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Part 1 of our biography of of Johannes Kepler covering his early life from his seminary schooling to his time in Graz. We discuss his school in the lower seminary at Adelburg, the upper seminary at Maulbronn and at Sift at the University of Tubingen. After this we follow him to his assignment at the Protestant school in Graz and his work as the district mathematician. IN this we examine his attitudes on astrology and the publication of the Mysterium Cosmigraphicum.
This week we dock in Venice for a question and answer episode wherein I talk about podcasting, understanding quantum mechanics, the origin of the universe, and the evidence for human activity causing climate change. I also address questions about how doing the podcast has affected my teaching and where some of the strange things in academia come from. Then there's the story of the time I ran out of food but was saved by a do-it-yourself carwash in the middle of nowhere.
A discussion of the astronomical observation of Galileo Galilei and the escalating conflict with the Aristotelian Scholastics that dominated the Italian universities in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Specifically, we discuss the 1604 nova and Galileo's telescopic observations of 1609 including those of the Moon, Jupiter and the phases of Venus.
NAAP Ptolemaic Phases of Venus Simulation
NAAP Copernican Phases of Venus Simulation
This week we take a look at the early life and work of Tuscan natural philosopher and engineer, Galileo Galilei. We examine his investigations on motion, specifically falling bodies, that will lead him into the initial stages of conflict with the Aristotelian natural philosophers of the Scholastic universities of Italy. We will also examine the steps of scientific inquiry he developed as a part of his work.
This week we take a break from the scientific narrative to look at the events following the Protestant Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire. We specifically discuss the Peace of Augsburg, The Inquisition, The Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years War before turning to a brief account of the life of Giordano Bruno and the German witch trials.
