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See this
Taste this
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Hear this
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Touch this
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The Basics
Galileo’s first significant contribution to science traditionally is said to have occurred atop the Leaning Tower of Pisa, when he supposedly dropped bodies (as in objects, not dead people) and proved that the speed of a falling object is not proportional to its weight, as Aristotle claimed. Before Galileo, everyone believed Aristotle, because—hey—he was Aristotle. (In reality, Galileo’s experiment probably involved rolling objects down an incline, not dropping them off a tower, but that’s not as good a story.) Galileo further contradicted Aristotle by proving that projectiles take parabolic trajectories (you’d think someone would have noticed this with all the catapulting that went on in the Middle Ages, but no).
Galileo was a pious and unassuming fellow who never sought to court controversy. But for some reason, he kept discovering things that disproved conventional wisdom. Fortunately, debunking Aristotelian physics never got anybody excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, Galileo started meddling in astronomy. At first, it seemed his observations made him rich and secured his fame. Having discovered four moons around Jupiter, he smartly named them after the ruling Medici family, who responded in kind by getting him a sweet gig in his native Tuscany.
But he soon noticed that Venus revolved around the Sun, which flew in the face not only of Aristotle’s beliefs, but also those of the Catholic Church. After keeping quiet on the issue for nearly a decade, Galileo received permission from the pope to write a book on the topic. The resulting work, succinctly titled Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican, in which a character named Salviati explains that the earth clearly revolves around the Sun, and a guy aptly named Simplicio is constantly ridiculed for his irrational belief in an earth-centric universe.
Summoned to Rome for an Inquisition, Galileo eventually apologized (legend has it that at the end of his apology, he mumbled, “And yet—it moves,”) and was sentenced to life in prison. The “prison” proved to be a small, comfortable villa near Florence, where he continued to work, albeit with his heart broken by the Church to which he remained ever faithful.
Heliocentrism
Galileo was neither the first nor the only scientist to believe in a heliocentric universe. The idea was first put forth by Nicolaus Copernicus, who didn’t publish his work for decades and then had the good sense to die just after it finally saw the light of day, before anyone could get mad at him.
Galileo and the Scientific Method
So how come no one ever dropped a couple rocks from a cliff to check and make sure that Aristotle was right about the behavior of falling objects? Because until that point no one had invented the Scientific Method (aka the cornerstone of all modern science), wherein a hypothesis is developed and tested. Galileo’s credit for developing the Method, however, must be shared with Sir Francis “Don’t Call Me Sausage” Bacon. Between the two of them, they revolutionized the manner in which people approached the questions of the heavens.
Darn!! He is the guy behind all these??
IT’S A MATH, MATH, MATH, MATH WORLD
Although Galileo didn’t devote much time to the study of pure mathematics, he did make a discovery that baffled mathematicians for 250 years: He proved that there are as many perfect squares (1, 4, 9, 16, 25, etc.) as there are whole numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.), even though the vast majority of whole numbers are not perfect squares. Known as “Galileo’s Paradox of the Infinite,” this caused headaches for abstract mathematicians until the early 20th century, when Georg Cantor invented set theory, which has been causing headaches for Calculus II students ever since.
He must be very very free to do such maths!! Insanity!!
Conversation Starters
◆ In 1609, Galileo learned that a telescope had been invented by Hans Lippershey in the Netherlands. Unable to procure one from the inventor, he jerry-rigged his own contraption using three lenses he purchased at an eyeglass store. Then, with a little trial and error, Galileo eventually learned the fine art of grinding lenses—producing the most powerful telescope in the world. Aside from allowing him to chart the universe, his high-powered spyglass also proved definitively that the moon’s surface was not smooth, as scientists had previously thought, nor was it made of Swiss cheese, as scientists had secretly hoped.
◆ Like a lot of successful people, Galileo was a college dropout. He briefly attended the University of Pisa, but had to leave because he couldn’t afford tuition. Just a couple years later, however, he ended up returning to college—this time as a professor.
Almost like Bill Gates, Steve Job, who else? Millionaire?
◆ Galileo was also a prodigious inventor: Besides his work with the telescope, he invented the first compound microscope, a complicated air-and-water-based thermometer, and the first driver for a pendulum clock. (Among the inventions he sketched but never got around to making are a comb that doubled as an eating utensil, an automated tomato picker, and a ballpoint pen.)
Innovative inventer huh??
