Neil deGrasse Tyson on “Cosmos,” how science got cool, and why he doesn’t debate deniers (regular, program)
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I used to not be much of a believer, but actually ideas like the Cosmos make me more willing to believe in a Creator. Maybe it's just me getting older, but when I look at all those galaxies upon galaxies I think it had to be created by something.
Had to be? Why? What would they look like otherwise, and how do you know?
Had to be? Why? What would they look like otherwise, and how do you know?
There is plenty of reason to entertain the thought.
When somebody plays a game of The Sims, for example, they are essentially creating a model of the world. The end user decides when that model begins and ends. It's possible our existence is a functional simulation. Just a hypothesis.
While we can't completely fault the creators of "Cosmos" for romanticizing and simplifying the history of Bruno, there are some real facts that might make you see the segment in a new light, courtesy of Discover blogger Corey Powell:
The idea of infinite space originated a century before Bruno, with the German philosopher Nicholas of Cusa.
Bruno wasn't a scientist. According to Powell, "his interests were theological, not physical, and his astronomical writings are considered amateurish and confused."
His writings were mostly theological in nature — and he was using them to push his own theology (set against the Catholic church). That simple fact was the real reason he was burnt at the stake.
The church listed eight charges against Bruno during his trial, and only one of these was related to his astronomical guesses. According to Powell, "the others involved denying the divinity of Jesus, denying the virgin birth, denying transubstantiation, practicing magic, and believing that animals and objects (including the Earth) possessed souls."
Unlike how he is portrayed in the Cosmos animation, Bruno didn't spend his life poor or alone. He was well-funded and held positions as a professor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrownVic95
Science didn't get cool. Slapping the "science" label on hip and trendy talking points from the political fringe left did.
The Left are really big on throwing around the word "science" lately. They love to pretend that they, the ultimate cultural intellectuals, are the only ones who embrace SCIENCE. It's almost become a kind of new dog-whistle race code for them, same as "diversity" was.
We’re all going to die because man is causing global warming! Proof? It’s science! Granted, no one can explain the science that proves global warming. But, science isn’t about science, it’s about repeating the word “science” over and over again like a magic incantation. Science, science, sciencey, sciencey science! See? It’s science and scientists agree that it’s science! Why do you hate science so much? Why do you want polar bears to die? Oh, and science!
The idea of infinite space originated a century before Bruno, with the German philosopher Nicholas of Cusa.
Bruno wasn't a scientist. According to Powell, "his interests were theological, not physical, and his astronomical writings are considered amateurish and confused."
The idea of infinite space may go back as far as Democritus and his mentor if memory serves me correct.
Oh and during Bruno's time there might not be as much separation between the fields of study as there are today.
I believe Newton was trained by the Church as well as Galileo.
While we can't completely fault the creators of "Cosmos" for romanticizing and simplifying the history of Bruno, there are some real facts that might make you see the segment in a new light, courtesy of Discover blogger Corey Powell:
The idea of infinite space originated a century before Bruno, with the German philosopher Nicholas of Cusa.
Bruno wasn't a scientist. According to Powell, "his interests were theological, not physical, and his astronomical writings are considered amateurish and confused."
His writings were mostly theological in nature — and he was using them to push his own theology (set against the Catholic church). That simple fact was the real reason he was burnt at the stake.
The church listed eight charges against Bruno during his trial, and only one of these was related to his astronomical guesses. According to Powell, "the others involved denying the divinity of Jesus, denying the virgin birth, denying transubstantiation, practicing magic, and believing that animals and objects (including the Earth) possessed souls."
Unlike how he is portrayed in the Cosmos animation, Bruno didn't spend his life poor or alone. He was well-funded and held positions as a professor.
The Left are really big on throwing around the word "science" lately. They love to pretend that they, the ultimate cultural intellectuals, are the only ones who embrace SCIENCE. It's almost become a kind of new dog-whistle race code for them, same as "diversity" was.
We’re all going to die because man is causing global warming! Proof? It’s science! Granted, no one can explain the science that proves global warming. But, science isn’t about science, it’s about repeating the word “science” over and over again like a magic incantation. Science, science, sciencey, sciencey science! See? It’s science and scientists agree that it’s science! Why do you hate science so much? Why do you want polar bears to die? Oh, and science!
Ha ha. You don't have to be one of the 'ultimate cultural intellectuals', you just have to not be a goon. It's not 'cultural intellectualism' to understand the difference between scientific research and garbage published in tabloids, it's just a matter of having more than a couple of brain cells within shouting distance of one another.
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