In the early 1600’s Galileo Galilei, with help from his improved telescope and his predecessor, Copernicus, proved that our Earth revolved on its axis and also revolved around the Sun. He was not adequately rewarded for his meticulously accurate scientific observations or the writings he produced to present this new knowledge to the world. He was imprisoned and threatened with death by the Pope, the Vatican, and the Inquisition.
Dava Sobel, who memorably writes about scientific history, tells us the facts in her book Galileo’s Daughter. We are taken back to those times via a time machine in the form of letters written by Galileo’s daughter, a nun. Unfortunately, Galileo’s return letters were destroyed out of well-founded fear of religious persecution and retribution.
Other books by Dava Sobel are hereby recommended, and she is working on a book about Marie Curie. It is silly to mention, but she writes from a woman’s perspective. She is a woman, so any other perspective would be difficult.
Do not make the mistake of assuming that backward provincialism died in the 1600’s. We live in a time when the adjectival form of the word Progress (progressive) is taken by many to be a slur.
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