Among Actions, Objects, and Ideas: The Telescope in Thomas Tomkis’s Albumazar

The year 1610, as Floris Cohen has noted, marked a signal moment in the history of science.1 In that year, Galileo Galilei, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Padua, announced his discoveries with the telescope, including the craters of the Moon, several clouds of stars, and the moons of Jupiter, in a book he called the Sidereus nuncius ('The Starry Messenger').2 He wrote in a limpid Latin to reach an international community of readers; such was the importance of his message. The book was published in Venice, not only because Venice was the center of Italy's printing industry, but also because Galileo's home institution, the University of Padua, was that city's de facto university, chartered by the Venetian Republic rather than a Pope or a monarch.3 The title page of the Starry Messenger reveals, however, that Galileo harbored ulterior plans for his own career, for it records the fact that he has named the moons of Jupiter the Medicean Stars, paying homage to the sons of Cosimo II de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany.4 A Tuscan himself and a restless soul by nature, Galileo was hoping for an appointment to the University of Pisa, at a much higher salary and with greater prestige than Padua was willing to provide. The naming of the stars may have played a smaller role than the magnitude of Galileo's achievement in furthering his career, but he was certainly summoned shortly thereafter to join the faculty at Pisa, the shining star in that university's academic firmament.5

“The Scientific Revolution” in high school world history textbooks (1949-2014) Yuer-Hsing Chi Heng-An Chen Department of History & College of Liberal Arts SUMMARY This study mainly investigated how the world history textbooks in high school have presented “Scientific Revolution” since the national government moved to Taiwan. That is, we looked into the changes and features of “Scientific Revolution” in high school world history textbooks. Through the development of world history education in Taiwanese high schools, the study first analyzed the curriculum guidelines of the middle school history. We found that since the abolishment of martial laws in 1987, because of the educational reform, the guidelines have gone through several changes. They turned to focus on cultivating the students’ world view and eliminating “European Centrism.” The concept of “Scientific Revolution” has become popular in historical studies since the end of WWII. The related studies nowadays have also started to review and rethink critically on this issue. In the world history textbooks of the Taiwanese high school, the term of “Scientific Revolution” was from nothing to something. In Taiwan, most of the world history textbooks adopted the traditional methods on describing “Scientific Revolution.” Centering on the scientists, the major axis is the revolution of Astronomy and scientific methods. In the future, regarding the introduction on “Scientific Revolution,” in addition to basing on traditional descriptive methods, we suggested to incorporate more reflections, and integrated more political and social backgrounds in the high school world history textbooks. In this way, the students can understand the history from different aspects, holding multiple historical views. Key words: textbooks, history education, high school education, the Scientific Revolution, world history INTRODUCTION Because of the technical improvements brought about by the new technology, the trends globalization were triggered, which forced us to cultivate more profound world view as well as the understanding and tolerance on multi-cultures. Therefore, recent education and learning of world history in high schools have been centered on cultivating macro world view as the primary learning objective. Among the world history textbooks, although the chapter of “Scientific Revolution” does not take up major printed pages, it is one of the very few chapters that lead students to understand the required scientific subjects from a historic perspective. For this reason, it has its value for investigating. The study mainly explored how the world history textbooks in high school have presented “Scientific Revolution” since the national government moved to Taiwan, and how historical studies and perspectives have influenced on the presentations. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study focused on the “Scientific Revolution” presented in the world history textbooks used by Taiwanese high schools. We investigated the textbooks published from the time that the national government moved to Taiwan to the latest version of textbooks. Because these textbooks were compiled based on the curriculum standards and guidelines set up by MOE, this research also analyzed the changes of the standards and guidelines in this years. By literature review and analysis, we collected related literature on middle school history education. Moreover, we generalized and analyzed based on the main subject of the study “Scientific Revolution” in order to learn the formation, appearance, reflections and rethought on the concept “Scientific Revolution” in the academic field. Afterward, we adopted content analysis method to analyze how “Scientific Revolution” is presented in the textbook chapter. