Awards
2015: Music and the Making of Modern Science awarded the American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE Award) in Music & the Performing Arts, presented by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers.
2013: Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize, History of Science Society. Citation: “In recognition of his outstanding contributions to education in the history of science.”
2012: Derek Price and Rod Webster Prize, History of Science Society. Citation: “In recognition of his outstanding article published in Isis ‘Hearing the Irrational: Music and the Development of the Modern Concept of Number’ (Isis, September 2010).”
2010: Fellow, American Physical Society
2007: Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
2007: Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2006: Peano Prize 2005
2002: Seeing Double named as an Outstanding Academic Book of 2002 by Choice magazine.
Papers
64. “Music of the Clocks and Spheres: Mozart and Haydn’s Experiments with Time,” Eighteenth-Century Music (forthcoming 2024).
63. “The Horn of Enlightenment: Mozart’s Operatic Use of the Clarinet,” Cambridge Opera Journal (forthcoming, 2024).
62. “‘Secret Science’ and Piano Experiments: The Discovery of Harmonics,” Sound Studies Review 1, 1–40 (2023).
61. “Composing the Crisis: From Mesmer’s Harmonica to Charcot’s Tam-tam,” Nineteenth-Century Music Review (2020).
60. “Music, Melancholia, and Mania: Gaetano Brunetti’s Obsessional Symphony,” 19th Century Music 43, 67–85 (2019)
59. "Music, Mechanism and the 'Sonic Turn' in Physical Diagnosis," The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 71, 144–172 (2016).
58. “The Sound of Deafness: Smetana and Traumatic Tinnitus” (with Alexei Pesic), Music & Medicine 7, 9–13 (2015).
57. “Max Planck’s Writings on Music: Translation and Commentary,” Theoria 21, 83–139 (2014).
56. "Pythagorean Longings and Cosmic Symphonies: The Musical Rhetoric of String Theory and the Sonification of Particle Physics" (with Axel Volmar), Journal of Sonic Studies 8 (2014).
55. “Thomas Young and Eighteenth Century Tempo,” Performance Practice Review 18, no. 1, article 2 (2014).
54. “Turning the Tables on Bacon: Computer-Assisted Baconian Philology,” Early Modern Literary Studies 17, no. 1 (2014); available at:
53. “Francis Bacon, Violence, and the Motion of Liberty: The Aristotelian Background,” Journal for the History of Ideas, 75, 69–90 (2014).
52. “Euler’s Musical Mathematics” Mathematical Intelligencer 35, no. 2, 35–43 (2013).
51. “Reply to ‘Comment on 'The Smallest Clock'," European Journal of Physics 34, L69–L71 (2013).
50. “Helmholtz, Riemann, and the Sirens: Sound, Color, and the Problem of Space,” Physics in Perspective 15, 256–294 (2013).
49. “Thomas Young’s Musical Optics: Translating Sound into Light,” Osiris 28, 15–39 (2013).
48. “The Thin Blue Line” [on representing the sky], Wild Apples 7, 4–9 (2011).
47. “Hearing the Irrational: Music and the Development of the Modern Concept of Number,” Isis 101, 501–530 (2010). Received History of Science Society Price/Webster Prize 2012.
46. "Shapes of Proteus in Renaissance Art," Huntington Library Quarterly 73, 57–82 (2010).
45. “How the Sun Stood Still: Old English Interpretations of Joshua and the Leap Year,” Culture and Cosmos 13, 33–41 (2009).
44. "Proteus Rebound: Reconsidering the 'Torture of Nature'," Isis 99, 304–317 (2008).
42. "A Simple Explanation of Blue Suns and Moons," European Journal of Physics 29, N31–N36 (2008).
41. "Abel, Galois et les équations algébriques," Pour la Science 366, 34–38 (April 2008).
41. "Seeing the Forms," Journal of the International Plato Society 7 (2007).
40. "Isaac Newton and the Mystery of the Major Sixth: A Transcription of His Manuscript 'Of Musick' with Commentary," Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 31, 291–306 (2006).
39. “Dialogue between Barry Mazur and Peter Pesic: On mathematics, imagination, and the beauty of numbers,” Daedalus 134, 124–130 (2005).
38. "Earthly music and cosmic harmony: Johannes Kepler's interest in practical music, especially Orlando di Lasso," Journal of Seventeenth Century Music 11, no. 1 (2005).
