpretation of the rupture between science and religion from the time of Galileo. Rather than new methods of experimental science or new cosmological conceptions as traditional accounts would have it, Hobart argues for a revolution in information technology that triggered new developments in early modern mathematics as the real culprit responsible for the 'Great Rift.' Informed by a lifetime of work on the history of mathematics as it relates to the history of information technology and intellectual history, this book is full of provocative arguments and fresh perspectives.--J. B. Shank, author of The Newton Wars and the Beginning of the French Enlightenment The Great Rift is a rich, original, and constructively provocative book that trumpets the value of history when examining the contrast between science and religion. Hobart presents a persuasive and deeply analytic overarching argument that avoids simplistic framing. Covering a wide range of material, this book is at once groundbreaking, satisfying, and a joy to read.--Joan Richards, Brown University