PETALING JAYA: Members of the Malaysian yoga society are disheartened by the fatwa by the National Fatwa Council declaring yoga as haram as the practice of yoga in Malaysia unlike that in India is catered to the local religious sensitivities and cultural traditions.
Nevertheless it will cooperate by discouraging Muslims from partaking in this healing exercise via physical movements.
T.Manisekaran, who is president of both the Malaysian Yoga Society (MYS) and Malaysian Association of Yoga Instructors said the research focused on before the fatwa was announced seems to have been focused more on the practice of yoga promoted by institutions in India which incorporate religion and spirituality into their practice.
"Malaysian yoga is different as it incorporates the local situation," said Manisekaran.
He said most of the instructors being born and bred as Malaysian are familiar and understand the sensitivities of the different cultural and religious groups and give yoga instructions based on this.
"We had actually sent letters to the relevant authorities - offering our opinion and expertise but there was no response," said Manisekaran adding MYS' aim was to disseminate the correct information on yoga practices in Malaysia.
"In Malaysia yoga is more of a treatment modality than a religious practice," he said adding that many doctors actually prescribe yoga for their patients.
"Yoga is used to treat an array of ailments including cancer, asthma, high blood pressure, stress and psychological conditions," said Manisekaran.
"Thus we have been encouraging more people to take up yoga as a firm of exercise," he added.
Manisekaran said this was also why the society had expected the national fatwa council to come up with a decision in favour of yoga.
"We have been telling people that there was no worry as in Malaysia everything is done through dialogue and mature discussion, but it turned out otherwise," he said.
"To us it is not much of a loss as to begin with we do not have many Muslim practitioners and students as there is already an existing fear of yoga among that community."
However it is sad that they will be losing out on enjoying the health benefit of this form of exercise and healing, said Manisekaran.
"Nevertheless MYS will comply with all the requirements of the authorities as stipulated by law, he said.
Adapted from http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=27894
Wikipedia says that the Muslim practitioners of Yoga in Malaysia claims that this decision is blasphemious... I personally wonder how can practice of Yoga, which focus mostly on techcnique of breathing, poses and peace of mind be called betrayal to the religion? So, what is next? Pilates? Or Qi Gong?
CAIRO, Nov 11, 2008 (AFP) - - A 4,300-year-old pyramid has been discovered at the Saqqara necropolis outside Cairo, Egypt's culture minister said on Tuesday.
Faruq Hosni made the announcement at a press conference in Saqqara, an ancient burial ground which dates back to 2,700 BC and is dominated by the massive bulk of King Zoser's step pyramid, the first ever built.
Husni said the pyramid, five metres (16 foot) tall, is believed to have been 15 metres tall when it was first built for Queen Sesheshet, the mother of King Teti who founded the 6th Dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom.
The pyramid's base was discovered "20 metres below the sands and a doorway for the burial place was also discovered," Hosni said, adding that it seems thieves had looted the pyramid.
First it reveals a pleasant personality having a degree of charm. Obama likes to take on responsibility. He is creative and fairly intelligent has good integrity according to his belief system.
The most troubling thing about him (according to his handwriting) is if he were to be come president is his inclination to gloss over details. He will go for the big picture but without a full plan--or maybe with no plan--and hope the correct foundation gets laid and things work out. If he is lucky others will step in and fill the gaps, but if his is not then disaster could result.
He is also quite secretive so don't assume he gives us all this thoughts or plans.
The most striking additional detail is the size of the "B" and "O" in his name in relation to his regular writing as well as the page in which he places his signature. They are very large filling up about half a page. This shows a tremendous desire to be the center of attention. Usually the only place you see a signature like this is in the acting profession where the desire to draw attention to themselves causes them to enter the profession. This desire for attention is also a glamour which all servants of mankind must master.
On the positive side his handwriting shows good intelligence, good rhythm and charm. He has lots of confidence and exudes personal energy. He is very creative and probably could have been an artist or actor if he put his mind in that direction.
His thoughts are very fluid rarely is there a lack of words in his reserve. This makes him a resourceful public speaker and his creativity makes him an interesting one.
He has some a great sense of rhythm and timing and good sense of intuition (using the standard definition of the word).
His personality appeal is likely to be mistaken for spiritual energy by many. To find the real man one must carefully examine what he actually says rather than how he says it.
For instance on many issues Obama insists he has a plan but does not tell us what the plan is. This was the same approach Richard Nixon used. After he was elected, it turned out he had no real plan but pretty much flew by the seat of his pants.
Adapted from http://www.freeread.com/archives/3880.php