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There are some great questions
 
 
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that have intrigued and haunted us 
 
 
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since the dawn of humanity. 
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What is out there? 
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How did we get here? 
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What is the world made of? 
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The story of our search 
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to answer those questions 
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is the story of science. 
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Of all human endeavors 
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science has had the greatest impact 
 on our lives,
 
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on how we see the world, 
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on how we see ourselves. 
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Its ideas, its achievements, its results 
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are all around us. 
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So, how did we arive at the modern world? 
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Well, that is more surprising 
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and more human than you might think. 
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The history of science is often told 
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as a series of eureka moments, 
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the ultimate triumph of the rational mind. 
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But the truth is that power and passion, 
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rivalry and sheer blind chance 
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have played equally significant parts. 
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In this series, 
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I'll be offering a different view 
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of how science happens. 
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It's been shaped as much by 
 what's outside the laboratory as inside.
 
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This is the story of how history made science 
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and science made history 
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and how the ideas that were generated 
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changed our world. 
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It is a tale of power, 
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proof, 
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and passion.