The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution and the Birth of America

January 13, 2009
Steven Berlin Johnson | Co-founder, editor in chief, FEED

Joseph Priestly was a British scientist and theologian, a protégé’ of Benjamin Franklin, friend of Thomas Jefferson and an 18th century radical thinker who played pivotal roles in the invention of ecosystem science and the discovery of oxygen. Priestly also helped found the Unitarian Church in England and deeply influenced the Founding Fathers and their emerging vision of a separate church and state. What makes Priestly and his peers so fascinating is that they were on the cusp of multiple revolutions in multiple fields: in politics, chemistry, physics, education and religion: just as we are today. Why do these multiple revolutions happen when they do, and why do some rare individuals serve as the catalyst of their times?

Speaker Details

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of 6 books, all of them concerned with technology, science and the way new ideas emerge and spread in a culture. Both social critic and technologist, Johnson is a contributing editor at Wired Magazine and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the NYU Department of Journalism, and has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and many other periodicals. He has also co-created three influential websites: the pioneering online magazine FEED, the Webby award winning community site Plastic.com and most recently the hyperlocal community site outside.in.