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION After 1987, because of educational reform, the purpose of Taiwanese history education had transformed from enable students to learn the position of “Our Nation” from the learning of “Foreign Countries” to equipped students with “World View.” The content had also changed from political-history-focused to cultural-history-focused, hoping to eliminate “European Centrism” and centering on the present rather than the past. Recently, there have been less political constraints on middle school world history textbooks. However, it is still a big challenge to incorporate historical study results and multiple perspectives properly in the textbooks. “The Scientific Revolution,” from the historical perspective, indicates the period from 16th to 18th century in Europe (Especially 17th century; the year 1543 is viewed as the index of its outset.) There were revolutionary developments in the scientific theories and experiments in these years, which thoroughly changed the scientific approaches. It meant the appearance of modern science. Also, thanks to these scientists, there are tremendous changes in Europeans Universal View. The concept of the term “Scientific Revolution” was originated from Jean le Rond D’Alembert in the 18th century. It was after 1939 that Alexandre Koyre formally brought up the concept. Then, Herbert Butterfield popularized the concept, so the concept became very popular in historical field in the western world. Recently, the academics have had profound reflections and rethought on it. However, “Scientific Revolution” is still a widely-used concept in history. The early versions of curriculum guidelines and textbooks in Taiwanese high school world history did not include the issue of “Scientific Revolution.” The term of “Scientific Revolution” in Taiwanese history education could be said to be from nothing to something. The related content of “Scientific Revolution” in these textbooks that appear the most often in the attached pictures is the revolution-related figures, especially scientists. There is high reappearing and continuing rate of the revolution-related attached pictures. However, the explanations on these pictures have been changing constantly, causing the phenomenon of “one picture, multiple explanations.” Beginning from Nicolau Copernicus through Galileo Galilei,and Johannes Kepler and finally Isaac Newton represented a generalization of views. The presenting approach of traditional “Scientific Revolution”, from astronomy physics, was always included as the center of content. In addition, the inductive method by Francis Bacon and the deductive method by Rene Descartes were the must-mentioned “Scientific methods.” CONCLUSION From the “Scientific Revolution” in the middle school world history textbooks, we can see that the Taiwanese world history teaching material has been renewed with the current academic research. However, the textbooks obviously revealed “fixation.” Once appearing, many fixed terms tend to reappear in the following versions, which are difficult to change, even relive. However, it is apparent that the descriptions in the textbooks still focused too much on the contribution of “Scientific Revolution,” which might be too heroic-oriented. Recently, there is only a few reflection and rethought on “Scientific Revolution” in the academic field. So far, the related content only appeared the Han-Lin Senior High School History based on the latest 2011 curriculum guideline. In the end of the research, we gave some suggestions on the future introduction of “Scientific Revolution” in the middle school world history textbooks. From the junior high school textbooks, we can still focus on introducing traditional concepts of “Scientific Revolution,” but more clear definition, time scope and background information and other related contents should be presented. In the senior high school stage, in addition to the original contents on “Scientific Revolution,” we can discuss the scientific activities at that time through the political perspectives and social background. Also, we should incorporate some reflections and rethought by the academics in the textbook. In this way, students can not only learn the historical knowledge, but also cultivate the ability to think critically at the same time.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo usar as características orbitais das quatro Luas Galileanas de Júpiter para mostrar a equivalencia do movimento harmônico simples (MHS) com o movimento circular uniforme (MCU). Em nossos cálculos, empregamos os dados obtidos por Galileu Galilei em suas observações pioneiras com o primeiro telescópio da história, realizadas no começo de 1610, e reportadas na obra fundamental Sidereus Nuncius. Comparamos os desenhos de Galileu do Sidereus Nuncius com as imagens da posição de Jupiter e suas luas segundo o Cartes du Ciel, um programa open-source que funciona como efemérides interativa. Com os dados orbitais extraídos dos gráficos de separação angular dos Planetas Mediceanos até Jupiter, obtemos os raios das órbitas assumindo a terceira lei de Kepler.

When Galileo Galilei's Sidereus Nuncius appeared on the European intellectual scene in March 1610, the thin volume in quarto — composed of just 30 sheets — stood out in the panorama of the scientific literature of the times owing to a series of components of different kinds that took their place alongside the numerous and extraordinary celestial novelties contained in the text1.

A main area of Hans Blumenberg’s works, the history of science, has received little attention, in particular Blumenberg’s history of astronomy. Since 1955 Blumenberg [1920-1996] had undertaken a research on Copernican astronomy, and published many papers during the 50’s and 60’s, later put together in Die kopernikanische Wende [1965]. Blumenberg had also prepared preliminary studies on Galileo Galilei’s Sidereus Nuncius and Cusa’s De coniecturis. All this work will culminate in Blumenberg’s monumental Die genesis der kopernikanischen Welt [1975] and his posthumous book Die Vollzahligkeit der Sterne [1997]. The aim of this paper is to undertake a review on this neglected area of Blumenberg’s works. We will focus on the Heideggerian background in Blumenberg’s history of astronomy. Our thesis is that in Blumenberg’s history of astronomy we can find a metaphysics of existence in a Heideggerian way, as astronomical existential paradigms.

