Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Science and Society

Below is a link to a science related article.  You are required to read the article and post a written comment, discussing your thoughts on what it said.  Having posted you are then required to read the other studens posts and respond to (at least) one of them.

As you read the article use these questions to guide your thinking and your post:
  • Why was Galileo (and other scientists both before and after his time) persecuted?
  • Is it wrong to think differently (in terms of science) about observable phenomena?
  • Can you think of, even in today's technological society, science based ideas that are capable of being treated with the same scorn as Galileo's ideas were? Why would this be so?
  • What do we mean by a cosmic perspective?
  • How does Galileo's quote "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it himself." relate to the ideas in this article?
Galileo Article

62 comments:

  1. Galileo was persecuted for his observations because people were afraid to change their beleifs. His hypothises was radical and a very different perspective on how the universe works.

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  2. Galileo wasn't afraid of what could be, so he opened his mind for answers and everyone else put a brick wall in and wouldn't listen to any ideas. It is very wrong that he got sentenced for house arrest just for speaking his mind.

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  3. Galileo was persecuted for 'proving the truth to the masses.' People were afraid of what they would find out; that everything they believed in wasn't true. Galileo's quote relates to the whole revolution of finding out that Earth is not the center of the universe. He tried to share with people the cosmic perspective that he discovered, and he was punished. He was punished for trying to understand reality, and that is not right.

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  4. Having a cosmic prespective is knowing how small you are. Galileo had a sinificant comsic perspective because he found out that Earth is not the center of the universe.

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  5. I agree with Maddy, even now people are afraid to change their beliefs.

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  6. what Galileo did was good, he was not afraid something he did not know and he embraced it in order to learn nad grow. if not for Galileo and his revolutionary ideas, where would we be today? Galileo was persucuted becuase he was not afriad to speak his mind and embrace something new.

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  7. i agree with sammy, that it was wrong of galileo to be punished for speaking his mind and trying to grasp something new. what if everybodys ideas today were shot down every time someone had one?? how would we evolve and learn and acomlish new things?

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  8. Some times we get so wrapped up in our own world we dont't look around, and we get upset when someone tells us were wrong. I think that Galileo was an unusual person. He new he was right and wanted to tell everyone else the truth.

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  9. People weren't willing to believe something that was new and different from their current beliefs and knowledge. Galileo, however, knew that what he was suggesting was true, and he stuck by his belief. It was unfair to him that no one was willing to agree with him, and that, in the end, he was punished just because he was proposing something that was not widely known at the time.

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  10. I agree with Autumn, that Galileo was just trying to understand reality, and he got punished for it. Shouldn't people have wanted to know more about the universe around them? What he was discovering, was useful knowledge for everyone at the time, but they resented him for it.

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  11. A lot of people back then didn't want to accept the fact that they were wrong, and that something about the Earth was different than they thought. But when Galileo came up with his theory, he stuck with it, because he believed that he was right. Galileo was just trying to get everyone to understand that there were things about the Earth they didn't know that he had discovered. The punishment that he got was wrong, because everyone should be allowed to express new ideas with everyone.

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  12. I agree with Jessica, the punishment that he got was very wrong for the things that he did. Telling people a new perspective on something that they believed doesn't mean you need to get put under house arrest.

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  13. People were so ignorant back in the day. Galileo had an idea that would revolutionize the world but people chose to ignore him because they were afraid it would cause their beliefs to be wrong. People should be open minded, listen and consider their peer's ideas, accept failure and learn from it. Galileo's punishment was totally unjust. Galileo deserves a microphone to the world so he can yell, "Ha! Take that world!"

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  14. I agree with Autumn. Who in the world deserves to get punished for trying to understand reality when back in the day nobody knew squat? I would hate to live during that time period.

