In this episode, we conclude our examination of cartography in the Roman Empire by looking at the development of itineraries and travel maps from the period of the late Antonines to the Byzantine Empire.
One of the Vicarellos Cups
History
12/16/2020
04/05/2020
Episode 5.10: Surveying an Empire
One of the pillars of the Roman Republic and Empire was its ability to survey, divide, assign and tax land. In this episode of the podcast, we look at processes, people and tools that made such precise surveying possible.
Example of a Groma
02/05/2020
Episode 5.9: All Roads Lead to Somewhere
In this episode, we trace the development of roads from their pre-historic roots (or routes) to the development of the massive arterial network of the Roman Empire.
12/26/2019
Episode 5.8: Heaven and Earth
In this episode, we trace the development of Hellenistic geography from the work of Polybius, through Strabo, to its conclusion with Claudius Ptolemaeus.
Strabo
Ptolemy's 2nd (Conic) Projection
Ptolemy's 3rd Projection
Episode 5.7: How Big is Our World?
In this episode we examine the development of a more empirically based geography in the Hellenistic period from the voyage of Pytheas to the map of Eratosthenes.
Pytheas
Episode 3.53: The Cassini Dynasty
For 220 years, the Cassini family was among the most powerful and influential scientific dynasties of Europe. In we look at their work and lives in the period of Louis XIV, the sun King, through the end of the Bourbon monarchy.
Episode 5.6: Ocean Around a Wine-Darkened Sea
Beginning with Homer's Iliad, we look at the development of Greek geographical models of the Earth through the Classical Period.
A rendition of the Shield of Achilles
06/10/2019
Episode 5.5: The Centered Universe
In this episode we look at cartography in the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean Basin with an eye to understanding the role and purpose of maps and mapping.
The Stone Etching of the Bedolina Map
A Schematic Representation of the Etchings Found in the Bedolina Map
The Babylonian World Map as seen in the British Museum
Babylonian World Map with Schematic Representation of Symbols
Turin Map of the Gold Mines
Schematic of the Primary Fragements of the Turin Map
Scholarly article on the Turin Papyrus by James A. Harrell
05/24/2019
Episode 5.4: Emerging from Connections
We explore the connection between maps and other cultural ideas and technologies such as language, writing and time to see how the physical artifacts arise out of abstract conceptual constructs.
A Sample Compass Rose
05/08/2019
Episode 5.3: Dead Reckoning
In this episode, we discuss the development and use of basic navigational tools and how they lead to map knowledge in ancient cultures.
03/25/2019
Episode 5.2: Defining Space
Wherein we look at mapping as a human activity and begin our exploration of the evidence of the earliest maps known.
Rock Art from Southern Turkey
03/15/2019
Episode 3.52: Interview with Dr. Todd Timberlake
In this episode, we interview Dr. Todd Timberlake about his forthcoming book, "Finding Our Place in the Solar System: A Scientific View of the Copernican Revolution." The book is published by Cambridge University Press and will be available on March 28th, 2019.
Dr. Timberlake's educational materials cane found at: https://sites.berry.edu/ttimberlake/teaching/copernican-revolution/
01/21/2019
Episode 4.7: William Whewell-A Victorian Debate
In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain. In this episode we discuss the the various pictures of doing science from Bacon's experimental philosophy through Whewell's "Discover's Induction".
John Stuart Mill
12/27/2018
Episode 4.6.1: Supplemental-William Whewell on the General Bearing of the Great Exhibition
Our 2018 Christmas episode: In 1851, Dr. William Whewell gave the inaugural lecture of a series reflecting on the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. This is a reading of that lecture.
Crystal Palace of the Great Exhibition
Interior of Crystal Palace
William Whewell, Master of Trinity College
12/10/2018
Episode 4.6: William Whewell-A Potent Life Forgotten
An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.
