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10
votes
1answer
124 views
Was the State of Indiana's legislation changed to fix the value of Pi?
Is the following an anecdote?
Mathematicians describe Pi as an irrational number, that is, a number that cannot be expressed as the ratio of any two integers. This was an irksome fact to the State ...
5
votes
1answer
118 views
What corrections did the Catholic church make to the Copernicus work “De revolutionibus”?
Catholic encyclopedia says:
On 5 March, 1616, the work of Copernicus was forbidden by the Congregation of the Index "until corrected", and in 1620 these corrections were indicated. Nine sentences, ...
6
votes
1answer
180 views
Who discovered first that the Moon does not have its own light?
Who (and when) discovered first that the Moon does not have its own light?
7
votes
1answer
82 views
How were heavier objects weighed in antiquity/middle ages?
How were heavier objects weighed in antiquity or the middle ages? Were balances simply scaled up in size with appropriately larger weights? Did people know how much an elephant or even an ox actually ...
3
votes
1answer
63 views
When did we discover air?
I'm certain that ancient man knew of wind and of our need to breathe, but when did air as a distinct material become obvious? I notice that the four classical elements are water, wind, fire, and ...
11
votes
2answers
167 views
Have the current polar ice caps receded further than those that existed before the beginning of the last Ice Age?
Has science been able to determine from the geologic record how our current ice caps compare to those that existed before before the beginning of the last Ice Age? If so, how do they match up? (I ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Scientists who became major political leaders [closed]
What examples can you find of these? I want the list to include people who satisfy two criteria:
(a) Major political leader = king, president, prime-minister, very senior cabinet minister, mayor of ...
5
votes
1answer
79 views
Is one of the causes behind the cultural atmosphere surrounding the Scopes trial, and the concepts about family, “children are the future”?
To start, I noticed that during the peak of the American eugenics movement (1920-1929) that anti-evolutionary bills and eugenical bills were being passed in the same 37 states (well, just about), ...
3
votes
0answers
26 views
What was the character of the Sylva Sylvarum that differentiated it from previous works?
The Sylva Sylvarum (1627) is recognized as the first 'treatise on natural history'. Some regard it as the most-complete work, for its day.
But as early as 70AD, other works existed, such as Pliny's ...
2
votes
1answer
93 views
Were scientists in Ancient Egypt Egyptian, or were they from other regions like Greece or North Africa?
Do we have knowledge of any of the scientists of Ancient Egypt? If yes, were they originally from Egypt, or were they from other regions such as Europe, North Africa or Asia? Any examples?
4
votes
1answer
364 views
Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and the Science
For someone who is born in India, some of the few mythological stories we watch on tv/hear from our grandparents are Ramayana, excerpts from Mahabharata or other Vedic stories of gods, the vedic way ...
7
votes
1answer
85 views
When did man begin to understand the science behind hail?
When did man begin to understand the science behind hail? And most importantly what were some misconception associated with hail? For example "Wrath of God"?
8
votes
1answer
438 views
How accurately could ancient astronomers find latitude and longitude?
In classical times (let's say 200 BC to 400 AD), how accurately could a Greek/Roman/Babylonian/etc. astronomer determine their location on the earth by coordinates like latitude/longitude?
Could they ...
15
votes
1answer
236 views
Was there any theological opposition to the lightning rod?
Apparently, there was some opposition to the lightning rod at the time of its invention because lightning was seen as "the wrath of God" and should not be controlled.
I'd like to find some citations ...
30
votes
7answers
746 views
History of scientific regression
Throughout history, humans have made many subtle and many substantial scientific advancements. Humans have explored, examined, learned, applied and at times seemingly "forgotten" and/or were unable ...
24
votes
6answers
2k views
What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
One of the common reasons given for the Renaissance and the subsequent scientific revolution is the rediscovery of classical works by scholars in Europe and the social change that the study of those ...
