Quantifying the Scientific Revolution

Abstract

The Scientific Revolution is one of the most important phenomena in human history. Yet it is ill understood, partly because of a lack of quantification. Here, we leverage large datasets of individual biographies to build national estimates of scientific production during the early modern period. While aggregate levels of national production are unsurprising, per capita estimates reveal striking differences across countries, with the two richest countries of the time (England and the United Provinces) being much more scientifically productive than the rest of Europe. Overall, our study demonstrates a strong association between scientific creativity and per capita income. We also show that scientific creativity is associated with other kinds of creative activities in philosophy, literature, music and the arts, suggesting a common underlying factor. Our results also challenge long-held hypotheses regarding the role of religion, universities, demography, and the printing press, and support the idea that economic development and rising living standards are key to explaining the rise of modern science.

Determining the markers of a preference for imaginary worlds fiction calls for comparisons across kinds of fiction readers and forms of exploration

“…It is well-established that, during the twentieth century, economic development is associated with more tolerance, more optimism, more interest in science, and less interest in religion (Inglehart, 2018;Norris & Inglehart, 2004). Similar observations can be made over the longer term: Economic development in ancient societies is associated with more tolerance (Martins & Baumard, 2020;Safra, Chevallier, Grèzes, & Baumard, 2020) and more exploration (Baumard, 2019;de Courson & Baumard, 2019). To sum up, when resources are high, exploration is less risky and, thus, more likely to be advantageous.…”

Why imaginary worlds? The psychological foundations and cultural evolution of fictions with imaginary worlds

“…It is well-established that, during the 20 th century, economic development is associated with more tolerance, more optimism, more interest in science and less interest in religion (Inglehart, 2018;Norris & Inglehart, 2004). Similar observations can be done over the longer term: economic development in ancient societies is associated with more tolerance (Martins & Baumard, 2020;Safra et al, 2020) and more exploration (Baumard, 2019;de Courson & Baumard, 2019).…”

Why and How Did Narrative Fictions Evolve? Fictions as Entertainment Technologies

“…Finally, behavioral sciences have shown that some cognitive preferences adaptively vary in response to changes in the local environment, especially changes in the level of resources ( Frankenhuis et al, 2016 ; Pepper and Nettle, 2017 ; Baumard, 2019 ; de Courson and Baumard, 2019 ; Mell et al, 2019 ; Boon-Falleur et al, 2020 ; De Courson and Nettle, 2021 ). For instance, higher levels of affluence, predictability and safeness makes people more future-oriented ( Mell et al, 2019 ; Boon-Falleur et al, 2020 ; Guillou et al, 2020 ), more optimist ( Nettle, 2012 ; Inglehart, 2020 ), more cooperative ( Baumard, 2019 ; Jacquet et al, 2019 ), more tolerant ( Inglehart, 2018 ), more romantic ( Baumard et al, 2021 ; Martins and Baumard, 2021 ), and more explorative ( Eliassen et al, 2007 ; Maspons et al, 2019 ; Gopnik, 2020 ).…”