This article provides a reading of Marcantonio De Dominis’ De radiis visus et lucis (1611) in light of the discovery of its substantial dependence on Cesare Cremonini’s manuscript De iride. The relationship between the two works is examined by comparing their structure and diagrams. Placing De radiis into context with the long-standing perspectivist tradition and the sixteenth-century development in optics, this article analyses how De Dominis’ argumentative strategy was carried out, with particular reference to the alternative between extramission and intromission and the use of the concept of refraction. It is argued that De Dominis addressed issues advanced, among others, by Giambattista Della Porta, to build a coherent optical theory based on Aristotelian-oriented concepts and notions. Moreover, the article analyses how the general purpose of De Dominis’ De radiis provides context to his way of rethinking the theoretical novelty of the telescope, announced in Galileo Galilei’s Sidereus nuncius.

This book analyzes the construction and the impact of Galileo Galilei’s fame. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is perhaps best known for his involvement in the trial of 1633, in which the Catholic Church condemned him for heresy. However, both Galileo’s fame and his controversial status originated long before the trial of ... read more 1633, and can be traced back until at least 1610. This year saw the publication of his first major work, Sidereus Nuncius (1610), which evoked not only exalted praise but also fervent criticism. To date, however, Galileo’s rise to fame is mostly portrayed as the straightforward result of his merit. Such a view obscures the impact of social and cultural processes on the development of fame. Moreover, while fame was often presented as a positive asset, it was also frequently associated with vanity and pride – which meant that scholars accused of seeking fame could draw suspicion rather than approval. Considering Galileo’s fame as a direct result of his merit thus glosses over this complicated relation between scholarly credibility and fame. This book aims to remedy these lacunae in earlier scholarship. In doing so, it seeks to break ground in two major ways. First, this work shifts away the traditional focus on Galileo’s own self-fashioning and instead concentrates on the efforts of Galileo’s contemporaries. It demonstrates that the construction and development of Galileo’s fame required the active participation and engagement of others, who can be conceptualized as stakeholders in Galileo’s reputation. The book explores the means and motives varied groups of these stakeholders had for creating, shaping and opposing Galileo’s fame. It demonstrates that Galileo’s fame was the result of the active engagement of scholars and non-scholars alike. Moreover, it shows that most stakeholders were driven not only by their appreciation for Galileo’s scholarly merit, but by other motives as well. Second, by focusing on the impact of Galileo’s fame the book integrates the study of fame and the history of science. The question of how scholarly credibility was assigned and assessed has been on the forefront of recent studies into the history of science. Yet, while research has shown that various social norms and practices were of seminal importance to the construction of credibility, the role played by fame in this regard has not yet been examined systematically. This book demonstrates that the way contemporaries assessed Galileo’s fame in relation to his credibility depended to a large extent on their own position, interests and background. In evaluating Galileo’s fame, moreover, scholars and non-scholars alike drew on practices and assumptions pertaining to two other contexts: the juridical and the religious. The chosen scope and focus thus not only provide new insights into Galileo’s life and career; this case study also presents a novel perspective on the way fame is created. Moreover, in this book the case of Galileo – so often presented as the epitome of a clash between science and religion – is instead used to bring into focus where the cultures of scholarship, law and religion intersected. show less

Paolo Beni da Gubbio (1553-1625) has been studied almost exclusively for his literary and rhetorical production. However, he finds an important place among the scholars of the Renaissance who developed a novel reading of Plato as an alternative to the predominent exegesis of Ficino and his followers. His writings represent a prime example of the interplay between exegetical discussions (both of literary and philosophical texts) and the emerging sciences. In the unpublished part of his commentary on Plato’s Timaeus, Beni discusses Platonic natural philosophy - cosmology in particular - in light of the interpretations of other authors as well as the new scientific theories, mostly in relation to the Paduan scientific circles. From Galileo’s correspondence with Giovan Battista Manso, we know that Beni was wellinformed about Galileo’s astronomical observations and discoveries at the beginning of 1610, which were soon published thereafter in the Sidereus Nuncius. Further, we have information concerning Beni’s active role in the circulation of these observations. We wish to cast new light on the reception of these novelties by an advocate of the classical tradition such as Beni. Beni’s praise of the new discoveries is testified by his unedited commentary to the Ciceronian Dream of Scipio (1610-15), in which he criticizes the Aristotelian cosmological model, referring to the newly invented telescope and referring to Galileo’s astronomical observations. Echoes of new scientific and cosmological theories appear also in Beni’s commentaries on Tasso’s Delivered Jerusalem.