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  15. The idea of Galileo's persecution isn't that Unjust. he broke the unwritten rule and law that we were the center of the universe. His punishment was as just as executing a serial killer, we all believe differently now, but everyone's thoughts would have been different back then.
    - Michael Dickson

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  16. I disagree with Jessica, in that the problem was not believing that his idea was true, it was that he needed to realize that an idea is so radical that you need to know the audiance that you are speaking to. For instance, I know that someone is going to disagree with my comment on the basis that it is different than everyone else's.
    And that's all I've got to say about that
    - Michael Dickson

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  17. I think we could all use a little cosmic Perspective. To much we look into ourselves intstead of at the world around us. People are afraid of new things, things that don't fit into thier own world. Because of this they persecuted Galileo, they were afraid of change and of being wrong.

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  18. I think Alex is right on. We really should be more open minded and open to new ideas.

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  19. if there were people living on other planets would it inturupt the cycle of our universe today? while galileo was trying to prove something that he belived people just turned away and didnt listen, they thought all he did was nonscence and wouldent give him a chance. i hope and belive that our society is not that unjustice today.

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  20. People don’t like to accept change quickly. They like tradition not theories. In Galileo’s time it was that Earth’s a tiny speck in the universe not the center. He reinvented everyone’s idea of space and received punishment instead of thanks.

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  21. i agree with madi gale galileo was not affraid to say wha he belived and embrace something new. if he hadent been able to stand for what he belived in were would we be today?

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  22. Galileo pursued the truth, and instead of being acknowledged for the great discovery he had found, he was "vehemently suspected of heresy". People do not like to accept things they do not understand, even if it is right in front of them. This is still true in our world today, but we need people like Galileo to change our minds and show us the truth.

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  23. I agree with Sara, everyone should be allowed to express and share their ideas freely without having to pay some ultimate price. In opening our minds up to things we don't currently understand, we can have the chance to learn more about the world and everything beyond it.

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  24. I don't agree with Michael's comment. If we persecuted everyone for new ideas, we would never advance anywhere.

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  25. The quote, "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it himself." relates to this article because Galileo tried to show the people of his time his new discoveries, but they refused to listen. Then later, everyone realizes he was right. So they had to figure it out for themselves.

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  26. I disagree with Michael. They should not have locked Galileo up for being creative, and I’m guessing they didn’t give him a fair trial anyway. The earth being at the center of the universe wasn’t an unwritten law, it was assumed.

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  27. Galileo being under house arrest in the attempt to show the society the “real universe” is unjust. Galileo should not have been punished for his effort in trying to educate the public about their world. People’s stubbornness and beliefs got in the way of letting the reality go through their thick skulls. Even when Galileo offered to show people through his telescope, some refused. Why would they refuse the offer? Were they scared to find out the truth? Or was it their pride that got in the way? The quote, “the truth will set you free” invalidates in Galileo’s case. The truth got him locked up in his own house, where he stayed for the rest of his life.

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  28. I agree with Autumn, Galileo was just trying to understand reality, what's so wrong with that? In fact, we owe a lot to him. What would happen if no one on the earth tried to understand our own world? We would be roaming around oblivious to everything.

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  30. Galileo was persecuted for simply observing and thinking on his own like a normal human being. He shouldn’t have been treated so ruthlessly just because he had said something that went against religious beliefs. I mean, back then was it not allowed to theorize without being banned from leaving your house for the rest of your life? Without his ideas we could still been living exactly like they were 400 years ago. I think the quote by Galileo "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it himself," relates to the ideas because it is thanks to Galileo who taught the world of his theory of Earth not being the center of the universe that led us to find out the truth.

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  31. I have to disagree with Michael. Although they probably did have different ways of thinking back then because of how undeveloped the understanding of their planet was, it was still wrong to give Galileo such a harsh punishment. He should have at least been given a lesser punishment than being locked away from society for the rest of his entire life.

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  32. Galileo's punishment was unjust. He was advancing the science of that time and people weren't willing to have an open mind and consider the theory true. If we punished a person every time they had a diferent idea, how would we be able to learn and understand more? Galileo was right for standing up to what he belived even when others didn't agree with him.

