| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/7/2009 9:27:08 PM | I may be showing a bit of bias here but, to me, one of the most significant (and unsung) moments in history is when astronomy diverged from astrology.
Consider that, prior to that, if anyone was attempting to attach significance to the sky, it was as omens and portents. Yes, it served a practical purpose as a calendar. However, it also was thought to tell people what they wanted to hear. Often, to someone else's detriment.
At some point, however, a few people began to look at the sky in a different way. That we weren't the center of things. That we were only a small part of a very large and diverse cosmos. A tiny yet unique mote in a nearly unlimited universe.
It was there that we began to discover our humility as a species. In my opinion, it's a good direction that would be good to keep going in. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/7/2009 9:41:17 PM | | I would have to say the moment when Rosalind Franklin conducted her ground breaking work that allowed Watson and Crick to... steal... I mean make their discovery. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/7/2009 11:49:35 PM | Astronomy and astrology have two things in common. The first is obvious being the starts. The second is an the inherant need for human beings to rationalize nature. We need to know. Astrology and other belief systems (schema) are often about what people want to hear.
Scientific method not only enabled humanity to look at stars in another way, but all aspects of nature. If we had not endevored into space than much of our communication technology would be impossable.
As far as discovering our humanity, I would more credit that to constitutional rights and the rule of law. But I would suggest that space exploration united even super powers to a common purpose. Space would be a good direction. I sometimes wonder if humanity will land on Mars in my lifetime. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 3:35:15 AM | Tycho Brahe's publications of astronomical data. By our standards, it was ridiculously redundant and way too accurate for anyone at the time to make use of. But it was that redundancy and over-accuracy that Kepler and later Newton used, to develop the theory of gravity and to show how the Sun goes around the Earth.
He showed us that theories come from attention to detail. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 4:50:29 AM | | For many people (sadly, even today), the divergence of astronomy from astrology didn't "take". There are still FAR too many people who cannot distinguish between valid science and pseudoscientific bullcrap. For proof of this, just look at the ridiculous "crop circles" or "2012" threads! | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 7:25:48 AM | ^^^ I agree. But only because there were times in the past that we said "holy crap!", and people tend to remember those even if they don't happen very often.
- Dragons be here.
- The earth is obviously flat and the sun revolves around the earth.
- Germs.
- Stupid Star Trek communicators. (cell phones) | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 7:40:16 AM | "It was there that we began to discover our humility as a species. In my opinion, it's a good direction that would be good to keep going in." the OP said it!
Holy crap...humility as a species? What a load of crap. Most people think we are the kings of the frikkin' universe, and there is NO other species anywhere that is smarter than us! We are the "unique" thinking animal. We ARE alone as sentient beings. Nobody could build better or be more scientifically advanced tha us. Just ask any person if they believe in UFO's. If they do...fine...but most do not. Can't conceive of anyone being that far ahead of us!
How about all those stories (movies series, books, stories) where mankind "outwits, outlasts, outfights" impossible odds or far more advanced species? "We're number one!" At leats by the end of the tale we are!
More likely we are the backwater hill billies of the universe just finding out about technology and how to control it. We can't even get a handle on our own economy!
Humble? Humility? Not humans.....brash as brass, and twice as mean and nasty as anything else we've encountered so far. Perhaps if we keep that attitude, we may make a name ofr oursleves in this universe...otherwise we may well just be ignored. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 8:11:51 AM | The invention of the plow - which allowed us to stop being nomadic and paved the way for every following scientific discovery.
But if that isn't sciencey enough, perhaps Louis Pasteur's work which helped to increase life expectancy by more than ten years.
And of course, a special thanks to ancient Sumerians ~6,000 years ago for figuring out that you can make beer from grain. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 11:07:15 AM | I agree, it should also be made clear that astrology originated in a religious belief that predated Babylon (where it reached its peak influence) and went back at least as far as the civilization of Sumer. So branching made some sense simply to seperate science from religion, particularly when the dominant religons of the time , Christian, Jewish and Islamic, all considered this form of religion to be heresy.  | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 1:59:12 PM | RE Msg: 10 by parrothead 13:
particularly when the dominant religons of the time , Christian, Jewish and Islamic, all considered this form of religion to be heresy. In Judaism, astrology is perfectly reasonable as an aid to character assessment. It's only forbidden to use astrology to predict the future.
