Ha! One of the things I have to love about TIPS is that even when I post something completely tongue-in-cheek, I can count on interesting and informative replies. Thanks, John K! I'll just add that Brahe & Kepler did their thing after Copernicus, so I'll still attribute the idea to Copernicus.
Personal aside...ignore if not interested. My grandparents all emigrated from Poland to the US. They all ended up in an area just west of Detroit. My dad's parents lived on a street that happened to go by the name of Kopernik. As a kid, I had no idea the significance of that name, but I eventually figured it out. John -- John Serafin Psychology Department Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA 15650 [email protected] > From: John Kulig <[email protected]> > Reply-To: TIPS posts <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:44:16 -0400 > To: TIPS posts <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [tips] Galileo Was Wrong? > > > > Yeah, I agree! (sort of, but ...) My understanding (haven't read the original) > is that Copernicus (Latinized from the Polish name Kopernik) was theoretically > embedded in the medieval way of thinking which was to try to fit the available > data into pre-existing medieval-style thinking. I believe he showed that > either a geo or helio-centered universe could be made consistent with existing > data. Galileo deserves a tremendous amount of credit for pushing science > forward, but look to Kepler's three laws of planetary motion (1609/1619) for a > real data-driven science (Tycho Brahe's data though), moving from the perfect > circles of medieval thinking to elliptical orbits. But in empirically derived > laws, he saw a different sort of perfection, mathematically, such as the > relationship between distance from the sun and time to orbit (3rd law I > believe) ... > > ========================== > John W. Kulig > Professor of Psychology > Plymouth State University > Plymouth NH 03264 > ==================================================================== > GALILEO GALILEI: > I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us with > sense, reasons, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. > ==================================================================== > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Serafin" <[email protected]> > To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 5:24:29 PM > Subject: Re: [tips] Galileo Was Wrong? > > Hey, wait a minute here. Why is that Italian, Galileo, getting credit (or > blame, depending on your perspective) for all of this business about a > heliocentric universe? I thought that my Polish ancestor, Copernicus, was > the one responsible for all of this rabble-rousing. > > If they're going to go off on a witch hunt or defamatory exploration, they > should at least get the right victim. > > Geez! > > John > -- > John Serafin > Psychology Department > Saint Vincent College > Latrobe, PA 15650 > [email protected] > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66454&n=T&l > =tips&o=4811 > or send a blank email to > leave-4811-13338.f659d005276678c0696b7f6beda66...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13290.c740a1ff47c2ee2e7bd7530f4853cbf0&n=T&l > =tips&o=4815 > or send a blank email to > leave-4815-13290.c740a1ff47c2ee2e7bd7530f4853c...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=4816 or send a blank email to leave-4816-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
