Posted on 03/30/2005 10:35:09 AM PST by Between the Lines
Studying a statue of Atlas holding the sky, an American astronomer finds key evidence of what could be a major fraud in science history.
In a sunlit gallery of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Italy, astronomer Brad Schaefer came face to face with an ancient statue known as the Farnese Atlas.
For centuries, the 7-foot marble figure of the mythological Atlas has bent in stoic agony with a sphere of the cosmos crushing his shoulders.
Carved on the sphere - one of only three celestial globes that have survived from Greco-Roman times - are figures representing 41 of the 48 constellations of classical antiquity, as well as the celestial equator, tropics and meridians.
Historians have long looked on the Atlas as a postcard from the past - interesting largely as astronomical art.
But as Schaefer approached, he began to notice subtle details in the arrangement of the constellations. It wasn't that anything was wrong with the statue. If anything, the positions of the constellations were too perfect to be mere decoration.
He was more than a little intrigued. No, this was no mere piece of art. Taking out his camera, he was about to take a journey through the centuries to unravel one of the great mysteries of the ancient world and uncover key evidence in what may be one of the biggest cases of fraud in the history of science.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Either you must have remarkable eyesight, or access to a much better image than what's on this thread!
thanks for the close up....awesome!
I'll be interested in reading his conclusions on sunspot activity! He sure seems to take a lot of time and care in his investigations.
Global warming is a pretty-well established fact-- the planet is getting warmer. The junk science has to do with the cause of global warming-- i.e., blaming it on human technology. Exploring whether sunspots play a role is actually rebutting the junk science.
Thanks for the ping!
I'm following you. His analysis was not purely scientific. It was also historical. But given that history is rewritten every six months, I'm not sure I find it conclusive. A lot of things put together make it seem more certain, though, I guess.
Yes, but ... A slave-owning society develops a peculiar attitude about manual labor. Gentlemen's persuits usually involved hunting, gambling, wenching, and -- for those who might be intellectually inclined -- philosophy and politics. Actual work was for them -- "them" being the slave class. Alexis de Tocqueville discusses this in connection with the generally lethargic economy of the South, compared to the busteling activity he witnessed in the North.
Many believe this was responsible for the lack of experimentation in ancient societies. It didn't, however, prevent them from achieving some considerable engineering work, but this was usually related to military activities.
I'll have to respectfully disagree with this. Some things, such as Hero's steam engine, were probably dead on arrival because animal and human labor were far cheaper and there was no impetus to develop it any further. However, classical engineering extended far beyond simply military applications. Hero also invented an automated stage play (no actors, just automatons) complete with sound effects; one of the first coin-operated vending machines; mechanical birds which sang; and a machine that delivered fortunes to the faithful. In addition, we have a primitive mechanical computer for determining celestial positions.
Moving forward and outward from engineering, it was a Roman, Galen, who began moving the world toward modern medicine, including cleaning instruments to reduce the risk of infection. Unfortunately any further movements in this direction were squashed by the Christian church, which considered the body sacrosanct and forbade physicians from dissecting the deceased.
Other major inovations from slave-holding societies include the invention of the metal plow blade, the determination that the Earth was round, and just how big it actually was, the development of the scientific method, and just about all the modern scientific disciplines from archaeology and geology to physics and chemistry.
Yeah, I can imagine. It just sounds so funny. Like being world's best stone-skipper or world renowned kazoo player. LOL
All that is true. Nevertheless, I present the views of Alexis de Tocqueville on the subject. Democracy in America is online. What follows is from chapter 18, in the section you can search for in that chapter. Search for Contrast between the left and the right bank of the Ohio. This is a long post, but I think the topic is interesting:
... in general, the colonies in which there were no slaves became more populous and more prosperous than those in which slavery flourished. The farther they went, the more was it shown that slavery, which is so cruel to the slave, is prejudicial to the master.There's much more in the book. It's well worth reading.
