Podcasts about whewell

Are there natural limits to biological change? Is the evidence for design in nature well-founded? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with historian of science Michael Keas about Christianity's influence on the development of modern scientific inquiry. Keas also discusses the legacy of pioneering philosopher of science William Whewell, contrasting Whewell's perspective of the evidence for design with his contemporary Charles Darwin. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Source

Episode 11 with Emma 'Squid' Whewell From the USAFL Women's Association and Current Player, hosted by Greg Bridges. Emma talks us through her experiences as a player, developing and providing assistance to the woman's game, but most of all the love for the sport. This episode has passion and determination written all over it.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee   Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1794 Birth of William Whewell ("Hyoo- uhl"), English polymath, scientist, and Anglican priest. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. William was a unique blend of right and left brain aptitudes. As a university student, he was recognized for his work in both poetry and mathematics. In Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things, she wrote of William's signature accomplishment - devising the word "scientist." She wrote, ...the word scientist had been coined, by the polymath William Whewell. Many scholars had objected to this blunt new term, as it sounded so sinisterly similar to that awful word atheist;  Why not simply continue to call themselves natural philosophers?  Was that designation not more godly, more pure?  But divisions were being drawn now between the realm of nature and the realm of philosophy.  Ministers who doubled as botanists or geologists were becoming increasingly rare, as far too many challenges to biblical truths were stirred up through investigation of the natural world.  It used to be that God was revealed in the wonders of nature;  now God was being challenged by those same wonders.  Scholars were now required to choose one side or the other.   1819 Birth of Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837, until she died in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than any previous British monarch and is known as the Victorian era. In 2019, Kensington Palace celebrated the bicentenary, the 200th anniversary, of Victoria's birth with a large floral display in the sunken garden. The display included blossoms from the Victorian era, such as heliotropes, cannas, pelargonium, and begonias. The humble violet was Queen Victoria's favorite flower. Today many plants are named for Queen Victoria, including the Victoria agave and the giant waterlily, Victoria amazonica.   1861 It was on this day that 45-year-old Anne Frobel, who lived outside of Alexandria, Virginia, not far from Mount Vernon started her Civil War diary with these words, I never saw 'Wilton' my dear old home looking more lovely and inviting.  The trees and plants had put on their loveliest spring attire, and the garden was resplendent with the bloom of rare and brilliant flowers, and the fields were all smiling with a bright prospect of an abundant harvest.    The following day, Anne's farmhouse, like many homes in Alexandria and all along the Potomac, was ceased by Union soldiers looking for quarters. Anne shared her home with her sister Lizzie. The two women never married.  Anne's journal gives a glimpse of what it was like for Southern women of the Civil War era to endure four years of occupation as troops and scavengers used their land for firewood, food, and water. One day, Anne recounted how a Union officer shared a story over dinner at her table about how he had destroyed the last turnips. Anne wrote, My very blood boiled!   1905 On this day, the banker H. Howard Pepper of Providence, Rhode Island, wrote a letter to the magazine Country Life in America, I have had the gardening fever for three summers. ...All the work in the garden is done by myself, and it takes about two hours a day.  We started with these objects in view: To have cut flowers for the house at all times. To have a mass of roses in the backyard. To have [flowers] in the garden all season. Our lot is the average city size, fifty by one hundred feet. The house is twenty feet from the street line, where there are two large elm trees that shade the lawn and beds in front. While these trees are beautiful and we would not part with them, yet they are great deal of trouble, They require spraying each spring, and their roots fill ... the drainpipes, causing much annoyance and expense. I should never plant elm trees near flowerbeds or drain pipes.  The backyard is surrounded by a five-foot board fence on the north and east and picket fence on the south. Climbing nasturtiums cover the picket fence, and [we want] to have climbers hide the board fence, which is covered with wire netting hung on hooks In case the fence is to be painted, the vines and netting can easily be laid down. A woodbine trumpet-vine and Clematis paniculeta are already established,  The single tuberous begonias are the best bedding plants I know; they bloom all summer.  