The Rough Road to the Truth
Part 1. The Man from Galilei
Galileo Galilei is probably the father of modern science, at least thats what Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkins thought. Born in the sixteenth century in Italy, he came from a learned family. Contemplated becoming a priest, then went to medical school, didn't finish and instead studied mathematics. He heard about the telescope that was invented in Amsterdam, and decided to make one of his own. He started by making a terrestrial telescope that he sold to merchants who would be on the lookout for their ships, and then decided to look upwards at the heavens.
What he saw in the sky was totally against everything that he had been taught. Ever since Aristotle, it was widely believed that we lived in a geocentric universe. This was a view shared and endorsed by the church because the scriptures said the same. The improvement in the telescope allowed Galileo to track the movements of the planets, which did not make sense if everything revolved around the earth. So he used Copernicus' mathematical model, which was tested against empirical evidence, movement of the planets i.e. and found to be correct.
Guess what happened when the church found out, they declared him a heretic and made him recant his theory on the pain of death. He was put under house arrest and spent his last years imprisoned. Long live the Inquisition!
As a man of science, Galileo formulated theories that have withstood the test of time. He used quantitative methods to prove his theories, is credited with the modern telescope, discovered the moons of Jupiter, improved the compass, among a long list of things. He was persecuted by the church for his heliocentric vision of our solar system, and in recent years the Vatican has apologized for being ignorant morons.
Part 2. The Man from Shrewsbury
Charles Darwin was born in the nineteenth century in England. From a family of wealthy parents, Darwin went to university to study medicine like his father. Medicine and surgery didn't hold his interest for long, and he started to spend his time studying natural history. Darwin Senior realized this and had Charles sent to Cambridge where he hoped young Charles would study theology and become an Anglican priest, a good way of earning a decent living. But it was not to be, Charles had more interest in collecting beetles and botany, and shooting and riding.
Darwin passed his exams, doing well in Theology, standing tenth in a class of 178. But did not take the vows of clergy and instead decided to accept an unpaid position of a naturalist aboard HMS Beagle which was to leave for a two year journey to South America to chart its coastline.
Over the next five years, Darwin observed and catalogued geological features, fossils, marine life and plants. He published "The Voyage of the Beagle" as a summary of the journals he wrote for his family, with his theories on anthropology, sociology and politics based on his interaction with the different people he saw and interacted with.
Darwin had become a noted naturalist by the time he arrived back in England. His meticulous documentation had earned him a reputation of a thoroughly methodical and rational naturalist. So after observations and studying and experimentation, Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" in 1859.
No points for anyone who guesses what happened then. All hell broke loose. Man was supposed to have been created in his present form as described in the Scriptures. People with little or no understanding of what Mr. Darwin was saying, were told that his theory was that apes changed into man. Since the Anglican Church was threatened by this naturalist, no effort was spared to discredit him. How could the white man accept that he might be related to the black man of Africa?
And so it remains today. Evolutionary biology has found more evidence to support natural selection and evolution than anything else. Fossils have been found which confirm this theory. Yes there are missing links, but science accepts this theory until the time someone else can come up with a better one.
There may be a few people out there, who are only interested in rubbishing evolution because it goes against their deeply held beliefs. As a rule, evolution is a fact of life. The idiots in America who are preaching creationism have only one aim, how to safeguard their religious belief. Its not science and nothing to do with the scientific method.
I hope that I am not the only one who sees the parallels in the story of these two men. Both observed and noted empirical evidence, formulated a hypothesis, tested it against observable events, and put forth a theory. They were both saying things that went against the commonly held truths about the universe and our origins. The apologists in Christianity and Islam have tried to retrofit evolution into their stories of genesis. Most people still have no clue as to what evolution is, they are so insecure in their humanity, that the chance that they might be related to other mammals is beyond their puny little brains.
The church apologized for persecuting Galileo, but I don't think anyone will apologize to humanity for keeping them stupid. Ibn Al Haytham said that the road to truth is rough, and so it will be.
