Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests begin a new series of the programme with a discussion of the French polymath Blaise Pascal. Born in 1623, Pascal was a brilliant mathematician and scientist, inventing one of the first mechanical calculators and making important discoveries about fluids and vacuums while still a young man. In his thirties he experienced a religious conversion, after which he devoted most of his attention to philosophy and theology. Although he died in his late thirties, Pascal left a formidable legacy as a scientist and pioneer of probability theory, and as one of seventeenth century Europe's greatest writers.
With:
David Wootton Anniversary Professor of History at the University of York
Michael Moriarty Drapers Professor of French at the University of Cambridge
Michela Massimi Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time. |
| 0:38.7 | For more details about in our time and for our terms of use please go to BBC.co. UK slash radio for. I hope you enjoy |
| 0:45.9 | the program. Hello the first practical calculating machine was invented in 1642 by the |
| 0:52.4 | 19 year old son of a tax inspector who wanted to find a way to make |
| 0:56.0 | his father's job easier. His name was Bla Pascal and although he's credited one of the |
| 1:01.3 | major inventions of the 17th century, it's not his most celebrated achievement. |
| 1:05.8 | Pascal was one of history's great polymaths, a scholar who made significant contributions |
| 1:10.4 | to mathematics, physics, philosophy and religious thought. |
| 1:14.0 | Today, scientists measure pressure in Pascal's, a unit named after him in honor of his work on gases. |
| 1:20.0 | He's also remembered for Pascal's triangle and for Pascal's wager, an argument for the existence of |
| 1:25.2 | God which brings together religion and probability theory. |
| 1:28.7 | And his most famous book, The Ponsei, is celebrated as one of the best and most elegantly written works of French literature. |
| 1:35.3 | He died in his late 30s. |
| 1:37.1 | With me to discuss the life and work of Bles Pascal are David Wooten, Professor of History |
| 1:41.7 | at the University of York, Michael Moriarty, |
| 1:44.2 | Drapus Professor of French at the University of Cambridge, Michaela Massimi, Senior Lecture in Philosophy |
... |
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