Last year's hollyhocks were affected with blight; we have overcome that disease by spraying with ... One ounce of carbonate of copper made into a paste with one• half pint of water; slowly add one-half pint of strong ammonia water (twenty-six degrees}; water, nine gallons. Our spraying outfit consists of a wooden pail and whisk broom. The broom is far ahead of the ordinary syringe, as it is not so wasteful. The sweet-pea bed, or No. 5, is twelve feet long and three and one-half feet wide. Last year, by planting the peas four inches deep in the middle of October and giving them heavy covering during the winter, we had flowers on May 24th. Early in the fall the sweet peas and nasturtiums were removed to make way for the homemade cold- frame, with a second-hand sash that cost us one dollar. In this frame six by three feet are two hundred small plants of oriental poppies, foxgloves, cardinal flowers, and pansies, also three hundred cuttings of phlox, wisteria, hibiscus, snow-ball, althea, and roses. We have seventy-five rose bushes, mostly vigorous hybrid perpetuals. Last winter we carried over a number of hybrid tea roses by covering them with nail kegs filled with leaves, the kegs having one stave removed for ventilation. When the ground freezes, the rose beds receive a three-inch coating of fresh cow manure, part of which is forked in in the spring. Our greatest difficulty in gardening has been to keep the roses free from aphids. We have tried almost everything advertised but fall back on spraying with the hose. The roses receive weekly applications of liquid manure, two quarts to a plant, from the time the buds appear until they show color. It is usually applied after a rain or when the ground is wet, to prevent burning the roots. We have two piazza boxes. Last fall one was filled with snowdrops, scillas, chionodoxas and crocuses; the other with hyacinths and tulips; they were buried in a vacant lot near by, As soon as the ground thawed in the spring they were placed in position. The bulbs were succeeded by tuberous begonias.  We have raised hundreds of hardy plants like cardinal flowers, foxgloves, Boston ivies, and Oriental poppies in small candy and cigar bases placed on the walk in the rear of the house. Tin marshmallow boxes are excellent for this purpose, as they hold moisture longer than wooden boxes. Our chief error in growing seedlings has been in giving them too much sun. WHY WE HAVE A GOOD LAWN We take great delight in the back lawn because we have overcome SO much in getting it into its present condition.  The weeds are removed from the lawn at least twice a year. The grass is cut once in ten days and the clippings are not raked up.    Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Cultivated by Christin Geall This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is The Elements of Floral Style.  This book is so highly rated on Amazon. There are almost 400 reviews, and this is a five-star book. I like to think of this book as a masterclass In floral design. The arrangement on the cover of this book is stunning. An excellent floral design book is so essential. It's a good thing to brush up on those skills - especially this time of year as we're wrapping up spring. We've got beautiful blossoms, like lilacs and peonies, and the roses are just starting to bud. And then, as we get into early summer, there is just an entire buffet of beautiful blossoms that you may want to cut and bring indoors. Just because you're a good gardener doesn't mean that you're a good floral designer or arranger. Like gardening, floral art is a skill that you can learn and get better at. Now I thought I would just give you a quick overview of how Christin has this book laid out. Because very quickly - you'll be able to deduce that Christin is truly a pro. She is a conscious-competent and when it comes to working with flowers. And that's precisely the kind of expert that you want. So Christin begins by talking about finding the flowers and the plants you want to work with. Now you can source many of these things right from your backyard or your patio as a gardener, or you can even supplement some of those with items that you forage or purchase when you're out and about. Then next, Christin has a section that she calls Gearing Up. Here, what she walks you through is everything from, Where are you going to work? (Do you have a potting bench or a room or part of your kitchen that you'll use when you're creating with cut flowers.) What are the vessels or the containers that you're planning on using? What are the tools you plan to use? (What Christin calls the mechanics). And then she has an entire section Where she talks about color. When I think about color, I think about both the art and the science of color. So if you're not good with picking colors, if you struggle with what color to paint a room or what colors to accessorize with, that struggle can translate into your work with flowers. Conversely, if you have a knack for choosing color or working with color, this section will be a slam dunk. But there is a science to it for those of us who struggle with color. And just like with gardening, you can get better and more confident in your work with color. Now two things I want to call out here that Christin talks about in her book that I think are especially helpful is she spends some time talking about two colors, in particular, which can be a true challenge for your work putting together floral designs. One is the color red. Red is such a bold color. And then the other color is green. While you might be thinking about green: how can green be a problem or a challenge? It's because there are different tones and shades of green, and believe it or not; there are times when the green you might be working with can conflict, get dragged down, or just be a little bit off with the rest of your floral work. So you do have to pay attention to the greens you're using. Now the following four sections that are covered in Christin's book, to me, are really where her expertise is. This is Christin in her wheelhouse. She talks about shape and shaping your work. There are so many ways to mold and take control of the form of your floral design. So I loved this section. And then she has one that's called learning from the past. And here is where she looks at garden history, and she looks at some of the best garden artists that have ever lived and how they composed with flowers. So she takes a look at, in particular at the Baroque style, what the Dutch masters were doing with their flowers and their flower paintings, the Rococo style, and SO on. Next, she features a little section on design, creativity and style, restraint, and constraint. And then, finally, she brings it all together by talking about how you can deepen your work: How you can know your why when it comes to creating with flowers. She spends a little bit of time talking about how to photograph flowers - a topic near and dear to my heart. Now I wanted to take one second here. And just share a little bit from what Christin writes in the introduction to this book. Christin is a gardener. She is a writer. She's a garden writer. And at one point, she found herself serving as a florist in residence on an estate in Scotland. And she had absolutely no experience as a florist. So, here's what she wrote. If you'd asked me at the time what I was doing in that shed in Scotland, the professor in me would have had an answer, but I myself might not have believed it: I was serving as a florist in residence on the estate. What does such a person do? I didn't know entirely, even after I pitched the idea to the owners and head gardener. They just let me get on with it, assuming I knew what "it" was.  