[Snip]
Undulating lands extend upon both shores of the Ohio, whose soil affords inexhaustible treasures to the laborer; on either bank the air is equally wholesome and the climate mild, and each of them forms the extreme frontier of a vast state: that which follows the numerous windings of the Ohio upon the left is called Kentucky; that upon the right bears the name of the river. These two states differ only in a single respect: Kentucky has admitted slavery, but the state of Ohio has prohibited the existence of slaves within its borders. Thus the traveler who floats down the current of the Ohio to the spot where that river falls into the Mississippi may be said to sail between liberty and servitude; and a transient inspection of surrounding objects will convince him which of the two is more favorable to humanity.Upon the left bank of the stream [Kentucky] the population is sparse; from time to time one descries a troop of slaves loitering in the half-desert fields; the primeval forest reappears at every turn; society seems to be asleep, man to be idle, and nature alone offers a scene of activity and life.
From the right bank [Ohio], on the contrary, a confused hum is heard, which proclaims afar the presence of industry; the fields are covered with abundant harvests; the elegance of the dwellings announces the taste and activity of the laborers; and man appears to be in the enjoyment of that wealth and contentment which is the reward of labor.
[Snip]
Upon the left bank [Kentucky] of the Ohio, labor is confounded with the idea of slavery, while upon the right bank [Ohio] it is identifies with that of prosperity and improvement; on the one side it is degraded, on the other it is honored. On the former territory no white laborers can be found, for they would be afraid of assimilating themselves to the Negroes; all the work is done by slaves; on the latter no one is idle, for the white population extend their activity and intelligence to every kind of employment. Thus the men whose task it is to cultivate the rich soil of Kentucky are ignorant and apathetic, while those who are active and enlightened either do nothing or pass over into Ohio, where they may work without shame.
[Snip]
As the same causes have been continually producing opposite effects for the last two centuries in the British colonies of North America, they have at last established a striking difference between the commercial capacity of the inhabitants of the South and those of the North. At the present day it is only the Northern states that are in possession of shipping, manufactures, railroads, and canals.
[Snip]
The influence of slavery upon the production of wealth must have been very imperfectly known in antiquity, as slavery then obtained throughout the civilized world, and the nations that were unacquainted with it were barbarians. And, indeed, Christianity abolished slavery only by advocating the claims of the slave; at the present time it may be attacked in the name of the master, and upon this point interest is reconciled with morality.
They also had very dark, clear skies. No telescopes, it's true but night skies any astronomer would pay dearly for.
bttt
Nebraska Man
Piltdown Man
Peking Man
Haeckels Embyros
Miller/Urey experiment of 1953
peppered moths
etc
It is better if one is bored and slightly loopy at the time.
If you look really close you may see a bit of dried floor wax on the very tip.
I've never had a problem with slavery being a part of America's history, I do have have to admit a bit of doubt on the judgment of the part of the buyers, though.
If it weren't for those occasional storms.
Schaeffer's latest project: He's being paid to investigate:
"To find out if the sun has a role in global warming."
Duh.
LOL
Indeed.. as you probably know..
Here it is..
Assuming that the painting was fulfilled on 25 Sept. 1888, we realize that the Big Dipper was represented as visible around 10:30 pm. We have the sensation, however, that it was not painted within few minutes.
In fact, the two rear stars indicate a direction which is in agreement with a time following that suggested by the eastern part of the Dipper: the Alkaid-Megrez line is almost horizontal, while the Dubhe-Merak direction points to the bottom right.
This direction is even in disagreement with the Alkaid-Dubhe direction, the latter being in accordance with the position of the eastern stars.
Van Gogh reported all the seven brighter stars, however slightly modifying their positions. In particular, Alioth is too close to Megrez, also resulting not aligned with the Mizar-Megrez direction. We've found Phecda quite out-of-place: the rear part of the Big Dipper should be almost rectangular, while in the painting it shows a clear trapezoidal shape.
A possible explanation, suggested by the time gap mentioned above, is that Merak was placed on the canvas about 40 minutes later than the others, followed by Phecda, probably placed looking at Dubhe and Merak, as the Dubhe-Merak-Phecda angle is correct (but Merak and Phecda are too close).
The elevation above the horizon of the Big Dipper, evaluated looking at its dimensions, is in good agreement with the latitude of Arles (43.66° N), so van Gogh in this case has correctly evaluated the angular distances involved.
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