For as long as there’s been an ocean, there have been tides. Twice a day, every day. By now, you’d think we’d have a pretty good scientific handle on tides. And we do. But there are still plenty of questions, even mysteries. In his new book Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean , Jonathan White weaves a tale of our changing understanding of the tides. It's a story that goes back millenia, but our modern understanding of tides is closely tied to the emergence of modern science. 1. Aristotle