So I roamed around with a borrowed bucket and wheelbarrow looking for flowers to pick in the dark days of October. I begged vessels and an old folding card table from the house manager. I tried to put together color palettes. I sought out places to photograph my arrangements. And I silently questioned my every move. One thing in my favor: I knew plants. I'd spent thirty years learning about them, growing them, selling them, and loving them.  So I made a deal with myself to do at least one arrangement a day, no matter what, and photograph it as best I could. I had no tripod, SO most of my pictures were blurry, and because of the latitude and time of year, there was very little light. I had no idea where my designs might take me from one day to the next, but no matter what, I got started. And that starting, that instinct to begin without a doubt, is what matters most. That's predominantly what this book is about-discovering how to see flowers. My magpie tendencies have thankfully suited me well; in this book you'll find color theory and discussions of fashion, form, and style but also ruminations on gardening and seasonality that I feel are fundamental to an appreciation of the art.    This book is rated a best-of-DIY book on Amazon. It is 224 pages of a fresh and thoughtful guide to flower arranging for gardeners. You can get a copy of Cultivated by Christin Geall and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $14.   Botanic Spark 1884 On this day, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ("chai-kaaf-skee") threw out his work on Suite No. 3 in G major, Op. 55 - and began all over again. Weeks earlier, he had written in his journal that he had gone out to his garden and found inspiration for the melody. He wrote, In the forest and indoors I have been trying to lay the foundation of a new symphony but - am not at all satisfied.... Walked in the garden and found the germ, not of a symphony, but of a future Suite. Prone to self-doubt and angst, Tchaikovsky was tender-hearted and easily wounded by critics of his work. Tchaikovsky's most popular music was often written for ballets like Swan Lake (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1889), and The Nutcracker(1892), featuring a favorite melody on many gardener's playlists, The Waltz of the Flowers.  Tchaikovsky was a nature lover and a gardener. He loved flowers and spent much of his free time cultivating his flowers. He wrote in a letter on June 1 (13th), 1888. Just now I am busy with flowers and flower-growing. I should like to have as many flowers as possible in my garden, but I have very little knowledge or experience. am not lacking in zeal, and have indeed taken cold from pottering about in the damp. Now, thank goodness, it is warmer weather; I am glad of it, for you, for myself, and for my dear flowers, for I have sown a quantity, and the cold nights made me anxious for them....'   Later that same summer, on July 25 (August 6), 1888, Tchaikovsky wrote his patron once more, The real summer weather has not lasted long, but how I enjoyed it! My flowers, which I feared would die, have nearly all recovered, and some have blossomed luxuriantly. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it has been to watch them grow and to see daily- even hourly-new blossoms coming out. Now I have as many as - want.  When I am quite old, and past composing, I shall devote myself to growing flowers.   Today, the Tchaikovsky House and Museum still stands at his final country home in Klin ("Kuh-lin"), 85 kilometers northwest of Moscow. Tchaikovsky loved his place in Kiln. He once wrote, It is impossible to suggest a better a more suitable way of living than in the countryside. After each new trip to Moscow I come to realize more and more how city life ruins me. Each time I return here I'm completely ill, but I immediately recover in my quiet corner. and Never before have I reveled so much in the beauty of spring, the awakening vegetation, birds returning home – in short, everything which is brought by the Russian spring, actually the most beautiful and jovial spring on earth.   Tchaikovsky's garden was essentially an idealized forest garden - a little wild and wooly - with a winding path and a gazebo. Tchaikovsky loved wildflowers and woodland flowers. One of his favorite flowers was the lily of the valley. He even wrote a poem about it, telling his brother Modest that, like his musical compositions, he was  "terribly proud of this poem." There he is!  I pluck the wondrous gift of the enchantress Spring. O lily of the valley, why do you so please the eye? Where lies the secret of your charms?  ...Your balmy fragrance, Like flowing wine, warms and intoxicates me, Like music, it takes my breath away, ...I am happy while you bloom.   Fittingly, after Tchaikovsky's death at 53, his brother Modest planted lilies of the valley all around the garden at Kiln. Modest also grew other favorites enjoyed by his brother, like violets, forget-me-nots, and bluebells. Today, the garden also boasts roses, begonias, gillyflowers, phloxes, sweet tobacco, and a large statue of Tchaikovsky sitting on the end of a garden bench. You can get your picture taken beside him among the flowers.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.    

