Dominos

The scientific revolution reminds me of the game of dominos, after one thing is discovered it paves the way for the next.  What is quite startling is how little we still to this day know about the surrounding area we live within, the solar system, even the extent of our own seas.  It is exciting to read about the scientific revolution and the journey it has lead us on even today.  As I read about Copernicus leading to Newton etc... it is amazing how these brilliant minds have paved the way for us to realize the world as we do now.  Still we have quite a bit of work to do, but extremely interesting regardless.

Fascination

I have always been fascinated with the path that Galileo took.  He was a man who revolutionized the way we view our position in space, and the consequences of this finding.  Also to add to the incredible feat that he set out and accomplished was his limited tools from todays standard.  With a little math, and extremely close attention to detail he was able to discover that the earth was rotating based on the positions of the stars, furthermore he was able to understand that the sun was set in a fixed location (we now know it as moving around the galaxy) and the earth was rotating around the sun.  Along with how amazing this all has become and the implications of his discovery, was his ability to get the word out to other people.  When there has been a discovery, it is interesting how relatively quickly a discovery spreads from one country to another.  Galileo having essentially to apologize for his discovery is a sad event in my mind.  It is my hope that we as a human race can strive to seek scientific discovery without the fear of mass rejection.  Of course that discovery must have proofs, but it is important to allow new findings shape and mold our future.

A different approach

In the essay entitled Poor Law there is a much different approach to looking at the poor.  When I come across a beggar in modern society I find much of myself sympathizing with this individual.  In fact I think most people would feel the same that I feel.  In this article they portray beggars as a lineage of harmful citizens.  These people are feeding of of the commonwealth ruining the economy by asking for something for doing nothing.  Today I see this act of begging as one of desperation, not of some act of choice.  Although there is much choice to be had in the act of begging even today, most beggars I would imagine are trying to get off of the streets begging as soon as possible.  This article addresses that these beggars in this day of age are making a complete living off of the trade, teaching their children the same craft.  The times may not be as different as I am thinking, perhaps this still is the way it is, however, still I will have empathy regardless it is a tough situation to put people in whether it is a form of living or not.  There is something to be said for their willingness to be exposed to the fact that they have nothing and there is no hope but to ask others for assistance, perfect strangers at that.

Civil War in England

I found an interesting parallel between our civil war in America and the civil war that occurred in England from 1642-1649.  One of the main parallels that I could derive was the fierceness of people to protect their way of life.  Many of these battles were over what the people thought to be moral grounds.  As these individuals went to war they were destroying their own civilizations, devastating their own people.  Yet because it was so tough for them to come to a compromise on how to properly run and control their governing body (members of parliament, and the King) war inevitably erupts.  In America one of the key factors for the South was to hold onto their way of living.  Large plantations fueled by black slaves.  England suffered a very similar threat on moral obligation.  As the North began to push back on the South, southerners realized this to be a direct threat on their economy, and way of life.  As there is much more detail in both the English civil war, and the American civil war, one main similarity I found was how we are not too different from our cousins across the pond.