Biologists remember 2009 as the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species. But as the Year of Science celebration has tried to make clear, there are many other events worthy of celebration.
Earlier this year Science published three articles about the International Year of Astronomy. Today The Economist chimed in with its own article about Galileo and his contributions. The article is short and it's well worth reading the whole thing, but here's the punchline:
Earlier this year Science published three articles about the International Year of Astronomy. Today The Economist chimed in with its own article about Galileo and his contributions. The article is short and it's well worth reading the whole thing, but here's the punchline:
Four centuries on, it is difficult to think of Galileo's intellectual heirs, meeting this week in Rio de Janeiro under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (see article), as firebrand revolutionaries. Yet their discoveries--from planets around other stars that may support alien life, to dark matter and energy of unknown nature that are the dominant stuff of reality--are no less world-changing than his. Moderns may be more comfortable than medievals with the idea that man's notion of his place within the universe can suddenly change. That should not blind them to the wonder of it.
Notice that word "wonder" in the last sentence. I'm delighted to see it used to describe science in a general interest news magazine. If science is to play a more important role in public life, as many of us think it should, we1 have to do make science exciting and relevant. Sharing the sense of wonder we have at our discoveries is an important part of that task.
1"We" meaning both scientists and those who support a more important role in public life.
1"We" meaning both scientists and those who support a more important role in public life.
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