Just want to be clear. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 2:41:59 PM | how about the signifigant moment being the development of the lens.
so we could see properly
big and small things
[and start fires] | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 3:22:56 PM |
Most people think we are the kings of the frikkin' universe, and there is NO other species anywhere that is smarter than us! We are the "unique" thinking animal. We ARE alone as sentient beings. Nobody could build better or be more scientifically advanced tha us. Just ask any person if they believe in UFO's. If they do...fine...but most do not. Can't conceive of anyone being that far ahead of us! We are. Where's the compitition if we're not? Seriously (fermi paradox). | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 4:43:38 PM | - The discovery of the lowly potato (blame that thing for over population).
- The plow
- The match stick
- The remote ( I can still see my mom poking the air with the remote like an invisible stick. lol) | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 5:11:49 PM | ...and nobody mentioned the "spork" as one of mankinds most interesting and useful inventions???
The advent of "hay" which allowed a broader agricultural society and allowed the habitation of the European northlands.
Metallurgy...without which most of our technology would not even exist! | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 11:20:40 PM |
Holy crap...humility as a species? What a load of crap. Most people think we are the kings of the frikkin' universe, and there is NO other species anywhere that is smarter than us! We are the "unique" thinking animal. We ARE alone as sentient beings. Nobody could build better or be more scientifically advanced tha us. Just ask any person if they believe in UFO's. If they do...fine...but most do not. Can't conceive of anyone being that far ahead of us!
Kings of the universe? I doubt it. Our Milky Way Galaxy has an estimated 100 Billion Stars. The known universe is estimated to have 10 to the 21st Stars. It is highly likely that the universe has many other species much more technologically advanced than we are. The problem is that we will never contact them, or them contact each other. The distances are to great and the laws of physics will never allow light speed. Light speed (Warp drive) makes for a good TV show. Yes, I love Star Trek, but it is just a fantasy. Sorry Zefram Cochrane.
Our species is not the only thinking animal. It amazes me that we view our selves as the only sentient being. [I]Sentient: characterized by sensation and consciousness[/I](Dictionary.com). Sentience probably should encompass life forms higher than insects. The only thing that differentiates us from chimps other than hair is the construction of our throats and two small areas on the left hemesphere of the brain allowing us to communicate in a way that no other species can.
Anyways, just to reiterate, the universe is probably home to countless species as or more advanced. We will never find them. They wouldn't look like us with pointed or kranial ridges. They might just as easily look like a squid. This question of the existance of ET's will never be proven or disproven. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/8/2009 11:25:54 PM | Kings of the universe? I doubt it. Our Milky Way Galaxy has an estimated 100 Billion Stars. The known universe is estimated to have 10 to the 21st Stars. It is highly likely that the universe has many other species much more technologically advanced than we are. The problem is that we will never contact them, or them contact each other. The distances are to great and the laws of physics will never allow light speed. Light speed (Warp drive) makes for a good TV show. Yes, I love Star Trek, but it is just a fantasy. Sorry Zefram Cochrane.
apparently you've never heard of the Drake Equation. First put out in the 1960's, more recently it has been fine tuned. It breaks down the likely percentage of stars that have planets, and how many of those planets could support life, how many have plate tectonics (necessary for evolution), and it factors in average bombardment by large meteors (like the one that killed the dinosaurs.
It estimates only about 2 other intelligent populations. And, if anything, they leaned towards OVER estimating.
I think we have a good chance of being alone. But i hope i'm wrong.
oh, and a significant moment in scientific history......how about the invention of the question?
greg | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/9/2009 2:01:54 AM | | Flat-earth theory, alchemy, phrenology, astrology, animism, totemtism, poltheism, monotheism, et al. These are what we would still be studying/believing if the religious kooks had their way. No, the greatest moment in scientific history was the first man that dared to question the accepted "common wisdom" of the day. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/9/2009 7:51:49 AM | Astrology itself developed out of an earlier (and much more useful) systemization for mapping territory. Astronomy didn't so much diverge from astrology as return to its roots, as a systematic mapping of the sky.