CAMBRIDGE.—A combined examination of non-resident candidates for open scholarships, exhibitions, &c, will be held at Trinity College, Clare College and Trinity Hall, beginning on November 1. At Trinity College there will be offered for competition about ten scholarships, about ten exhibitions, and about three sizarships. Scholarships include (1) major scholarships, of the value of 80l. a year, (2) minor scholarships, of the value of 75l. a year or of 50l. a year. Exhibitions are generally of the value of 40l. a year. Scholarships and exhibitions are tenable for two years from the commencement of residence. Sizarships are of the value of about 100l. a year (namely, a payment in money of 80l., arid a remission of College fees and dues to the extent of about 20l.). They are tenable until the expiration of nine terms from the commencement of residence, unless the holder is previously elected to a major scholarship. Candidates for sizarships must send satisfactory evidence to one of the Tutors that they are in need of the assistance given to sizars. The subjects of examination will be classics, mathematics, natural sciences, moral sciences, and history. A candidate may take any one of these subjects, or any combination of subjects so far as the arrangement of the papers in the examination permits. At Clare College about eight scholarships of values varying from 80l. to 40l., and at Trinity Hall six scholarships at least, ranging between the same values, will be awarded. These scholarships are offered for proficiency in classics, or mathematics, or natural science, or history. Deserving candidates who do not attain the standard for these Scholarships may be awarded exhibitions of the annual value of 30l. Forms of application for admission to the examination may be obtained from any of the Tutors of the Colleges named.

Clerk & Lindsell on Torts (The Common Law Library No. 3). Twelfth edition. General Editor: A. L. Armitage, m.a., ll.b., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law; President of Queens’ College, Cambridge; Editors: T. A. Blanco White, b.a., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law; R. W. M. Dias, m.a., ll.b., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law; Fellow, Magdalene College, Cambridge; T. Ellis Lewis, b.a., ll.b., ph.d., Fellow, Trinity Hall, Cambridge; J. C. Hall, m.a., ll.b., Solicitor of the Supreme Court; Fellow, St. John's College, Cambridge; J. A. Jolowicz, m.a., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law; Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge; F. J. Odgers, m.a., ll.b., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law; Fellow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge; K. W. Wedderburn, m.a., ll.b., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law; Fellow, Clare College, Cambridge; D. E. C. Yale, m.a., ll.b., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law; Fellow, Christ's College, Cambridge. [London: Sweet & Maxwell, Ltd. 1961. clxxvi, 1034 and (index) 60 pp. £7 12s. 6d. net.] - Volume 20 Issue 1

"XVII. Queen Elizabeth’s entertainment atClare-Hall, King’s college, Trinity Hall,Gonville & Caius college, Trinity college,S. John’s college, Christi college, Corpus Christicollege, Pembroke-Hall, Peter-House, Queen’s college & Katherine- Hall, on Wednesday, 9. August, 1564" published on by null.

This article examines the use of maps in the works of Czech author- illustrator Peter Sis in order to consider the role that cartography plays in the construction of four of his biographical picturebooks: Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus (2003/1991), Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei (1996), The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin, Naturalist, Geologist and Thinker (2003), and The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2013). The profusion of maps found in Sis’s biographical picturebooks expresses an understanding that the exploration of identity is intimately linked with the exploration of the spaces in which that identity is formed. The maps represent three basic functions for Sis: first, he uses maps to situate the reader in a specific time and place; second, maps are elements that initiate adventure; and third, the profusion of maps, combined with other textual elements, raises a question that runs through all of Sis’s work regarding the limits of representations of reality. The article illustrates the three functions by presenting a walk through the pages of the four chosen picturebooks, describing and analysing the different types of maps that Sis uses.