{Conférence de Denis Forest} Un nouveau cycle de conférences invite historiennes et historiens à exposer leurs méthodes et outils de travail afin d'interroger la façon dont ils écrivent l'histoire, entre faits et interprétation. Avec Denis Forest, professeur de philosophie et d'histoire des sciences à l'université Paris 1 et membre de l'Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques Conférence enregistrée le 15 décembre 2021 2021 à la BnF I François-Mitterrand Voir Acast.com/privacy pour les informations sur la vie privée et l'opt-out.

O čom je filozofia vedy? Ako a prečo vznikla? A dotýka sa nejak teologických otázok?  ----more---- Prečítajte si túto dávku aj ako článok na SME.  Použitá a odporúčaná literatúra: Becker, What Is Real?, 2018. Carroll, The Big Picture, 2016. DeWitt, Worldviews, 2010. Godfrey-Smith, Theory and Reality, 2003. Okasha, Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction, 2002. Papineau, “Naturalism”, 2020. Whewell, Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences, 1840.   Súvisiace dávky: PD#160 Evolúcia a ID, https://bit.ly/davka160  PD#180 Meranie modlitby, https://bit.ly/davka180  PD#185 Scientizmus, https://bit.ly/davka185  PD#204 Naturalizmus, https://bit.ly/davka204  *** Baví ťa s nami rozmýšľať? ❤️ Podpor našu tvorbu ľubovoľným darom, https://bit.ly/PDdar, alebo cez Patreon, https://bit.ly/PDtreon, a čo tak štýlový merch, https://bit.ly/mercPD? Ďakujeme za podporu!

Aké pohľady mali kresťania na existenciu mimozemšťanov a ako s tým súvisí takzvaná astroteológia?----more----Prečítajte si túto dávku aj ako článok na SME.Použitá a odporúčaná literatúra:Brooke, “Natural theology and the plurality of worlds - Observations on the Brewster-Whewell debate”, 1976.Crowe, Extraterrestrial Life Debate, Antiquity to 1915: A Source Book, 2008.Crowe, The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900, 2011.Peters, “Astrobiology and Astrochristology”, 2016.Vakoch (ed.), Astrobiology, History, and Society, 2013.Whewell, Of the Plurality of Worlds: An Essay, 1853.Súvisiace dávky:PD#112 Newton, https://bit.ly/davka112PD#80 Galileo a Cirkev https://bit.ly/davka80 PD#76 Kopernik,  https://bit.ly/davka76 PD#72 Prirodzená teológia, https://bit.ly/davka72 ***Dobré veci potrebujú svoj čas. Staň sa patrónom Tvojho obľúbeného podcastu cez Patreon ❤️ (https://bit.ly/PatreonPD) alebo nás podpor jednorazovo či trvalým príkazom (https://bit.ly/CHCEMpodporit). Ďakujeme!

