{"id":1757,"date":"2026-02-23T09:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/?page_id=1757"},"modified":"2026-02-23T09:34:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:34:47","slug":"thing-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/thing-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Thing Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"694\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-694x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-694x1024.jpg 694w, https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-1040x1536.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-1387x2048.jpg 1387w, https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/701\/2026\/02\/ThingKnowldegeCover-scaled.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 694px) 100vw, 694px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Thing Knowledge: A Philosophy of Scientific Instruments<\/em>\u00a0(University of California Press, 2004) challenges the traditional view that\u00a0<em>knowledge is primarily\u00a0<\/em>expressed in words, formulas, and propositions. Instead, the book argues that scientific instruments themselves\u00a0<em>embody knowledge<\/em>\u2014\u201cthing knowledge.\u201d These instruments aren\u2019t just tools used to support theory; they\u00a0<em>are<\/em>\u00a0forms of scientific knowledge in their own right.\u00a0The book uses a wide array of historical case studies\u2014from 18th-century mechanical models to 20<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0century cyclotrons and spectrometers\u2014to show how instruments shaped science.\u00a0Instrument development often\u00a0<em>drives science forward<\/em>\u00a0in ways that precede or outlast specific theories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thing Knowledge: A Philosophy of Scientific Instruments\u00a0(University of California Press, 2004) challenges the traditional view that\u00a0knowledge is primarily\u00a0expressed in words, formulas, and propositions. Instead, the book argues that scientific instruments themselves\u00a0embody knowledge\u2014\u201cthing knowledge.\u201d These instruments aren\u2019t just tools used to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/thing-knowledge\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1213,"featured_media":54,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1757","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/dbaird\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}