Jimena Canales

Jimena Canales

Jimena Canales is an expert in 19th and 20th century history of the physical sciences, working for a better understanding of science and technology in relation to the arts and humanities.She received an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University in the History of Science and a BSc in Engineering Physics from the Tecnológico de Monterrey. Her first book, A Tenth of a Second: A History explored the relation between science and history as one of the central intellectual problems of modern times. Her widely-acclaimed second book, The Physicist and the Philosopher: Einstein, Bergson and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time has been translated in Chinese, Greek, Spanish and excerpted in other languages. Her third book Bedeviled: A Shadow History of Demons in Science, covering four-centuries of scientific discovery, is now available.

6 min
Jimena Canales shares the “demons” that shaped computer science.
A horned, fanged figure lies on the ground with a foot pressing down on its neck; red drapery is visible above.
7 min
Darwin, Descartes, and Maxwell all believed in these science ‘demons.’
John Templeton Foundation
scientific demons
7 min
Darwin, Descartes, and Maxwell all believed in these science ‘demons.’