A link to "The Complete Collection of the English Poems which have Obtained the Chancellor's Medal at Cambridge University" in which one can find Whewell's "Boadicea"
12/09/2018
Episode 4.5: William Whewell-Leaving Home
A look at the early life of the scholar and natural philosopher William Whewell. We all look at the dynamics of what it's like to be a first generation college student through the poetry of Edward Whitelock and the experiences of the podcast producer.
11/30/2018
Episode 4.4: Out of the Doldrums
Wherein the Navigator discusses the state of the podcast going forward.
11/28/2018
Episode 4.3: Probability and Pragmatism
In this episode we consider additional solutions to the Problem of Induction include those which rest on determining the certainty of inductively acquired knowledge.
08/03/2018
Episode 4.2: Hypothetically Speaking
In this episode we consider several possible solutions to Hume's Problem of Induction including William Whewell's description of scientific inquiry, the hypothetico-deductive methods and Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.
William Whewell
07/16/2018
Episode 4.1: The Problem of Induction
In our new Science and Certainty mini-series, we take a look at what is known as the Problem of Induction in the junction between epistemology and philosophy of science. We review what induction is and then look at various historical statements of the problem culminating with the work of Scottish philosopher, David Hume.
Scottish philosopher David Hume
07/02/2018
Episode 3.51: Epilogue, Finding Our Place
Wherein we reach the end of our journey.
06/26/2018
Episode 3.50.12: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, War and Peace
In our final episode of the biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at the last twenty years of his life in the United States. We consider his conversations with the mathematician Kurt Godel, the letters to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that helped initiate what would become the Manhattan Project, his post-war efforts to promote peace and his principled defiance of McCarthyism.
Iconic Halsman Photograph: "No, with man there will always be war."
06/10/2018
Episode 3.50.11: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Coming to America
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey, we delve more deeply into Einstein's religious views and recap the months up to his emigration to the United States to take a position at the Institute of Advanced Study.
Albert Einsein, Charlie Chaplin, and Elsa Einstein
06/01/2018
Episode 3.50.10: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Politics and Exile
In 1930, Albert Einstein wrote,
“I believe that the most important mission of the state is to protect the individual and to make it possible for him to develop into a creative personality.”
This concise statement of his political philosophy would guide his actions through much of the 1920's and early 30's as he used his fame and celebrity to advance causes important to him.
In this episode, we'll examine those actions and causes.
05/24/2018
Episode 3.50.9: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, Entanglement
In the words of physicist John Wheeler,
“In all the history of human thought, there is no greater dialogue than that which took place over the years between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein about the meaning of the quantum.”
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey we explore the relationship between the two men that began through journal articles on light quantum and the atom, was further entwined through Nobel Prizes awarded together and continued through debates shared in letters, papers and at scientific meetings.
Episode 3.50.8: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Price of Fame
05/19/2018
Episode 3.50.7: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Best and Worst of Times
Episode 3.50.6: Supplemental-Einstein's Angels
This week we look at the period of Albert Einstein's life from 1905-1913 as he moved from one position to another on his rise among the European physics community
04/12/2018
Episode 3.50.5: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Most Miraculous Year-Special Relativity
In the second half of 1905, Albert Einstein published tow papers that refined humanity's understanding of space and time as well as the relationship between mass and energy. In this episode, we examine the factors that led to these discoveries.
Einstein at the Swiss Patent Office
03/31/2018
Episode 3.50.4: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Most Miraculous Year-Light and Atoms
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five papers that changed the course of physics and the modern world. In this episode, we look at the first three of those works including his paper on the photoelectric effect, his derivation of Avogardo's number and his analysis of Brownian motion that more or less proved the existence of atoms.
The Olympia Academy
03/17/2018
Episode 3.50.3: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Bourgeois Bohemian-Part 2
In this second part of our examination of Einstein's life before the Miracle Year of 1905, we examine the period between his graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic and his being hired at the Swiss patent office. We discuss his scientific work as well as his relationship with Mileva Maric and the issues surround that.
