Book

The visible unseen / Andrea Chapela ; translated from the Spanish by Kelsi Vanada ; artwork by Fabiola Menchelli.

Chapela, Andrea, 1990- (author.). Vanada, Kelsi, (translator.).

Summary:

In powerful, formally inventive essays, The Visible Unseen disrupts the purported cultural divide between arts and science. As both a chemist and an award-winning author, Chapela zeros in on the literary metaphors buried in the facts and figures of her scientific observations. Through questioning scientific conundrums that lie beyond the limits of human perception, she winds up putting herself under the microscope as well. While considering the technical definition of glass as a liquid or a solid, Chapela stumbles upon a framework for understanding the in-between-ness of her own life. Turning her focus toward mirrors, she finds metaphors for our cultural obsessions with self-image in the physics and chemistry of reflection. And as she compiles a history of the scientific study of light, she comes to her final conclusion: that the purpose of description--be it scientific or literary--can never be to define reality, only to confirm our perception of it. Lyrical, introspective, and methodical, The Visible Unseen constructs a startling new perspective from which to examine ourselves and the ways we create meaning.

Record details

ISBN: 9781632063526
ISBN: 1632063522
Physical Description: 145 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm
Edition: First Restless Books hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Restless Books, 2022.
Copyright: ℗♭2022

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references.
Formatted Contents Note:	The act of seeing -- The act of seeing through -- The act of self-seeing -- The history of seeing -- Sources -- Acknowledgements. The act of seeing -- The act of seeing through -- The act of self-seeing -- The history of seeing.
Language Note:	In English; translated from the Spanish.