Practice the first amendment, we could become victims of that darkness. Thank you bob. [applause]. I going to stay and sign some books now . Yes, absolutely. Thank you. A book tv is on instagram, follow us for publishing news, scheduling updates and behind the scenes pictures and videos. Instagram. Com book underscore tv. Ronald numbers, did isaac newton discovered gravity. Yes he did. But he did not discover it from being hit on the head with a falling apple. And that is the story that has circulated for centuries, that that dramatic episode in the garden triggered his thinking about gravity. He wondered wondered why does the apple fall straight down. It makes a great story. A friend of his started circulating it, it is conceivable that apples happened but it is very unlikely that newton developed the theory of gravitation either watching an apple drop were being hit on the head of an apple drop in. Thats a little bit more dramatic right . Getting hit on the head. But the stories in the history of science turnout to be fascinated but untrue. Lets look at your book means apple and other myths about science. Did he develop it in a vacuum, all, all of a sudden . No. That is another frequent myth that breakthroughs in the history of science and medicine take place instantaneously with a brilliant person. Newton was brilliant. But he worked on this problem for a long time and developed a mathematical theory, he wrote a book called the print kip year a which very few people could or did read. A very difficult book. But you read it. I have a copy, not an original unfortunately. I have read in it. In the second edition he added what is accessible to general readers. There again, you see another myth laid to rest, the myth that newton did away with god. And explain the solar system and other movements, mechanically. He is very explicit in this general school yum that his work, natural philosophy in terms of science has not come into use yet and was a label. When you did natural philosophy you are actually studying gods works. He sometimes wrote god to help him explain some of the things in his system. It was anything but a clockwork universe that went on according to its own devices. Professor, personal tell us about isaac noon. Who was he, when did he live . What he lived mostly in the late 17 century into the 18th century. His great achievement, probably the greatest achievement was that he unified the laws of motion for the heavens and for the earth. Until that time, going back into greek antiquity the assumption was that different laws of motion prevailed in the heaven, the natural motion up there was circular, here it was linear. People had done a lot of work individually, galileo for example, but newton came along and reduced motion to the square law holding both planetary bodies and other bodies. That was a huge accomplishment. It kind of got scientists off on the wrong foot because in the 18 century you have all of these people and medicine even, and natural Natural History trying to be newton. That is to come up with that simple equation or formula that would explain everything. So we have lots of interesting theories, the cause of disease, what was the cause of disease . One person said it was the itch. Another said it was vascular tension, but they were trying to be newtons of their worlds. Did isaac newton work in a dark room by himself . Did he have collaborators . He worked a lot by himself and sometimes in correspondence with other people. Hughes observations, even an observation from the new world. He did a lot of mathematical work. He invented a calculus. And he did Wonderful World work on optics. He published a book to the extent that the principia, the mathematical principles of is fairly accessible. People who read that thought that was the method that isaac newton used throughout his work, but the optics was a very empirical book as i say, quite understandable. Whereas, he is not experimenting with the planets. What comes as a surprise to me, people who do not know much about newton is that he may have written more about theology and Biblical Studies than about natural philosophy. He was very concerned about the bible, the chronology in the bible, eschatology, time events, the idea that he was exclusively a student of nature is very false. He also was quite interested in other subjects. What is that . It is is the study of transmitting metals and the general idea of alchemy was they were trying to transmit base metals into valuable metals, especially gold. Another myth that is dealt with in this book is disabuse aimed readers of the notion that alchemy and astrology were mere superstitious activities. Early chemistry was essentially alchemy. Alchemists laid a lot of the foundation for Later Development and chemistry. Astrology was pretty useful too. There is a a scientist named galileo who did a lot of astrology. Todd astrology, cass for people, so there was a divide in the 16th or 17th century that has come to represent science now and the division between what some people call pseudoscience and science. There is another good chapter in the book on pseudoscience. How how do we determine what is pseudoscience . It is i was the boundary between science and pseudoscience is always being renegotiated. Sometimes it seems pretty clear but now a term pseudoscience is usually used to dam and opponent are someone who seems to be infringing on your academic term. In the early 20th century social scientists were widely dismissed, denounced as pseudoscience is more just trying to get in on the money that was becoming available for scientific research. Some people still think it pseudoscience by the way. Will people think that way with climate change. Exactly. There is no fixed definition. Climate change would would be pseudoscience for a large number people, including some very prominent politicians. In the book yuko edited, another topic you talk about is the Catholic Church. Will probably know topic has been revised more substantially among historians of