Galileo is a good example of how we can be completely innocent and still get into terrible trouble by speaking the truth. Galileo lived from 1564 to 1642 A.D. in Italy and is known as the father of modern science. He said the Earth is not the center of the Universe. For saying this, he got himself into big trouble.
The Sun appears to rise in the east in the morning. It seems to set in the west in the evening. Because we can see sunrise and sunset with our own two eyes, people used to think that the Sun rotated around the Earth. They also thought the Earth was flat. However, as everybody knows, appearances can be deceiving.
When Galileo said that the Sun was the center of our solar system, some people thought he was attacking the Pope, who was the main authority in those days. Galileo thus alienated the Jesuit priests, an important religious order inside the Catholic Church.
Galileo was put on trial for heresy in 1633 and was forced to recant. Recant means that he was forced to say he was wrong.
After that, Galileo spent the rest of his life under arrest. This was perhaps not such a bad thing for Galileo, because he used the remaining nine years of his life to write one of his greatest scientific books.
Science goes step-by-step and there is no hurrying it. It took a long time for the world to believe what Galileo already knew. Even little children today know that the Earth orbits around the Sun.
Speaking the truth without understanding how that truth might be received by others is a kind of communications glitch that has little to do with cell phones, the computer, or any other electronic device.
Communication is a two-way street. When you communicate, you must always think: Who will be hearing this or seeing this? How will they react? Unfortunately, most of us speak first ... and think afterwards.
Yet we don't want to fall completely silent and live in fear of what other people will think ... or of what we think they will think about us.
Where is that happy medium? Today, I don't know where it is.
Yet we don't want to fall completely silent and live in fear of what other people will think ... or of what we think they will think about us.
Where is that happy medium? Today, I don't know where it is.
Some Questions for Discussion:
1. Many scientists are idealistic and feel removed from traditional social and political considerations. Are you interested in science or engineering? Do you think the world runs along scientific principles? Do you think that social and political rules should be different for scientists?
2. The American writer Herman Melville wrote a classic short story, Billy Budd, in which a young man's innocence attracted bad luck. Perhaps it is not advisable, given the state of the world, for an adult to be too good and too innocent? Or is innocence a quality that we must always value and preserve?
3. Most Americans believe that the world is a better place because of the progress of science. Science is supposed to protect us from things that are beyond our control. What is your opinion on that subject?
4. Have you ever gotten into trouble for saying something you thought was 100 percent true?
5. Have you ever gotten into trouble by clicking on "send" after writing an email?
6. Galileo's words startled other people who were not ready to change their beliefs about the world. Do you think Galileo should have kept his scientific observations secret in order to protect himself?
2. The American writer Herman Melville wrote a classic short story, Billy Budd, in which a young man's innocence attracted bad luck. Perhaps it is not advisable, given the state of the world, for an adult to be too good and too innocent? Or is innocence a quality that we must always value and preserve?
3. Most Americans believe that the world is a better place because of the progress of science. Science is supposed to protect us from things that are beyond our control. What is your opinion on that subject?
4. Have you ever gotten into trouble for saying something you thought was 100 percent true?
5. Have you ever gotten into trouble by clicking on "send" after writing an email?
6. Galileo's words startled other people who were not ready to change their beliefs about the world. Do you think Galileo should have kept his scientific observations secret in order to protect himself?
Copyright © 2011 Barbara A. English
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