Interview with Peter Sis Michael Joseph (bio) and Lida Sak (bio) Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1949, Peter Sis was trained at the famous Academy of Arts and Crafts in Prague. During the early part of his career, his primary interest was film. Heads (his tribute to Arcimboldo), took the coveted German Golden Bear Award in 1980. Film also helped Sis slip under the Iron Curtain. In 1982, Czechoslovakia sent him to Los Angeles to make an animated film for the 1984 Olympics. When the Eastern Bloc countries withdrew, Czechoslovakia ordered him to return. He chose instead to remain, believing at 31, “If I didn’t do it now, I’d never do it.” Since illustrating his first children’s book in the United States, George Shannon’s Bean Boy (Greenwillow, 1984), Sis has lent illustrations to several more celebrated collaborations, including The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow, 1985), Oaf, by Julia Cunningham (Greenwillow, 1986), and The Dragons are Singing Tonight, by Jack Prelutsky (Greenwillow, 1993). Sis’s first solo effort, Rainbow Rhino (Knopf, 1987) gained recognition from both Time and the New York Times, who placed it among the year’s outstanding children’s books. Works of steadily increasing artistic maturity have followed, including Follow the Dream (Knopf, 1991), A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North (Knopf, 1993), and The Three Golden Keys (Doubleday, 1994). His newest work, Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, will soon be published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. This interview is based upon a conversation the authors had with Peter Sis in January 1995, shortly after The Three Golden Keys won the Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. Peter Sis lives in New York City with his wife, Terry, a son, Matej, and a daughter, Madeleine. Q: How do you like New York? PS: I like the energy of New York, the opportunities in New York; I like New York in the autumn, have some problems with summers and winters and some of the stuff I find in the streets when I walk with my children. Q: When did you first realize that you were an illustrator? [End Page 131] PS: I first realized that I am an illustrator when I came to New York. Because until then I was an artist. Q: Did your parents encourage your art? PS: Very much so; I would even get assignments and deadlines from my father at a young age. A lot of the time he traveled around and he would come home and tell me about lots of things which I then felt like drawing. And my mother was an art student herself. Q: Were you encouraged to pursue art in school, as well? PS: First, yes, then no. I went through a terrible time in primary school because I had a teacher who thought that if you draw a duck, it should look like a duck. Later, I went through another terrible time in art school—which was like art high school—and again, the traditions were very academic. I had a teacher who would always select the best pictures and the worst picture. And, I always ended up with the worst! I ended up in the hospital because I just couldn’t take that guy. When I am teaching now, I try not to say if somebody is better or worse: it’s just my opinion anyway. It has nothing to do with reality. Q: Do you feel you have been influenced by other artists—Czech or American? PS: Obviously; a lot. I was very lucky in college because I was selected by Jiri Trnka to be his student. However, he died a year after that, but I had a wonderful man, Miroslav Jagr, who was his assistant, and he lifted me up and encouraged me. I liked Mr. Jagr very much, but it’s true that, when we ended college, all of us who graduated were drawing just like him: including the Vietnamese students. Then, in the 1960s, San Francisco poster art really interested me. Because we followed the magazines like Graphis and Gebrauchsgraphik, it is mind boggling for me to be in New York and to work with people I used...

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was born in Pisa. As a young boy he attended a monastery school, where he studied Latin classics and Greek. He went on to study medicine and mathematics at the University of Pisa, but left without a degree due to lack of funds. After this, he spent a few years doing private teaching and independent research, then went on to serve as a lecturer at the University of Pisa before he was appointed to chair of mathematics at the University of Padua in 1591. It was here that he carried out the work which would be published in 1610 under the title Sidereus Nuncius—the sidereal, or starry, messenger. The following text selections were translated from the latin text of Galileo’s Sidereal Messenger by Edward Stafford Carlos in 1880 and revised by Maurice A. Finocchiaro in 2008. Galileo’s sketches of the moon, contained herein, have been kindly provided by the History of Hydraulics Rare Book Collection which is maintained by the IIHR at the University of Iowa. Galileo begins this text by describing the spyglass—or telescope—with which his ground-breaking observations were made possible.

The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History. By Maurice A. Finocchiaro. University of California Press: 1989. Pp.382. Hbk $50, £31.25; pbk $12.95, £8.Sidereus Nunclus or the Sidereal Messenger. By Galileo Galilei. Translated with introduction, conclusion and notes by Albert Van Helden. University of Chicago Press: 1989. Pp.127. Hbk $29.95, £19.25; pbk $7.95, £6.25.