--- Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Deborah Harrell wrote: > > > > >Let me give an example of 'phenomena that had been > > investigated for > > > centuries' to no avail, until after the proper > > equipment was invented > > > and the phenomenon was explained scientifically: > > blood circulation. > > > > Bad example. While the exact mechanism was not > > known, lots of things > > about blood and the circulatory system were known > > and examined. You need > > to find an example where, despite a great deal of > > study, NOTHING AT ALL > > WAS KNOWN OR MEASURED ABOUT THE PHENOMENON. > > Hmm, what about astronomy? Centuries of looking at > the skies, yet quasars/pulsars weren't discovered > until the 60's (again, because of the development of > the detecting technology). Understanding what > novae/supernovae were also required the proper > equipment (and theories and reasoning of course), > despite their documentation throughout recorded > history. http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/pulsars/pulsars1_1.htm
Hey! What about the astronomy example I gave in my first post this thread: "And for an even longer timeframe from observance to 'scientific revision,' look at the change from an Earth-centered to a sun-centered system! :) " Despite millenia of watching the stars and sun and moon, the earth-centered viewpoint wasn't dispelled until after Copernicus, in the 1600s. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/retrograde/copernican.html "...We noted earlier that 3 incorrect ideas held back the development of modern astronomy from the time of Aristotle until the 16th and 17th centuries: (1) the assumption that the Earth was the center of the Universe, (2) the assumption of uniform circular motion in the heavens, and (3) the assumption that objects in the heavens were made from a perfect, unchanging substance not found on the Earth..." (Of course, just as with blood circulation, there *were* earlier 'correct' proposals re: sun-as-center, but prevailing wisdom overturned these 'heretical' notions -- see further down the page for Aristarchus. And Copernicus' views weren't really vindicated until after his death.) Debbi VFP Sneaky! __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
