Tycho Brahe, renowned 16th century astronomer, had a problem. He made some of the earliest accurate measurements of planetary movement, and was deeply committed to the primacy of science and empirical data. So far, so good. But Brahe was also committed to the primacy of the Earth, partly out of religious conviction and partly because — well, just because. So what was he to do when his measurements kept showing the same unwelcome results: the five known planets of his day — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — all revolved around the sun!So Brahe came up with a brilliant solution: He devised an astronomic system whereby those five planets indeed circled the sun, but the whole shebang (sun + planets) obediently revolved around the Earth. Ta Daa! Problem solved (sort of).Brahe's blunder speaks to a tendency that persists in the minds of many: Give ground in response to undeniable...
neurobiology of consciousnessafterW. D. Hamiltonafteraltruismmail@the-scientist.comDavid P. Barash is the author of Natural Selections: Selfish altruists, honest liars, and other realities of evolution, published this month by Bellevue Literary Press. He is a professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle.The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15704/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22365/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15154/http://faculty.washington.edu/dpbarash/Natural Selections: Selfish altruists, honest liars, and other realities of evolutionhttp://tinyurl.com/2c748w

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Join for free todayAlready a member?Login Here