Galileo Galilei is probably the father of modern science, at least thats what Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkins thought. Born in the sixteenth century in Italy, he came from a learned family. Contemplated becoming a priest, then went to medical school, didn't finish and instead studied mathematics. He heard about the telescope that was invented in Amsterdam, and decided to make one of his own. He started by making a terrestrial telescope that he sold to merchants who would be on the lookout for their ships, and then decided to look upwards at the heavens.
What he saw in the sky was totally against everything that he had been taught. Ever since Aristotle, it was widely believed that we lived in a geocentric universe. This was a view shared and endorsed by the church because the scriptures said the same. The improvement in the telescope allowed Galileo to track the movements of the planets, which did not make sense if everything revolved around the earth. So he used Copernicus' mathematical model, which was tested against empirical evidence, movement of the planets i.e. and found to be correct.
Guess what happened when the church found out, they declared him a heretic and made him recant his theory on the pain of death. He was put under house arrest and spent his last years imprisoned. Long live the Inquisition!
As a man of science, Galileo formulated theories that have withstood the test of time. He used quantitative methods to prove his theories, is credited with the modern telescope, discovered the moons of Jupiter, improved the compass, among a long list of things. He was persecuted by the church for his heliocentric vision of our solar system, and in recent years the Vatican has apologized for being ignorant morons.
Part 2. The Man from Shrewsbury
Charles Darwin was born in the nineteenth century in England. From a family of wealthy parents, Darwin went to university to study medicine like his father. Medicine and surgery didn't hold his interest for long, and he started to spend his time studying natural history. Darwin Senior realized this and had Charles sent to Cambridge where he hoped young Charles would study theology and become an Anglican priest, a good way of earning a decent living. But it was not to be, Charles had more interest in collecting beetles and botany, and shooting and riding.
Darwin passed his exams, doing well in Theology, standing tenth in a class of 178. But did not take the vows of clergy and instead decided to accept an unpaid position of a naturalist aboard HMS Beagle which was to leave for a two year journey to South America to chart its coastline.
Over the next five years, Darwin observed and catalogued geological features, fossils, marine life and plants. He published "The Voyage of the Beagle" as a summary of the journals he wrote for his family, with his theories on anthropology, sociology and politics based on his interaction with the different people he saw and interacted with.
Darwin had become a noted naturalist by the time he arrived back in England. His meticulous documentation had earned him a reputation of a thoroughly methodical and rational naturalist. So after observations and studying and experimentation, Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" in 1859.
No points for anyone who guesses what happened then. All hell broke loose. Man was supposed to have been created in his present form as described in the Scriptures. People with little or no understanding of what Mr. Darwin was saying, were told that his theory was that apes changed into man. Since the Anglican Church was threatened by this naturalist, no effort was spared to discredit him. How could the white man accept that he might be related to the black man of Africa?
And so it remains today. Evolutionary biology has found more evidence to support natural selection and evolution than anything else. Fossils have been found which confirm this theory. Yes there are missing links, but science accepts this theory until the time someone else can come up with a better one.
There may be a few people out there, who are only interested in rubbishing evolution because it goes against their deeply held beliefs. As a rule, evolution is a fact of life. The idiots in America who are preaching creationism have only one aim, how to safeguard their religious belief. Its not science and nothing to do with the scientific method.
I hope that I am not the only one who sees the parallels in the story of these two men. Both observed and noted empirical evidence, formulated a hypothesis, tested it against observable events, and put forth a theory. They were both saying things that went against the commonly held truths about the universe and our origins. The apologists in Christianity and Islam have tried to retrofit evolution into their stories of genesis. Most people still have no clue as to what evolution is, they are so insecure in their humanity, that the chance that they might be related to other mammals is beyond their puny little brains.
The church apologized for persecuting Galileo, but I don't think anyone will apologize to humanity for keeping them stupid. Ibn Al Haytham said that the road to truth is rough, and so it will be.
posted by Xoff at 3/28/2008 05:03:00 AM
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