In 1834 the scientist William Whewell proposed a term that would combine the activities of physicists, chemists, philosophers, philologists, and mathematicians. That word was Scientist! But, there was push back and entertaining infighting in Britain about the absurdity of the word and it's all in the podcast! If you are interested in reading more about the word scientist, I have links on my Website at www.MathScienceHistory.com ! So please, visit me! And while you're there, please feel free to buy me a cup of coffee!  Thank you for listening! Until next week, carpe diem! Gabrielle

In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain.

Our 2018 Christmas episode: In 1851, Dr. William Whewell gave the inaugural lecture of a series reflecting on the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.  This is a reading of that lecture.

An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.

A look at the early life of the scholar and natural philosopher William Whewell.

In this episode we consider several possible solutions to Hume's Problem of Induction including William Whewell's description of scientific inquiry, the hypothetico-deductive methods and Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.

This episode is about some of the interesting connections that arise in science.We’ll start with me and my first professional job as a mineralogist analyzing kidney stones. My mineralogy professor at Indiana University, Carl Beck, died unexpectedly, and his wife asked me as his only grad student to carry on his business performing analysis of kidney stones. Beck had pioneered the idea of crystallographic examination to determine mineralogy of these compounds because traditional chemical analysis was misleading. For example, some common kidney stones are chemically calcium phosphates and calcium carbonates – but they are hardly ever calcium carbonate minerals. That makes a big difference in terms of treatment, because calcium carbonate minerals can be dissolved with acids, while calcium phosphate cannot. The carbonate is actually part of the phosphate mineral structure, partially substituting for some of the phosphate. Other subtleties of mineral crystallography can distinguish between different minerals and can point to specific kinds of treatments, more than just chemistry can.One of the most common minerals in kidney stones is called whewellite – calcium oxalate, CaC2O4 with a water molecule as part of its structure. In kidney stones it usually forms little rounded blobs, but sometimes the way the mineral grows, it makes pointy little things called jackstones, for their similarity to children’s’ jacks. And yes, those can be awfully painful, or so I’m told.  Whewellite is really rare in the natural world beyond the urinary system, but it does exist, especially in organic deposits like coal beds. Whewellite was named for William Whewell, spelled Whewell, a true polymath and philosopher at Cambridge University in England during the first half of the 19th century. He won the Royal Medal for his work on ocean tides and published studies on astronomy, economics, physics, and geology, and was a professor of mineralogy as well. Mary Somerville, 1834 painting by Thomas Phillips - sourceWhewell coined many new words, particularly the word “scientist.” Previously such workers had been called “men of science” or “natural philosophers” – but Whewell invented the new word scientist for a woman, Mary Somerville. Somerville researched in diverse disciplines, especially astronomy, and in 1835 she became one of the first two female members of the Royal Astronomical Society, together with Caroline Herschel, discoverer of many comets and nebulae. In 1834 Somerville published “On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences,” a synthesis reporting the latest scientific advances in astronomy, physics, chemistry, botany, and geology. William Whewell wrote a review in which he coined the word scientist for Somerville, not simply to invent a gender-neutral term analogous to “artist,” but specifically to recognize the interdisciplinary nature of her work. And even more, according to Somerville’s biographer Kathryn Neeley, Whewell wanted a word that actively celebrated “the peculiar illumination of the female mind: the ability to synthesize separate fields into a single discipline.” That was what he meant by a scientist.Somerville was born in Scotland in 1780 and died in 1872 at age 91. Her legacy ranges from a college, an island, and a lunar crater named for her to her appearance on Scottish bank notes beginning in 2017. Besides the mineral whewellite, William Whewell is also memorialized in a lunar crater and buildings on the Cambridge campus, as well as in the word scientist, included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1834, the same year he coined it. He died in 1866.—Richard I. Gibson LINK:Article about Whewell and Somerville 

