[HN Gopher] Anaximander and the Nature of Science ___________________________________________________________________ Anaximander and the Nature of Science Author : diodorus Score : 35 points Date : 2023-02-20 20:06 UTC (1 days ago) (HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com) (TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com) | fidrelity wrote: | Helgoland by Rovelli is probably my all-time favourite book. I | have recently finished 'The beginning of infinity' by David | Deutsch (another bestseller), another quantum physicist and was | deeply disappointed. | | While Rovelli seems curious to me Deutsch seems certain about his | conclusions. Did anyone have the same experience with those two | authors that are seemingly talking about the same topics and are | to some degree saying the same thing? | dotsam wrote: | Deutsch is not certain that his conclusions are true. But he | does know that he has reached them in the best way: by making | explanations that are hard to vary, that solve problems and | that have withstood severe criticism. If any of his conjectured | explanations were refuted, he would change his conclusions. If | he didn't he would be authoritarian, which he would abhor. | | His books are dense and benefit from multiple readings. I came | back to them recently after reading Karl Popper's works, which | helped me understand his position better. | antognini wrote: | Shameless plug, but if you're interested in learning a bit more | about Anaximander (along with the other philosophers of the | Ionian School), I did a episode about him in my astronomy history | podcast a little while back: | | https://songofurania.com/episode/010 | | (And if you don't like listening to podcasts, there's a | transcript, too.) | kwhitefoot wrote: | Also on the BBC at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jc11 | | "Ancient knowledge Start the Week | | Carlo Rovelli, Ann Yee and Kapka Kassabova discuss ancient | knowledge, radical thinking and watery worlds with Adam | Rutherford." | nyc111 wrote: | "The Miletus of 2,600 years ago was a time and place in which the | ability to read and write moved beyond a limited circle of elite | scribes." | | Interesting. Any time access to knowledge becomes cheaper a | revolution occurs. Or anytime a monopoly on knowledge disappears. | I guess the next revolution occurred with the printing press. And | the last, with the internet. Did I miss any other? | devindotcom wrote: | The telegraph was an enormous change, especially laying the | trans-Atlantic line. | moh_maya wrote: | Radio and television, I think. They were a medium for non- | literates to also participate in learning and exploration, in a | way they couldn't if the only way to do so was through reading. | anonymouskimmer wrote: | The students of early universities (Bologna, etcetera) were | often troublemakers. | mdp2021 wrote: | Could you please elaborate? What I gather is that Bologna | started as a "club" of students, hence "university" (Bologna | started the term) should be interpreted as "a collective"... | The union suggests a creation of some power (not just an | organization), but I do not know what <<trouble[some]>> | objectives should such guild pursue. | roughly wrote: | Carlo Rovelli's books are absolutely fantastic - he's deeply | passionate and writes with an artistry that very few other | science writers do. "The Order of Time" is my favorite, but I've | not been disappointed by anything of his I've read. | college_physics wrote: | "Each time that we - as a nation, a group, a continent or a | religion - look inward in celebration of our specific identity we | do nothing but lionize our own limits and sing of our stupidity" | | Good things tend to happen at the interface. Monocultures (large | numbers of brains synchronized in identical thought patterns) | stifle these orthogonal, non-conforming dimensions that help | expand our perceptive abilities. | | At the same time identity that looks outwards and engages with | others in confidence is like a wellspring that doesn't stop | giving. I like to think that Carlo Rovelli carries the torch of | such open and inquisitive Italian minds, from Antiquity through | Renaissance and Enlightenment. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-02-21 23:01 UTC)