scientists and religions of the role of the Catholic Church. Because of the trial of galileo and a few years ago i did another book about galileo goes to jail, galileo was treated pretty well actually and never went to jail, he was never tortured or persecuted. But there was a trial, his views on heliocentric some, the notion that the earth was at the center, those were denounced by the inquisition and it did not take many decades for protestant to use it as an example of how the Catholic Church awarded scholars. In recent decades the attacks on the Catholic Church, and i might add in the 19th century when popular books on the warfare conflict between science and religion came out, catholicism was always took a big beating. Especially a book by by john william draper, came out in the mid 1870s. Then, in recent decades sl reminded true seeking historians such as myself came along, the story has changed. John halperin, very distinguished historian of science, former vice chancellor berkeley, he did a book call set in the cathedral, showing that for centuries catholic cathedrals were the primary site for solar observatories. He offered generalization that despite the galileo affair no institution over a period of 600 years from the total century to the 18th century contributed more to the science of astronomy than the Catholic Church. Then shortly after that another distinguished medievalist, michael shank of this university , said we can actually extend that generalization to all of science, not just astronomy that in the 600 per year. No Institution Institution provided greater support for scientific studies than the Catholic Church. He focused on the universities in the 12 centuries and became a major site for disseminating knowledge about nature. Another myth you look at. The earth is flat until columbus sailed to america. I like it. It makes columbus and his sailors much braver than they actually were. They were they were brave to go out into this a vast ocean but, yeah there was an American Writer in the early 19th century named Washington Irving who wrote a biography of columbus. He jested up by talking about the fear of going off the edge of the earth. It makes a wonderful story. It is the notion that the opposition to copernicus efforts with the sun in the center instead of the earth had to do with demoting the status of humans. For centuries astronomy text books have said that but represents a total misunderstanding of physics and astronomy in the late 16th and early 17th century. So copernicus published his book and then galileo came along with his telescope but the trouble with the idea of the demotion of humans point out Sigmund Freud said that science delivered three blows when the earth is no longer the center and the heat himself show that was irrational so then in the universe it was the worst possible place we could we was the earth that is where the corruption was in that have been there was a perfect circular motion to talk rawl of the study of the everybody is so nobody at the time cries out we were being demoted they thought we were being promoted as one of the planets and got ourselves out of the terrible situation but in the late 17th century when newtonian physics in people started to say yes they were worried about being demoted but that textbooks did not talk about that but it is a great story of the Scientific Development because you are psychologically insecure perhaps. Host in the chapter that you contribute it is about social darwinism is our society set up in that way . No. I expect you expected that the answer. It appears in virtually every textbook of american history. Text books that dont even explain what darwinism is will the but a few paragraphs to social darwinism because it explains so much of American Society and politics especially the 20th century and people say social darwinism. But in the instance where supposedly was influenced through the process there were very little directives laughed. Years ago a professor here wrote a book about a of an american businessman and looked at their ridings and the testimony before congress then he argued that they would ever invoke before science would be testified before Congress Said they would rely on darwinism and survival of freetrade, this is where you would most like we find it. There was one businessman a scottish guy named carnegie who became a friend of Herbert Spencer wasnt promoting Natural Selection but aside from him rockefeller, jr. Made a comment once a Railroad Baron actually made a comment but aside from that that, the businessmen are not using our win as a justification for anything and shockingly most regally they invoke the bible. Host then you move onto for politics foreign politics. Guest Nobody Needed to appeal to darwinism to unjustified. In fact, to of the names most frequently associated is Herbert Spencer and american sociologists sumner. That impose imperialism especially the of a war that broke out in its heyday the spanishamerican war. Very little, if any reference to our one darwin. And racism was posted come from darwinism and it didnt. There was a recent story of3 there was a recent story of the first one to look back so carefully and he found no references to darwinism but his demotion is a reason to reject it and again there were more respectable regions slavery had got a lot of mileage he didnt need to go beyond that. And scientists in the 18 forties and fifties talkedabout creations of the different rate thank races africanamericans to the extent to the 20th century that they were criticizing science. But one area was medicine and Public Health as darwin pointed out in one passage, we build the asylum for the hospital to save people of the least bit to survive. So for that to apply Natural Selection but being a humanitarian he said we probably should not let that happen. Interestingly there almost no references to that passage in literature until the 1920s when a politician William Jennings bryan the trinidad to darwin. And the medical community rarely mention star when and the one most prominent said we dont care. Besides in the Public Health community the focus our efforts to stop the epidemic so we wanted nothing to do with social affirmation and. But one was feminism. Did darwin in some way provide grounds or sexism and gender differences . At the time, and no. Of the fairness of the late 19th century 2. 