Interdisciplinary Studies in Letters & Science

Chabot College

Galileo's Letters on Sunspots

Pages 59 - 144

Pages
Quote
Interpretation/Comments

60 "Thus the threatened writing will come to nothing, as has the whole idea which these fellows have thus far tried to bring against me with some hope of succeeding, thinking that I would be quite overthrown by the force of their authority or dismayed by the abundance of their credulous followers, and would withdraw into a corner and wall myself in. Well, things have turned out just the opposite; and indeed it was necessary that the truth should remain on top."
How does the process of science establish "truth"?

61 "Meanwhile, since there are no very good telescopes at hand, I shall see that one or two are made - though this is a good deal of trouble for me, ..."
"[F]or as one day goes by after another I am determined to settle my future career and devote all my attention to bringing to fruition all my labors and studies of the past, from which I hope to win some fame."
Galileo clearly makes the purpose of his letter clear - he is asking for patronage and support.

He also is not shy. Is this necessarily a "bad thing", in science? In society?

62-63 "But because giving private lessons and taking scholars as boarders constitute something of an obstacle to me and impede my studies, I should like to live completely free from the one and largely free of the other."
"Likewise, just as I deem it my greatest glory to be able to teach princes, I prefer not to teach others."

"Particular secrets, as useful as they are curious and admirable, I have in great plenty."

"Great and remarkable things are mine, but I can only serve... princes..."
Galileo builds his case for his desired position as court philosopher and astronomer with Cosimo d'Medici.

73-75 Arguments against Galileo's discoveries:
- they (Jupiter's Moons) were illusions, created by his telescope.

- the moon was smoothly covered by an invisible transparent material.

- astrologers had already taken into account everything in the sky that could have influenced the earth and moon.

- they were frauds - painted within the telescope by a clever and devious man.
How did Galileo deal with each of these?

77 (Stillman Drake) The growth of modern science has been closely associated with the academies and societies separate from the universities. These organizations have provided facilities for mutual discussion, speedy publication, and rapid communications by their members as well as providing them with means of uniting their efforts in combating opposition.
What is the process of science, as demonstrated by both Galileo & Darwin?

90 "... it being much harder for me to discover the truth than to refute what is false." Galileo understands the nature of science - it is much easier to devise experiments to show what something is NOT, rather than to prove what something IS without doubt..

91 "Thus the spots describe lines on the face of the sun similar to those along which Venus and Mercury proceed when those planets come between the sun and our eyes." The transits of Venus and Mercury, although rare, are incredible proofs that the inner two planets come BETWEEN earth and the Sun.

91 -92 "Having established the fact that the spots observed are not telescopic illusions or optical defects, the author next seeks to determine something about their location, attempting to show that they are neither in the atmosphere of the earth nor in the body of the sun. On the first point, their lack of any perceptible parallax shows that we must conclude them to be not in the atmosphere..." Parallax results from the noticeable change in position of a foreground object relative to more distance background objects, as a result of a different vantage point. Stereoscopic vision with two eyes gives us an inherent "depth perception" that relies on detecting parallax.

http://www.galaxypix.freeserve.co.uk/solarsys/Jupiter/jupiter1.htm

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/April00/Simonelli.moons.deb.html

http://www.astrovid.com/mtwilimg.htm

Pages	Quote	Interpretation/Comments
60	"Thus the threatened writing will come to nothing, as has the whole idea which these fellows have thus far tried to bring against me with some hope of succeeding, thinking that I would be quite overthrown by the force of their authority or dismayed by the abundance of their credulous followers, and would withdraw into a corner and wall myself in. Well, things have turned out just the opposite; and indeed it was necessary that the truth should remain on top."	How does the process of science establish "truth"?
61	"Meanwhile, since there are no very good telescopes at hand, I shall see that one or two are made - though this is a good deal of trouble for me, ..." "[F]or as one day goes by after another I am determined to settle my future career and devote all my attention to bringing to fruition all my labors and studies of the past, from which I hope to win some fame."	Galileo clearly makes the purpose of his letter clear - he is asking for patronage and support. He also is not shy. Is this necessarily a "bad thing", in science? In society?
62-63	"But because giving private lessons and taking scholars as boarders constitute something of an obstacle to me and impede my studies, I should like to live completely free from the one and largely free of the other." "Likewise, just as I deem it my greatest glory to be able to teach princes, I prefer not to teach others." "Particular secrets, as useful as they are curious and admirable, I have in great plenty." "Great and remarkable things are mine, but I can only serve... princes..."	Galileo builds his case for his desired position as court philosopher and astronomer with Cosimo d'Medici.
73-75	Arguments against Galileo's discoveries: - they (Jupiter's Moons) were illusions, created by his telescope. - the moon was smoothly covered by an invisible transparent material. - astrologers had already taken into account everything in the sky that could have influenced the earth and moon. - they were frauds - painted within the telescope by a clever and devious man.	How did Galileo deal with each of these?
77	(Stillman Drake) The growth of modern science has been closely associated with the academies and societies separate from the universities. These organizations have provided facilities for mutual discussion, speedy publication, and rapid communications by their members as well as providing them with means of uniting their efforts in combating opposition.	What is the process of science, as demonstrated by both Galileo & Darwin?
90	"... it being much harder for me to discover the truth than to refute what is false."	Galileo understands the nature of science - it is much easier to devise experiments to show what something is NOT, rather than to prove what something IS without doubt..
91	"Thus the spots describe lines on the face of the sun similar to those along which Venus and Mercury proceed when those planets come between the sun and our eyes."	The transits of Venus and Mercury, although rare, are incredible proofs that the inner two planets come BETWEEN earth and the Sun.
91 -92	"Having established the fact that the spots observed are not telescopic illusions or optical defects, the author next seeks to determine something about their location, attempting to show that they are neither in the atmosphere of the earth nor in the body of the sun. On the first point, their lack of any perceptible parallax shows that we must conclude them to be not in the atmosphere..."	Parallax results from the noticeable change in position of a foreground object relative to more distance background objects, as a result of a different vantage point. Stereoscopic vision with two eyes gives us an inherent "depth perception" that relies on detecting parallax.