Milena and Albert Einstein
More Information About Science Cafes:
03/05/2018
Episode 3.50.2: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, The Bourgeois Bohemian-Part 1
In 1896, Albert Einstein enrolled in the teacher preparation program for physics and mathematics at the Zurich Polytechnic. We look at the events that brought him to that point and what transpired while he was a student there, including the beginning of his romantic relationship with Mileva Maric.
Albert Einstein at age 19
02/05/2018
Episode 3.50.1: Supplemental-Albert Einstein, A Fine Young Swabian
In this first episode of our biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at his childhood growing up in Munich and the various influences that would shape him in many ways.
Albert Einstein in 1894
01/31/2018
Episode 3.49.3: Supplemental-Eddington And Chandrasekhar
In this episode, we look at the dispute between British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and Indian prodigy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar over white dwarf objects and the fate of higher mass stars.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
01/29/2018
Episode 3.49.2: Supplemental-Arthur Stanley Eddington, The Seeker's Journey
For A. S. Eddington, the most important thing a thinking person could do, whether they be a scientist or a person of faith, was to follow a path of inquiry that sought to uncover new insights and new truths.
In this episode, we look at how this value influenced Eddington's work in stellar structure and relativity. Additionally, we look at how his other valence values such as internationalism influenced his actions during the Great War.
A. S. Eddington
12/11/2017
Episode 3.49.1: Supplemental-Arthur Stanley Eddington, Science and Faith
In this episode we consider the question of whether a person can be both religious and a scientist by looking at the early life of the British astrophysicist and lifelong Quaker, Arthur Stanley Eddington.
Arthur Stanley Eddington
Owen's College, University of Manchester
Dalton Hall, University of Manchester
11/22/2017
Episode 3.48: Matters Dark and Mysterious
This week we look at the work of Vera Rubin and Fritz Zwicky that led to the idea that roughly 85% of the matter in the universe can't be detected except by the gravitational influence on the matter we can see. We also consider alternative explanations such as MOND theories as well as consider candidates for dark matter including WHIM, MACHOs and WIMPs (including axions). Finally, examine the evidence in favor of dark matter being a new type of matter using what can be thought of as a "complex inference from best explanation" argument.
Vera Rubin
Rotation Curves from Several Spiral Galaxies (Figure from Rubin, Ford, and Thonnard (1978), Ap. J. Lett., 225, L107.)
Fritz Zwicky
11/06/2017
Episode 3.45: The Stuff of Stars
This week we look at the work of a number of astrophysicists including Cecilia Payne, Arthur Eddington, Hans Bethe and Charles Critchfield, and Fred Hoyle and Willie Fowler to better understand how the elements are made within the cores of stars.
Special introduction by Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy and the Beyond the Big Screen podcasts.
Steven Guerra's A to Z History Page
Fred Hoyle
10/23/2017
Episode 3.44: The Big Bang Hypothesis
In 1948, one of the most important papers in the history of science was published in the pages of the Physical Review. In it, authors Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe (in absentia) and George Gamow not only perpetrated one of the greatest plays on words in the annals of science, they also put forward the physical calculations in support that the universe as we see it today began from a small, hot, dense state known as the Primeval Fireball.
In this episode, we trace the development of that idea.
George Gamow
10/22/2017
Episode 3.43.4: Supplemental-George Ellery Hale, Triumph and Breakdown
In our third and final installment of the life of George Ellery Hale, we look at the establishment of the Mt. Wilson Observatory and his other endeavors. We also examine the psychological pressures that drove him and eventually lead to his mental breakdown.
10/03/2017
Episode 3.43.3: Supplemental-George Ellery Hale, The Making of a Reputation
In the decade between 1890 and 1900, George Hale went from being a promising graduate of MIT to the world famous director of the Yerkes Observatory. In this episode, we follow his life and work during this critical time.
