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The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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ant

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The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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I thought this would be a good short article to read for those of you with a misinformed and false impression of one famous scientific "hero"

https://aeon.co/opinions/galileo-s-repu ... than-truth
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Re: The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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An observation I would make is that a scientific theory almost never rests on the heroics of a single person, but the effort of many scientists and the scientific process over time. So, for example, Darwin gets a lot of credit for laying out the theory of evolution, and deservedly so, but it’s important to consider the role of scientists and philosophers who came before and since the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species. If Darwin never lived, we would still have evolutionary theory today because knowledge ultimately stands on its own and is winnowed out by the work of many. This is why I prefer "evolutionary theory" over "Darwinian evolution" although a lot of people do use the latter.

Catherine Milne, professor of science education at NYU, has coined the term "philosophically correct" to discuss the very human tendency to cast some of the principle actors in history as heroes (in the mold of Joseph Campbell's monomyth). Here’s one of her articles that uses Galileo as one of these ”philosophically correct" figures whose story is often presented oversimplistically in order to preserve its mythic aspects. Humans are first and foremost story tellers and we tend to frame important historical events as stories in terms of heroes and villains. This obviously is an important consideration for those teaching science, Milne's area of expertise. Interesting stuff.
All stories have in common their relation to culture via codes that are agreed-upon sets of rules or social norms or myths. We use these codes to make sense of events by ordering events into a narrative and by introducing causality into the interpretation of texts that have been presented as an account of the narrative. If teachers and students of science understand how stories and narratives are structured, if they understand the relationship between events, text, and interpretation, and if they appreciate that stories contain explicit or implicit messages about values and meaning, then they can develop an awareness of the possibility of multiple representations of events. Thus, if we wish to improve the quality of teaching and learning in science, it may be important to understand the influence of narrative structure on the representation of science because stories are an undeniable feature of the human condition. A critical awareness of the possibility of creating more than one set of meanings and values in a story is important because stories are significant in school science. Students are novices who are believed to lack knowledge about science—that is, situated knowledge—so textbooks and teachers use stories
to help students make sense of the purported grand narrative of science.
https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/up ... troies.pdf
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Re: The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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OMFG! i will now have to go and tear down my loungeroom shrine to Galileo where i daily sacrifice christian babies to the big "G"

next thing you know i'll have to chuck all my Newton fetishes out :-D (Blake will be pleased)

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
(Galileo) Galileo.
(Galileo) Galileo,
Galileo Figaro
Magnifico.

as the great Kepler would say

I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.
Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife.
Nature uses as little as possible of anything.
I demonstrate by means of philosophy that the earth is round, and is inhabited on all sides; that it is insignificantly small, and is borne through the stars.
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Re: The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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Yeah, sorry to disappoint you stupid atheists but your worship of Galileo the Great Hero of Science is misplaced because he was actually a human being with the same foibles and weaknesses that plague all other human beings. Who da thunk it? So pick up the shards of your shattered personality worship and admit the Christian fundies were right all along--just as you always knew in your hearts but refuse to admit to yourselves. Because we all know that was the sole purpose of this stupid, useless thread.
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Re: The myth of Galileo (and the war between science and religion)

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:lol:
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