37. "Estimating hc/k from sunlight," American Journal of Physics 73, 457–458 (2005). [Erratum: Ibid. 73, 979 (2005)]
36. “The sky is falling: Newton’s droplets, Clausius’s bubbles, and Tyndall’s ‘sky matter’,” European Journal of Physics 26, 189–193 (2005).
35. "Estimating Avogadro's number from skylight and airlight," European Journal of Physics 26, 183–187 (2005).
34. “Plato and Zero,” Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal 25, no. 2, 1–18 (2004).
33. "The humane study of science" in The Muse in the Crucible: Essays Celebrating the Humanities, ed. Alan C. Taylor (Santa Fe, NM: New Subasio Institute, 2004).
32. "The bell & the buzzer: On the meaning of science," Daedalus 132, no. 4, 35–44 (2003).
31. "Haydn's Wanderer," Haydn-Studien 8, 275–288 (2003).
30. "Einstein and the twin paradox," European Journal of Physics 24, 585–590 (2003).
29. "The Weyl-Cartan theorem and the naturalness of general relativity," (with Stephen P. Boughn) European Journal of Physics 24, 261–266 (2003).
28. "Die Identität der Quanten," Spektrum der Wissenschaft, 56–62 (January 2003); translation of item 26.
27. "Comment on 'Galileo's discovery of scaling laws,' by Mark A. Peterson [Am. J. Phys. 70 (6), 575–580 (2002)] — Galileo and the existence of hell," American Journal of Physics 70(11), 1160–1161 (2002).
26. "Quantum Identity," American Scientist 90, no.3, 262–267 (2002).
25. "The Validity of Newton's Lemma 28," Historia Mathematica 28, 215–219 (2001).
24. "The Child and the Daemon: Mozart and Deep Play," 19th Century Music 25, 91–107 (2001–02).
23. "Proteus Unbound: Francis Bacon's Successors and the Defense of Experiment," Studies in Philology 98, 428–456 (2001).
22. "Leibniz and the Leaves: The Historical Background of the Identity Principle," Philosophy Now 18–21 (December 2000– January 2001). Reprinted in Philosophy Now: The Ultimate Guide to Metaphysics (2018).
21. "Kepler's critique of algebra," The Mathematical Intelligencer 22, no. 4, 54–59 (2000).
20. "Identity and the foundations of quantum theory," Foundations of Physics Letters 13, 55–67 (2000).
19. "The Clue to the Labyrinth: Francis Bacon and the Decryption of Nature," Cryptologia 24(3), 193–211 (2000).
18. "Schubert's Dream," 19th Century Music 23, 136–144 (1999).
17. "Desire, Science, and Polity: Francis Bacon's Account of Eros," Interpretation 26, 333–352 (1999).
16. "Wrestling with Proteus: Bacon and the 'Torture' of Nature," Isis 90, 81–94 (1999).
15. "Einstein and Baseball," The Physics Teacher 37(4), 234–235 (1999).
14. "Brightness at Night," American Journal of Physics 66, 1013–1015 (1998).
13. "Nature on the Rack: Leibnitz' Attitude Towards Judicial Torture and the 'Torture' of Nature," Acta Leibnitiana 29/2, 189–197 (1998).
12. "Newton and Hidden Symmetry," European Journal of Physics 19, 151–153 (1998).
11. "Secrets, Symbols, and Systems: Parallels Between Cryptanalysis and Algebra, 1580–1700" Isis 88, 674–692 (1997).
10. "François Viète, Father of Modern Cryptanalysis -– Two New Manuscripts," Cryptologia 21, 1–29 (1997).
9. "Einstein and Spinoza: Determinism and Identicality Reconsidered," Studia Spinozana 12, 193–201 (1996).
8. "Before the Law: Einstein and Kafka," Literature and Theology 8, 174–192 (1994).
7. "Euclidean Hyperspace and its Physical Significance," Nuovo Cimento 108B, 1145–1153 (1993).
6. "Rough Magic," [On Shakespeare's Tempest] in Essays in Honor of Robert Bart, edited by Cary Stickney (Santa Fe: St. John's College Press, 1993), 177–183.
5. "The Smallest Clock," [biophysics and chronobiology] European Journal of Physics, 14, 90–92 (1993).
4. "The Principle of Identicality and the Foundations of Quantum Theory. II. The Role of Identicality in the Formation of Quantum Theory," American Journal of Physics 59, 975–979 (1991).
