The Risk of Discovery

Post by nitrogen » Thu, Jan 12, 2017, 11:41 PM UTC

cutler wrote: post #198

olavk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah alchemy seem like a completely different field than astronomy today, but at the time it was considered deeply connected - the metals was corresponding to the planets and so on. Because the heavenly order was considered reflected in the earthly materials and vice versa, studying one would lead you to greater understanding of the other. For a modern viewpoint it might seem like Newton was "hedging his bets" by con…

Ptolemy is likewise revered by astronomers as one of their founding fathers but they conveniently ignore the fact that in astrological circles he occupies a similar position due to his seminal work, the Tetrabiblos. Scientists can become very selective when dealing with alternatives to their world view.

Post by amsilprotag » Thu, Jan 12, 2017, 11:48 PM UTC

pc2g4d wrote: post #181

olavk wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just guessing here, but I suspect PG doesn't care what "most people" think about theology. He is probably writing from the perspective from an educated person who see the enormous influence of Newtonian physics, and see absolutely no benefit from his theological thinking. Seriously, who today even knows what Newtons theological theories were?

I don't think it matters what his particular theology was. What matters is that theology matters. It affects how people experience and interpret religion, which has a vast impact on the world. So the article's utter dismissal of theology as a waste of time seems misguided to me. Alchemy as well was not so ridiculous as people seem to think. Modern hatred for alchemy seems more like a way of patting ourselves on the b…

Post by nocman » Thu, Jan 12, 2017, 11:55 PM UTC

Cogito wrote: post #208

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As you say dismissing alchemy is probably a bad thing too. Alchemy was the search for the ability to transform matter (particularly Pb->Au). I rather think that nuclear fusion/fission are still consider worthy fields and that creation/discovery of an alchemist's stone - a way to convert readily between different forms of matter - would still be considered a worthy development. I agree too with your synopsis. Physics…

> faith of atheism I used to entertain this idea, that you need faith to believe there is no god just as much as you need it to believe there are 1000. Perhaps you do. What does not require faith, however, is observation - at least to the limits to which we can test and trust our observations. Atheism isn't a belief that there is no god, it's an observation that we don't experience any supernatural forces interacting…

Post by nocman » Fri, Jan 13, 2017, 12:05 AM UTC

olavk wrote: post #214

nocman wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The people who wrote the Bible did not actually have any 'privileged information about the end of the world.'" Well, you might believe they did not, but many people in the world believe they did. If you do not accept the Bible as revelation from God (and I would guess from your response that you do not), then I can see why you would reach that conclusion. If, however, you do accept the Bible as revelation from God,…

Just because someone believes something does not make it true. The bible predicted the end of the world in the first century. It turned out to be wrong, even though people believed it.

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jan 13, 2017, 12:08 AM UTC

oh_sigh wrote: post #104

lisper wrote: post #76

What exactly was Newton risking? An entrepreneur who quits her job and takes out a mortgage to start a business is risking her livelihood. If she fails, she and her family could end up on the street. Newton came from a wealthy family. If he failed in his intellectual endeavors the "risk" for him was to live out his life as an ordinary rich person and only ending up in the more obscure history books. I think Fredrick…

Newton's family was not well off. His father, a yeoman, died before he was born, his mother remarried a reverend, who also died before Newton came of age. His mother wanted him to be a farmer, which is not lucrative unless you have huge tracts of land(which he did not). When he was first admitted to Trinity, he was a subsizar - that is, he had to perform valet duties in order to pay for his education. He only stopped…