May I not seem to have lived in vain.
Tycho BraheRead
Now it is quite clear to me that there are no solid spheres in the heavens, and those that have been devised by the authors to save the appearances, exist only in the imagination.
Interpretation
This quote challenges the traditional view of celestial spheres, suggesting they are mere constructs of the imagination.
Tycho Brahe, a prominent astronomer, expresses his realization that the concept of solid celestial spheres is a flawed understanding of the universe. He emphasizes that these spheres were created by theorists to explain astronomical observations, yet they do not correspond to reality, highlighting the importance of questioning established beliefs in the pursuit of knowledge.
In practice
In a lecture about the history of astronomy, this quote can illustrate how scientific understanding evolves over time.
May I not seem to have lived in vain.
Those who study the stars have God for a teacher.
When I had satisfied myself that no star of that kind had ever shone before, I was led into such perplexity by the unbelievability of the thing that I began to doubt the faith of my own eyes.
If you get asteroids about a kilometer in size, those are large enough and carry enough energy into our system to disrupt transportation, communication, the food chains, and that can be a really bad day on Earth.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
There is, even today, a Flat Earth Society that meets every year to say the Earth is flat. The science about climate change is very clear. There really is no room for doubt at this point.
I am not deeply involved in Australian politics but I know there are prime ministers, governments around the world who are not acting responsibly in relation to climate change.
Dissent is the native activity of the scientist, and it has got him into a good deal of trouble in the last years. But if that is cut off, what is left will not be a scientist. And I doubt whether it will be a man.
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