3. "The Principle of Identicality and the Foundations of Quantum Theory. I. The Gibbs Paradox," American Journal of Physics 59, 971–974 (1991).
2. "The Fields of Light," [On Maxwell and Faraday's theories of light] St. John's Review 38, 1–16 (1988–89).
1. "Two-Photon Cross Section for W-Pair Production by Colliding Beams," Physical Review D8, 945–952 (1973)
Liner Notes
"How the Piano Found Its Soul and the Cello Its Voice," liner notes for CD recording Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano, Yehuda Hanani, cello, and Walter Ponce, piano (Close Encounters With Music, 2006)
Reviews
56 “Two Books on the Mathematics of Our World: Review of Fantastic Numbers and How to Find Them by Antonio Padilla and The Big Bang of Numbers by Manil Suri,” Wall Street Journal October 7, 2022.
55. “Seeing the Unseeable: Review of Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know, a film by Peter Galison,” American Scientist online March 4, 2021.
54. “‘Helmholtz’ Review: He Saw Further and Heard More: Review of David Cahan, Helmholtz: A Life in Science,” November 22, 2018, p. C9.
53. “Science at the Summit: Review of Roland Jackson, The Ascent of John Tyndall,” Wall Street Journal August 11–12, 2018, p. C9.
52. “Blue Notes and Blackboards: Review of Stephon Alexander, The Jazz of Physics,” Wall Street Journal, May 7–8, 2017, p. C9.
51. “Dandy and Detective: Review of Cédric Villani, Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure,” Times Literary Supplement, January 1, 2016, p. 29.
50. "Review of Walter Bühler, Musikalische Skalen bei Naturwissenschaftlern der frühen Neuzeit: Eine elementarmathematische Analyse," Isis 106, 442–444 (2015).
49. "Essay Review of Steven Weinberg, To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science," Physics in Perspective 17, 156–160 (2015).
48. "Not Quite Genius: Review of Inventions That Didn't Change the Worlds by Julie Halls," Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2014, p. C.
47. "Curves in Court: Review of How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg," Times Literary Supplement, August 22 & 29, 2014, p. 25.
46. "Substantial Achievements: Review of Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik," Wall Street Journal, June 7–8, 2014, p. C9.
45. “Fixing a Shadow: Review of Capturing the Light by Roger Watson and Helen Rappaport,” Wall Street Journal, December 28–29, 2013, p. C8.
44. “Piecing Together the Periodic Puzzle: Review of A Tale of Seven Elements by Eric Scerri,” Wall Street Journal, September 21–22, 2013, p. C9.
43. “Review of The Fifth Hammer: Pythagoras and the Disharmony of the World by Daniel Heller-Roazen,” Isis 104, 604–605 (2013).
42. “What Poincaré Knew: Review of Henri Poincaré: A Scientific Biography by Jeremy Gray,” Science 339, 1384–1385 (2013).
41. “What the Romans Really Knew: Review of What Did the Romans Know? by Daryn Lehoux,” Science 339, 273–274 (2013).
40. “Hermann Weyl’s Neighborhood: Review of Umgebungen: symbolischer Konstruktivismus im Anschluss an Hermann Weyl und Fritz Medicus by Norman Sieroka,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 44/1, 150–153 (2013).
39. “The Long and Short of Waves: Review of Waves by Fredric Raichlen and Spectrums by David Blatner,” Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2012, p. C8.
38. “The Man Who Changed the Way We Write: Review of Ballpoint by György Moldava,” Wall Street Journal August 18–19, 2012, p. C9.
37. “Seen But Not Quite Heard? Review of A Geometry of Music by Dmitri Tymoczko,” Times Literary Supplement, August 17, 2012, p. 28.
36. “Review of An Introduction to Tensors and Group Theory for Physicists by Nadir Jeevanjee,” Physics Today 65/4, 64 (2012).
35. “Keeper of the Flame: Review of Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday,” Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2012.
34. “Review of The Theory that Would Not Die: How Bayes’ Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne,” Times Literary Supplement, December 16, 2011, p. 31.
33. “Exploring Matter and the Cosmos: Review of Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Lisa Randall,” American Scientist 99, 496 (2011)
32. “A Laboratory in the Sky: Review of Inflight Science by Brian Clegg,” Wall Street Journal, August 13–14, 2011, p. C8.
31. “Review of Nocturne: A Journey in Search of Moonlight by James Attlee,” Times Literary Supplement, August 12, 2011, p. 26.