George Ellery Hale with a Spectroheliograph
The Sun imaged at different wavelengths.
09/25/2017
Episode 3.43.2: Supplemental-George Ellery Hale, Rise of a Visionary
This week we begin a biographical series on George Ellery Hale by covering his life from his childhood in Chicago up through his graduation and marriage.
George Ellery Hale at age 20
09/18/2017
Episode 3.43.1: Supplemental-Masters of Reflection
The shift from astronomy to astrophysics necessitated the development of new tools of observation at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In this episode, we look at the rise of the reflecting telescopes and the men who use them including, James Keeler and George Ritchey, probably the greatest telescope designer in history.
Four Common Reflecting Telescope Designs
James E. Keeler
The Crossley Reflector-Lick Observatory
George Ritchey
60" Reflector at Mt. Wilson
09/11/2017
Episode 3.43: An Expanding Universe
In 1927 Fr. Georges Lemaire published a paper in a little known Belgian scientific journal that described an expanding universe. Two years later, Milton Humason and Edwin Hubble presented evidence to support support this model. In this episode, we look at the development of the idea of a universe that was not static or steady.
Equation of General Relativity w/o the Cosmological Constant
Fr. Georges Lemaitre
09/04/2017
Episode 3.42: Relativity
On November 25th of 1915, Albert Einstein presented a paper on his General Theory of Relativity that by its end had conclusively shown that the Vulcan hypothesis was not necessary to explain the precession of the perihelion of the orbit of Mercury. It also completely reimagined the structure of space and time and remade the universe. In this episode of the podcast, we follow Einstein's journey of discovery from the work of James Clerk Maxwell to the eclipse observations of Arthur Stanley Eddington.
08/28/2017
Episode 3.41: Edwin Hubble and the Big Leap
In 1925, the astronomer Henry Norris Russell read a paper at the 33rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The paper, written by Edwin Hubble, a staff astronomer at the Mt. Wilson observatory, detailed observations of Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Nebula. These observations and the analysis of them showed that the spiral was a million light years outside the Milky Way Galaxy, thus establishing it as an island universe once and for all. The Great Debate was settled and the size of the universe was expanded to a scale unimaginable just a decade earlier.
Edwin Hubble
The photographic plate Hubble first discovered a variable star in the Andromeda Nebula
08/21/2017
Episode 3.40: The Great Debate
On April 26th of 1920, Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis presented talks on the idea of island universes to the National Academy of Sciences. Held at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Great Debate, as it would come to be known, would showcase two differing views of the scale and structure of the universe. In this episode we look at the scientific developments made at the Lick Observatory at Mt. Hamilton by James Keeler and Curtis, the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ by Vesto Slipher and at Mt. Wilson near Pasadena that attempted to resolve the island universes question prior to the event itself.
Heber Curtis
08/06/2017
Episode 3.39: Harlow Shapley and Finding Our Place in the Galaxy
In 1914, Harlow Shapley moved to work at the Mt. Wilson Observatory. Over the course of five years, using the 60 inch reflector there, he observed the 75 visible globular clusters and developed a whole new model of the Milky Way Galaxy and our place in it.
Harlow Shapley
Diagram of the Milky Way Galaxy
Edge-On Diagram of Milky Way Galaxy
08/01/2017
Episode 3.27.3: Supplemental-The Harvard Calculators, Cecilia Payne and the Stuff of Stars
In our final episode of this mini-series on the women who worked at the Harvard College Observatory, we dive into the life of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin from her time at Cambridge University to her life in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
07/24/2017
Episode 3.38: Digression-For All Men, For All Time
In this episode we take a look at the history of the development of the metric system out of the French Revolution and the roles of Jerome Lalande, Pierre Mechain and Jean Baptiste Delambre in conducting the Meridian Survey of 1792.
Borda Repeating Circle
Repeating Circle Angle Double Illustration
Map of Survey Triangles of 1792 Meridian Survey (source: Ken Alder)
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