0 the more radical the feminist the more enthusiasm for darwin because they would blame the bible for promoting equality and the story of adamandeve of course, be tempted adam and everything went bad after that. They love his writings because that story never happened so they were quite pleased. So this was popularized by a book in 1944 which was too good to be true you can explain what was going on there really got historians off on the wrong foot. There is an irony here presumably darwinism may have influenced some politics socially but if you talk of anything positive so by debt social darwinism is the application of things you dont like. I have been here 40 years ive now retired guy in the marriages so i dont have much of roles like and right and edit books and a half ago to Department Meetings i love teaching. Host some of these myth in this series, from students . That they came into class . Guest of lot of them might hear from students were not an overwhelming source birdies but my collaborator who is now in switzerland, we wanted to convince readers we were not beating up on just a myth so we tried to get the most authoritative statements to put at the beginning rather than quoting students to say nobody believes this that all. These are well circulated myths. Most educated people have heard several. Host i phrased that awkwardly how many students come in to believe that newton discovered gravity with the apple falling from the treaty was a large numbers and i get that when i lecture they say this is what we were taught. They are right. A lot of textbooks of science and history promote this kind of storytelling. Ended is usually quite interesting with more action over the last quarter century with the complexity of the relationship for you cannot sell that. Isnt exciting to say we want to show you just tell complex. Everything is complex. But we havent come up with a catchy phrase that we try to get people to look at tuesdays science and religion did not run into any problems or that they always do but it depends on the time and the place. Host what did you teach at the university . Three areas. History of american medicine, history of american science, and a survey by talk with different colleagues with history and religion. That was pretty much it. Host what was your favorite myths about science we have not talked about . Guest i think my favorite is the one that galileo goes to jail. I am not a galileo expert but there is no myth in this area greater than that one. You have wonderful stories of him being tortured and put in prison and put in a dungeon and prison for life and terrible stories. But galileo was brilliant but nasty with no sense of diplomacy. You got his way to offend people because he was so smart. He was told dont go promoting this system. Host who told him not to . Guest the imposition. The inquisitions but then if things i can be frisky now. Said he writes a dialogue on the chief World Systems clearly favoring his and one of the characters puts an argument that the pope was against it rubbing his nose in it and he gets kit called down from tuscany to face the inquisition but he comes down and is put up in the tuscan and embassy but not incarcerated wendy inquisitions calls them down, an official gave up his apartment so galileo in his servant could have nuys watching. And he didnt even have to eat the food. Twice a day he was prepared by the tuscan embassy chef. Most of the time it was for very brief periods. Olmos certainly he was never physically tortured. With a couple of years earlier and apparently but that meant he was also a man of 70. You couldnt put anybody on iraq 10 hours after being because they didnt want to clean up the mess. So then you have a much different story. Then after the trial he was sentenced to house arrest then he hit the guest of the archbishop then goes to his place outside of florence with Copious Amounts of wine the rest of my life in the tuscan did lung a tuscany villa with wine is not so bad but not a great story but the Catholic Church has taken a lot of heat but it was not nearly as the myth. Host what about the socalled dark ages . Those came earlier when apparently according to many accounts tuesday about the scientific process. It is the moment that stopped scientific advancements. They were great militarily in pretty good and administratively technologically but they didnt care that much about science. There was not that much to shut down. To the extent that it was preserved through the middle ages but this had a lot to do with it in a little bit later the muslim as well. The 12th century they started to develop the real learning during that time. So the socalled dark ages were not as dark and not quite as christian as they have led us to believe and galileo did not stop people equate the 17th century with the scientific revolution but happened with the first third. Win the center moved to the protestant countries of Great Britain to become Major Centers germany was divided france was catholic with a fair amount of activity going on there. So this was big time to investigate Natural History. Host newtons apple and other myths about Science University of wisconsin Professor EmeritusRonald Numbers booktv on cspan2. This implies that he had some control over it. When he suggested suggested it to me which was more than ten years ago i said, yes i will be willing to do this but one condition on a completely free hand you have to accept that if you ask me to do this and give me ask access to your private papers i will write what i think is the truth. Which is incidentally the basis of what i had written the previous book. He agreed to that