Peter Achinstein (Johns Hopkins Univ. Baltimore) gives a talk at the Workshop on "Why trust a Theory?" (7-9 December, 2015) titled "Scientific Speculation". Abstract: Throughout the history of science controversies have emerged regarding the legitimacy of speculating in science. Three very strong views about the general practice of speculating have emerged: One, very conservative, says “never do it, or at least never publish it.” It is the official doctrine of Isaac Newton: “hypotheses have no place in experimental philosophy.” (Of course, he violated his official doctrine on several occasions). Another, more moderate position is the official doctrine of hypothetico-deductivists such as Whewell, Popper, and Hempel: speculate freely but verify before publishing. The third, the most liberal, is suggested by Feyerabend’s principle of proliferation: speculate like mad, and publish, even when you have no idea how to test your speculations. In my talk I want to reject all three of these views. They are too simple-minded. Some speculations are good ones, some not so good. I will ask how a speculation is to be evaluated. In the process of doing so, I will consider two historically important speculations: James Clerk Maxwell’s kinetic theory speculations from 1860 to 1875, and a speculation that has been put forward by some string theorists, as well as by others, viz. that there is a “theory of everything” (whether or not it is string theory). The first, I will argue, deserves praise, the second does not.

Laura Snyder is a professor of philosophy at St. John’s University. Her work focuses on the history and philosophy of science, and frequently seeks to bring new, broader perspectives to debates in that field. Her first book, Reforming Philosophy, focuses on John Stuart Mill and William Whewell’s philosophies of science, but argues that this philosophy can only properly be understood in the context of Mill and Whewell’s entire body of work. Her second book, the Philosophical Breakfast Club, focuses on four British scientists in the 19th century and the revolution they brought to science at the time. The book was praised for its combination of scholarly rigor and public accessibility, and led to Professor Snyder giving a talk at the TED Global conference in 2012.Professor Snyder’s newest book is titled The Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing. The book tells the story of Vermeer and Leeuwenhoek at a remarkable time of scientific and artistic innovation in the Dutch Republic. It also continues Professor Snyder’s commitment to bridging popular and academic audiences, it was reviewed widely in publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and several outlets abroad.

Thony Christie, historian of science and proprietor of the Renaissance Mathematicus and Whewell's Ghost stops by to talk about Galileo, Newton, the Copernican controversy, and why it was smart to believe that the Earth didn't move. The story of how we came to understand that the Earth was not the center of the Universe is one of the most fascinating stories in the whole of the history of science. The debate over Copernicus' heliocentric model lasted for centuries, and was carried out by mathematicians, theologians, philosophers and scientists. Observational evidence initially favored a geocentric model, and definitive proof did not appear until long after the first precise data (captured by Tycho Brahe and compiled by Kepler) had persuaded most scientists of their truth. Independent scholar Thony Christie takes us through the debate on this episode of Startup Geometry.   [0.0.16] How did you get into the study of the History of Science? Eric Temple Bell Men of Mathematics. History of Mathematics and Logic: Church’s list of formal logicians, Boole, Jevons, and others.   [0.3.50] Renaissance Mathematicus and Whewell’s Gazette/Whewell’s Ghost (Whewell pronounced “Hewell”). John Wilkins, historian of biology.   [0.6.30] What was a “mathematicus”? Fields of study: astrology, astronomy, mathematics, cartography, design of engines of war, (sun)dialing, volumetrics.   Leonardo DaVinci once sent a letter describing his skills in some of these areas.   [0.14.46] Christoff Clavius. The Galileo Affair. Heliocentricity. Cardinal Barberini. Who can interpret the Bible? Cardinal Bellarmine. The difference between proof and speculation.   [0.27.00] Giordano Bruno. Miguel Serveto (Servetus).   [0.28.14] Newton. Newton & alchemy. Newton & religion. Kepler. Prisca Theologia.   [0.35.44] Interpreting Early Modern systems of thought. Lawrence Principe and William R Newman’s modern alchemical experiments. Phlogiston. Problems with turning lead into gold. (Not a problem for us, but requires a huge particle accelerator.) Roger Bacon.   [0.44.23] Newton predicted the end of the world (not before 2060). Other predictions of the end of the world. Jehovah’s Witnesses. The University of Chicago study of the Millerites.   [0.47.47] Discussion of the various Renaissance world systems or models of the universe. Why it’s obvious that the Earth doesn’t move. Tycho Brahe. Johannes Kepler. Gilbert, On the Magnet. How it was finally proved that the Earth does move. Chris Graney on star sizes, Setting Aside All Authority. Torricelli.   [1.00.00] The Rudolphine Tables. Not proof, but Kepler’s system fits the data, so Kepler’s model is probably right. Heliometers and elliptical orbits. Bradley, 1725, finds elliptical movement of stars due to Earth’s movement. Christiaan Huygens. The Earth bulges at the Equator and is flattened at the poles. Later confirmed by stellar parallax, Bessel, 1838.   [1.08.18] Book recommendations. Richard Westfall, Life of Isaac Newton. John Heilbronn, Galileo. Chris Graney, Setting Aside All Authority. Eric Scerri, The Periodic Table. My recs: Deborah Harkness, The Jewel House of Nature. (she also rediscovered The Book of Soyga, which was part of John Dee’s library, and is also a really good fiction writer.) Lost Enlightenment S. Frederick Starr.  

