Discoveries and Opinions of Gallileo
This book is basically a translation of “The Starry Messenger”, “Letters on Sunspots”, “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina”, and “The Assayer” with historical explanations between them. It is really interesting to sense the opposition the Galileo faced from the Church and the legacy of Aristotle. It is also interesting to notice how science was so immature in those days. The scientific method was not commonly required. Also, it was strange to hear Galileo bickering with much less worthy men. I liked that Galileo often said “I do not know” and told his pupils to say it also. This was important because philosophers of the day would hate to say this because they were afraid it would make them seem dumb, but this attitude is harmful to science. I like when Galileo said “…I know no more about the true essences of earth or fire than about those of the moon or sun, for that knowledge is withheld from us, and is not to be understood until we reach the state of blessedness” because this means we have now reached a state of blessedness. It was also nice that Galileo explained the sailor’s rule that bright air was windy by the fact that the wind made the water more bumpy, which reflected light into a larger amount of air. Although the reading was little boring at times, this was an enlightening book.
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