Astrology was the original "Star Trek", a fictionalization appended to and developed from a very practical terrestrial technology. A kind of hybridization of this can still be found in the ancient Chinese art of geomancy, which still retains traces of the original mapping technology underpinning the overcoat of fiction.
Having said that, and having become acquainted with what passes for 'science and philosophy' with some who post here, I suppose I should stipulate that I did indeed take a course in astronomy while at university; and that I don't practice either geomancy or astrology.
I did go and see the latest Star Trek movie, though.
And I am going to cast my vote for "greatest moment in science" for... metallurgy: the realization that subsurface properties in materials can be extracted and manipulated in their own right (as opposed to the concept of such properties being necessarily and irrevocably inherent in the material, as is the case with technologies associated with the manufacture of stone tools). | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/9/2009 4:06:20 PM |
And of course, a special thanks to ancient Sumerians ~6,000 years ago for figuring out that you can make beer from grain.
You may not be far off there ..... drinking beer & other spirits has probably saved more lives over the millennia than anything else. Safe drinking water is a VERY recent development. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/9/2009 8:59:12 PM | interesting... i suport you idea,
""one of the most significant (and unsung) moments in history is when astronomy diverged from astrology.""
you raise a valid point... but to me the most inprotant event is the first, for no other events would have proceeded if the first was never done... aahaha, so to me the single greatest moment in history would be the way we got here, weather we evolved from monkeys, god made adam and eve, or anu created man in clay pots, or something more mystrious... that to me is the "event"... then the next few after, tools, fire, agruculture, taming of animals, archetecture, math, the cosmos... so on and so forth... until sliced bread... i think that one took the pot, atleast in recent times.. aha | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/9/2009 9:00:36 PM | The most important moment in science history, is when science rendered religion obsolete as a method of understanding the world around us.
Or, pretty much the day the scientific method was established. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/13/2009 2:00:08 PM | Like you said Cyke, the idea of evolution. Although I wouldn't neccessarily include Darwin in there. The whole suggestion of evolution was simultaneously being contemplated, studied and about to come forth anyway. Darwin only put his foot to the peddle when he received a letter from (forget the name) asking him to review (forgotten guys name)'s research and findings.
(I apologize to everyone who knew that and are rolling thier eyes at me).
so imo that's one of the most significant moments. | |
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| Significant moment in science history
Posted: 7/14/2009 7:55:17 AM | A long time ago a certain ape decided to open a banana from the other end.
Monkeys open a banana from the point end and homosapiens opens a banana from the end with a handle.
This lead to the concept of putting a rock on the end of a handle to form a hammer and then the rock split forming an axe to chop down bananas.
From there the ape noticed sparks flew when he hit the rocks to split them and then he discovered fire.
Over the next few thousand years he discovered a banana shaped stone and discovered the sickle and discovered agriculture.
And then the banana shaped piece of metal which produced the scimitar and then war.
Soon despite never seeing a banana the Mongols discovered the banana shaped bow.
Mankind has progressed rapidly until the elongated curved banana was devoloped to form the wheel. The ancient Mayans recorded left handed and right handed bananas on their Moon Calendars.
Today we travel to and from work on a metal frame suspended on eleongate banana shaped wheels and steer it by use of the leather trimmed multi banana shaped steering "wheel"
Rockets are sent into space following a banana shaped trajectory and even the Eiffel tower and the Golden Gate suspension Bridge use banana technology in their design.
We can look forward to the world of the future when mankind intoduces nanobananas which will cure all sorts of problems.
Soon acne and incontinence will be cured using nanobananas made from carbon and earthquakes will be predicted by genitically engineeered snakes which will slither out of the ground when quakes >Richter 4 are imminent.
In the future we are all going bananas. | |
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