I occupy Study 30 at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. I requested it based on the recommendation of my friend Fred Turner, who had enjoyed it a couple years back and who said it doesn’t get too hot. Which it doesn’t. Then I looked at the list of previous residents of my study (which the Center staff conveniently post outside each study’s door).
Study 30, Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, was occupied by Thomas S. Kuhn during the 1958-59 academic year. He was working on the manuscript that would become The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Here’s what he had to say about his time at the Center:
They told me when I was at Wesleyan that I stayed in the room where John Cage wrote “Silence.” Ah, the shadows of greatness. . . .
It’s edifying to be called-up by the standards of a community- a much better kind of pressure than the inverse.
I have to say, though, that I expect more out of you the something like Structure. Widely influential as it was, so much of this influence was based on flattening, inversion, and careless extrapolation of the book.
I trust you’ll be a better guide for your readers.
Glad you’re well.
Jonathan: that’s a good one! You’re a fitting person to use that study. My home study was used by David Roediger, and it’s where he wrote one of his books on whiteness. So it’s a space infused with race critique! how many of those are there in the world! as yours is with science and technology studies, it appears.
I’m probably just partial to HPS stuff, but I love this…”shadows of greatness.” Awesome. Well, here’s hoping you don’t just do “normal science”. Great opportunity there…
Who got the office where Said wrote Orientalism? (and did you get to see the room histories before choosing?)