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  33. I agree with Marika, if we don't have an open mind we can't learn anything. Having Galileo stand up for what he knew showed others that it is alright to have a different opinion than others.

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  34. It's sad that it's been over 400 years and people still think that the world revolves around them personally. How many times have you thought that the less fortunate than you aren't as important as you are? Think about how much we could advance in society and technology if we worked together and considered each other's ideas.

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  35. I agree with Maddy, even today people are afraid to change their beliefs. Global warming is an issue right now that there are two definite sides on. Scientists say that CO2 being put into the atmosphere by himans is the cause, but some people still think that it is just a natural cycle of the earth. If everyone could agree on the same thing, maybe we could make a difference before it's too late.

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  36. 400 years ago people were afraid to accept the fact that they could be proved wrong by a man named Galileo so he was persecuted for sharing his thoughts. I mean would we get anywhere in our studies if no one would share their thoughts because they were afraid they would get thrown in jail or something? The quote said by Galileo relates to the article because Galileo found it within himself to speak openly about his ideas. If he didn't do that everyone would more stuck-up because they felt the universe revolved around themselves.

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  37. I agree with Madi Gale if it wasn't for Galileo, what would our world be like if we didn't actually know that we weren't the center. Would it be different or the same?

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  38. People back then weren't willing to believe new ideas because they were afraid to change their beliefs.They were sacred to beileive that Earth wasn't the center of the universe. They didn't want to be proven wrong, and when Galileo came along and proved "the truth to the masses," he was persecuted.People shouldn't be punished for having different ideas, they should be allowed to espress their creativity and ideas. Without that we wouldn't have anything.

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  39. I agree with Jessica and Alex. Galileo was punished because people were afraid to change their beliefs. They were unwilling to believe something different and new, they were afraid to be proven wrong. Like Alex said people should learn to be open minded. Maybe if they were that way back then, Galileo would have never been persecuted.

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  40. Galileo was prosecuted because people were (and are) afraid to change thier beliefs, and hence, took their fears out on the one trying to change them. It is not wrong to "think outside the box." It is human tendency to dislike change, and the "knee-jerk" reaction is to prevent it, in this case by prosecuting the man causing the change.

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  41. I agree with Rebecca, people and scienctists should be allowed to explore and learn about the universe. Without people like that, we wouldn't even know about gravity, and we certainly wouldn't have modern electronics.

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  42. Galileo and other scientists were persecuted because people were afraid to go against their beliefs. And no, it's not wrong to have an open mind and think outside the box. Galileo's quote, "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it himself." relates to the ideas in the article because he is basically saying, "You may be able to logically prove something, but to others seeing is believing." And back in that time, people were afraid to "see."

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  43. Galileo's said "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it himself." Galileo lived what he said in his quote. Even though he had a different opinion than much of the rest of the people in his time he could not make the Pope and other important people of his time agree with what he knew. He had collected plenty of evidence to prove himself but people refused to listen to new improved ideas because they did not want to accept that fact that earth was not the center of the universe. During this time many people just like Galileo were persecuted for expanding the current knowledge of science beyond what was already established even though what people like Galileo had discovered was actually the truth.

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  44. I think that by cosmic perspective, that we are talking about the idea of ourselves and others as being a part of some bigger picture, like a better part of the universe where everything else is. I believe we think that it gives us a common idea to put ourselves to use. It motivates all human kind and helps us propel to see things in a different way. It makes us feel like theirs something bigger out there and that we all are a part of it.

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  45. I also agree with Kayla's post, even though we want to be something bigger, we are a very small part of what is. I think we, mankind, can be a lot more selfish then we ever intend to be.

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  46. I agree with Kendra. If everyone did believe the universe revolves around the Earth, everyone would be more stuck up and we definitely don't need any more of those. Also Kendra asks us where would we be if others didn't share their opinions and she has a good point, things would be very different. For example, we would be very behind in technology and medical research.

