Stars, Peripheral Scientists, and Equations: The Case of M. N. Saha
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-23-2015
Description
Peripheral actors rarely make an appearance in the general story of scientific practice, and their work in science is usually viewed as somewhat derivative of the practices of the main community. Contrary to this received model, here I argue that the peripheral contexts of science can be quite important and reveal novel conduits to creative scientific thinking. Not only can such contexts offer us a new window into how contributory expertise in science could be born amid difficult circumstances, they also allow us to see how new scientific communities could be founded during such encounters. Using case studies of M. N. Saha and other physicists in early twentieth-century India, I argue that such modest practices begin when peripheral protagonists seek to initiate new trading zones with the established centers of science. The resulting exchanges can give rise to new breakthroughs and conceptual changes in scientific practice. Such peripheral breakthroughs can be studied cognitively, giving us newer models of scientific practice as well as creating a new kind of self-image for such scientists.
Citation Information
Dasgupta, Deepanwita. 2015. Stars, Peripheral Scientists, and Equations: The Case of M. N. Saha. Physics in Perspective. Vol.17(2). 83-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00016-015-0159-7 ISSN: 1422-6944