30. “Cirrus Concerns: Review of The Cloud Collector’s Handbook by Gavin Pretor-Pinney,” Wall Street Journal, March 19–20, 2011, p. C8.
29. “How Our Minds Make Sound into Music: Review of The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can’t Do Without It by Philip Ball,” American Scientist 99, 169–170 (2011).
28. “Review of Einstein’s Unification by Jeroen van Dongen,” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, December 3, 2010 http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/24545/?id=22010.
27. “Review of Dance of the Photons by Anton Zeilinger,” American Scientist
26. “The Epic Search for Tiny Particles: Review of Neutrino by Frank Close and Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science by Ian Sample,” Wall Street Journal, November 13–14, 2010, p. C6.
25. “Key Ideals: Review of Physics of the Piano by Nicholas J. Giordano, Sr.,” Times Literary Supplement, November 12, 2010, p. 14.
24. “Dark Times: Review of When the Lights Went Out: A History of Blackouts in America by David E. Nye,” Times Literary Supplement, August 20/27, 2010, p. 34.
23. “Review of Alex’s Adventures in Numberland: Dispatches from the Wonderful World of Mathematics by Alex Bellos,” Times Literary Supplement, August 6, 2010, p. 27.
22. “Review of Eureka Man: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes by Alan Hirshfeld,” American Journal of Physics 78, 541 (2010).
21. “Summations and Distillations: Review of The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg by Robert P. Crease,” American Scientist 97, 334–335 (2009).
20. “Full of Holes: Review of An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming by Nigel Lawson and The Enemies of Progress: The Dangers of Sustainability by Austin Williams,” Times Literary Supplement, September 19, 2008, p. 13.
19. “Object Lessons: Review of Falling for Science: Objects in Mind, edited by Sherry Turkle,” American Scientist 96, 430–431 (2008).
18. "Risky Business: Review of The Logic of Life by Tim Harford and Microtrends by Mark J. Penn," Times Literary Supplement, June 20, 2008, pp. 27–28.
17. "Harmonious Relations: Review of Music: A Mathematical Offering by David J. Benson," American Scientist 95, 364–365 (2007).
16. "A scientific symphony: Review of Harmonious Triads: Physicists, Musicians, and Instrument Makers in Nineteenth–Century Germany by Myles W. Jackson," Nature 446, 140 (8 March 2007).
15. "Maths Applied: Review of The Triumph of Numbers: How Counting Shaped Modern Life by I. B. Cohen," Times Literary Supplement, January 12, 2007, p. 23.
14. "The Sound of Unheard Melodies: Review of How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (And Why You Should Care) by Ross W. Duffin," The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2006, p. W6.
13. "Review of The Best of All Possible Worlds by Ivar Ekeland," Times Literary Supplement, 2006.
12. "Review of Beyond 9 to 5: Your Life in Time by Sarah Norgate," Times Literary Supplement, September 22, 2006, p. 32.
11. "Review of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott, with an introduction by Thomas Banchoff," Times Literary Supplement, January 2006.
10. "Review of Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs by Len Fisher," Times Literary Supplement, December 16, 2005, p. 31.
9. "Review of Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity by David Foster Wallace," Times Literary Supplement, August,12, 2005, p. 28.
8. "Review of Atom and Archetype: The Pauli/Jung Letters, 1932–1958, edited by C. A. Meier," Isis 96, 148–149 (2005).
7. "Born to Hypothesize? Review of Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist, edited by John Brockman," American Scientist 93, 272 (2005).
6. "Relativity Patented: Review of Einstein's Clocks, Poincaré's Maps by Peter Galison," Times Literary Supplement, January 9, 2004, p. 23.
5. "A Multitude of Sins: Review of Einstein's Luck: The Truth Behind Some of the Greatest Scientific Discoveries by John Waller," American Scientist 92, 81–82 (2004).
4. "Element Number One: Review of Hydrogen: The Essential Element by John S. Rigden," American Scientist 90, 570–572 (2002).
3. "Chasing Time's Arrow: Review of Time and Chance by David Z. Albert," American Scientist 89, 466–468 (2001).
2. "Review of Ptolemy's Almagest, translated by G. J. Toomer," Archaeoastronomy 16, 102–103 (2001).
1. "Symmetries Obeyed and Broken: Review of Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry by Frank Close and Antimatter: The Ultimate Mirror by Gordon Fraser," American Scientist 88, 544–546 (2000).