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  47. I agree with Kendall, if people don't stop being selfish how will we ever get along in life? If we dont listen to each others ideas and opinions or even stop to think about someone else then we won't improve our society. We all need to put in an effort and listen to what each person has to say.

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  48. I agree with Allison Werner people should have more open minds to new theories. Galileo was punished for expanding knowledge and was completely unjustly put in jail. People even now should be open to new and improved ideas.

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  49. Galileo's discovery was shot down by people who were scared of change, and of being wrong. If everyone was like that now we would get nothing done. It takes courage to step up and tell someone that what they thought, or proved, or taught was wrong. Galileo had that courage, and for that he was sentenced to house arrest. His discovery had such an impact on everyone, positive or negative. If not for Galileo, where would we be now?

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  50. I agree with Kendall, if we all worked together we could take steps forward instead of taking steps backwards in progress.

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  51. Galileo and the other scientists were persecuted because people are never open to change, so presenting new found ideas are never easy. It wasn't wrong of Galileo and the others to think differently, in fact that's what gave us the discovery that the Earth is not the center of the universe.
    -April L.

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  52. I agree with Kylee, it's true people are always afraid of something new. Even if it is the truth and is logical, it's just hard for them to comprehend and except a new observation.
    -April L.

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  53. I believe people were to incompetent and selfish to believe that they were wrong. In this they implied how dare a man of science ever accuse me i could be wrong. I also believe it is never wrong to think of a new idea that others may mar with ignorance. So as a final note i would like to add that people shouldn't be afraid to speak there minds and thoughts, or to listen to really stop listen and think. This is what i believe was the true problem in Galileo time, to one was willing to really listen.

    I agree with Rebeca, because if we truly didn't think of ideas then we really would be nowhere in life.

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  54. I thought it was interesting that even the pope, a respected religious figure, accused Galileo of wrong doing. It just shows how new ideas are feared and generally aren't accepted.

    -Courtney Dirks

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  55. I agree with Alex. People should accept failure and learn from it. Galileo would have changed people’s ideas for the better. Instead he was unjustly punished.

    -Courtney Dirks

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  56. galilao had discovered a lot of stuff such as he built A TELESCOPE To prove the point of masses that earth is not the center of the earth. he proved that the moon has mountian with valleys. he discovered that venus is orbiting the sun and not the earth.he also discovered that juniper has for moons.

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  57. i agree with courtney and alex about people just accept the failure

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  58. There are times to accept proof and there are also times to ignore, not reality, but absurd ideas that don't fit a pattern. Galileo's theory was proven and that should never have been ignored. The human race will never get anywhere if we don't even take new thoughts into consideration. I'm definately not saying we should just take everything people say for the absolute truth, but we have to learn to find a middle ground where we think positively and try to prove ideas right or wrong instead of scorning something when it's new and unknown. I completely agree with Alison because people are too dull to realize that we need to stop blowing eachother off because we think we know more than other people do. We can ALWAYS learn more.

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  59. I think that Galileo had the right to say what he did. People back then just wouldn't listen. You also have to put it into perspective for us though. That's like someone coming up to us and saying that Einstein's Theory of Relativity is wrong and we have to believe this guy now.

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  60. I agree with Isaac. People were much too self centered to deal with Galileo telling them they're wrong. People should be aloud to say what they want to and not be persecuted.

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  61. I agree with Ryan. We need to be acceptive of chang in order to advance in all aspects of the world. If we were repromanded everytime we thought something new and radical, we would cease to progress completely.

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  62. Galileo was only open to what he had thought. And what he had thought, was the truth. If he hadn't proposed it then we may have never known. He shouldn't have been prosecuted for believing what was right.

    I agree with Sammy and Maddy, it was wrong for him to be prosecuted for his obsrvations stating everyones beliefs were wrong.

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