Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand's blockbuster, "Atlas Shrugged," had a great impact on author Michael Shermer. Rand's general tenets included: "objective reality, reason, self-interest, and capitalism." (p. 47).

Copernican Principle

The Copernican principle states that man is not special. It was also Copernicus' contention that it was the sun and not the earth that was the center of the planetary system.

Island Universe

Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant advanced a theory that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy that existed. In fact, he envisioned the universe full of independent galaxies. His thesis was referred to as the "island universe" theory.

M-Theory

Astrophysicists Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow advanced the M-theory in 2010. To date, it is the only theory advanced by scientists that attempts to explain why the universe was created.

Spectroscopy

The spectroscope was an innovation that was developed to confirm the color spectrum of light. It was the...