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Paul Keyser Software engineer "Science accounts for more of the texts surviving from antiquity than any other sort of writing, and yet is rarely studied or even read because the texts are relatively hard to find in translation." |
On the book: Greek Science of the Hellenistic Era: A Sourcebook (2001)
What made you decide to write a book on this topic?
Ancient history and modern science were two of my first loves, and studying ancient science was a natural response to those two calls. Science accounts for more of the texts surviving from antiquity than any other sort of writing, and yet is rarely studied or even read because the texts are relatively hard to find in translation. The ancient Greeks were the first to attempt to understand the world around them in a way that we can call scientific, and their thoughts and writings laid the foundations for the revivals of science in Medieval Baghdad and in Renaissance Europe. The book makes samples of their work, from their most productive period (300 BCE to 250 CE), available in English texts, many for the first time.
How did you go about the research necessary to write a book?
The book is based on several years of teaching and many years of reading; the actual composition of the book took the two co-authors (myself and Georgia L. Irby-Massie) several years of selecting texts, identifying and revising existing translations, and writing new translations. Most important was having a synoptic view of the whole period to be covered, together with a good grasp of the details of what was being written then on the different topics.
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What are the greatest challenges to you as an author?
Finding the right way to say what I want to say; finding the time to do the writing; and finding a publisher to publish what I have said. As many poets have said, “it is so very difficult to say just exactly what I mean.”
What or who inspires and encourages you to write?
The desire to have the book – in this case, I wanted a Greek-science source book, and then I wanted an encyclopedia of ancient scientists (my current project) -- and none were available. A second critical encouragement is to have a market – that is, to have reasons for the belief that the book will be of interest and use to others. And nothing would happen if there were not the fun of telling a story.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
Read a lot; think a lot; write a lot -- some of which may get published. Persistance, as both Edison and Einstein said, is well more than half the task.
Who are some of your favorite authors today?
In non-technical areas I mainly read science-fiction, such as Vernor Vinge, Ursula K. LeGuin, or Arthur C. Clarke, though I also enjoy J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Alexandre Dumas, Jared Diamond, and others.
What role did books play in your childhood?
Large -- my mother taught me to read, and I was a member of a book-of-the-month club, some of whose volumes I still have. I would skip grade school recess to read in the school library, was composing “books” of knowledge in junior high school, and became student librarian in high school.