As a young man, Benjamin Franklin drew up a "plan for attaining moral perfection" based on a list of 13 virtues. Half a century later he credited the plan for much of his success in life. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore Franklin's self-improvement plan and find out which vices gave him the most trouble. We'll also learn how activist Natan Sharansky used chess to stay sane in Soviet prisons and puzzle over why the Pentagon has so many bathrooms. Sources for our segment on Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues: Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, 1791. Gordon S. Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, 2005. Dinah Birch, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 2009. Here's Franklin's list of virtues: Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. Moderation. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. And here's a sample page from his "little book":   Related: As an exercise in penmanship, the teenage George Washington copied out "110 rules of civility and decent behavior in company and conversation," and Thomas Jefferson once sent a "decalogue of canons for observation in practical life" to the new father of a baby boy. Listener mail: Human rights activist Natan Sharansky's use of mental chess to keep himself sane in Soviet prisons is detailed in his 1988 memoir Fear No Evil and in this BBC News Magazine article. Greg's research queries: The authority on jumping up steps at Trinity College, Cambridge, seems to be G.M. Trevelyan, who became Master there in 1940. In his Trinity College: An Historical Sketch (1972), he writes: It is a well-authenticated Trinity tradition that Whewell, when Master, jumped up the hall steps at one leap, a feat that is very seldom accomplished even by youthful athletes. Sir George Young told his son Geoffrey Young that he had actually witnessed this performance; Sir George said that the master, in cap and gown, found some undergraduates trying in vain to accomplish the feat. He clapped his cap firmly on his head, took the run, and reached the top of the steps at one bound. In a letter to the Times on March 16, 1944, he writes, "On a recent visit to Cambridge, General Montgomery, on entering the Great Court at this college, pointed to the hall steps and said to me, ‘Those were the steps my father jumped up at one bound.’ The general’s father, Henry Hutchinson Montgomery, afterwards Bishop, was an undergraduate at Trinity from 1866 to 1870. He came here from Dr Butler’s Harrow with a great reputation as a runner and jumper." He adds, "Now we have a fully authenticated case of which I had not heard. Bishop Montgomery himself told his son the general, and the story was often told in the family. The general has asked me to send the facts to you in the hope that publication may elicit further facts." I don't know whether he ever received any. As far as I can tell, Swiss criminologist Karl-Ludwig Kunz's essay "Criminal Policy in Duckburg" was published only in a 2009 collection titled Images of Crime 3: Representations of Crime and the Criminal, which I can't seem to get my hands on. The fullest discussion I've been able to find in English is this brief 1998 article from the Independent. The program to distribute bananas to Icelandic children in 1952 is mentioned in science writer Willy Ley's 1954 book Engineers' Dreams. The credit "Diversions by Irving Schwartz" in the 1966 movie The Sand Pebbles is mentioned (but not really explained) in this 2007 Telegram obituary of character actor Joseph di Reda. MIT historian T.F. Peterson's 2003 book Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT says that the legend IHTFP ("I hate this fucking place") "has been unofficially documented in both the U.S. Air Force and at MIT as far back as the 1950s." This MIT page traces it as far back as 1960 and gives dozens of euphemistic variants. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was submitted by listener Paul Kapp. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!