Science: A New Way of Seeing

Student Notes

The Scientific Method

During the Renaissance, scientists were encouraged to ask questions and to experiment on the world around them, which lead to the development of the Scientific Method. This new method of enquiry led to the discoveries of many areas in the Sciences. The most important ones being advances were made in Astronomy, Medicine and Mathematics.

Astronomy

It was originally believed that the sun moved around the Earth. Greek astronomer, Ptolemy believed that God placed the Earth at the centre of the universe.

Renaissance Scientists and Their Discoveries

Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish astronomer)

Through reading ancient Greek astronomers works that were NOT accepted in their time, Copernicus discovered that Earth is a planet that moves around a stationary sun.

Johannes Kepler (German mathematician and astronomer)

By combining what Ptolemy and Copernicus thought, he tested the theories to prove mathematically that planets travel in an elliptical orbit instead of in a perfect circle, as originally discovered by Copernicus.

Galileo Galilei (Italian astronomer and philosopher)

With the use of telescopes that he built, Galileo confirmed that Copernicus's idea of a Sun-centred universe.

Other discoveries by Galileo

• Sun spots
• craters and mountains on the moon
• the Milky Way
• Jupiter's moons.

Medicine

"In one pound of olive oil, cook ten green lizards and filter them through linen;

add one measure of marjoram and wormwood; cook slowly and set by for use"

This recipe sounds like it belongs in a witch story, does it not? Doctors during the Dark Ages period had little information on anatomy and many of the remedies were based on astrology, superstition, bloodletting and applying leeches to cleans the blood.

Midwives were an important part of the treatment of the sick. There was shared knowledge of traditional and herbal remedies which the midwives used more often than the doctors. The First Nations made use of these remedies, as well. This is apparent in the Mi'kmaq saying "For every sickness on this Earth, there is a medicine under your feet."

As the Renaissance scientist applied the scientific method to their work, new discoveries about the human body were made. These were then applied to surgeries and healing.

Anatomy

Eventually dissections were made legal in many Italian cities. University of Padua professor, Andreas Vesalius, dissected bodies in his lecture hall, while students watched . Many other scientists were able to write books that illustrated with detailed an accurate precision, the human anatomy.

Mathematics

Thinkers such as Lenoardo da Vinci believed that mathematics was the basic tol for understanding the universe. Euclidean geometry and works by al-Khwarizmi (algebra) were studied with enthusiasm, which led to mathematical proofs (scientific method for mathematics). Mathematics became a subject that was studied by the merchant class, as the European economy changed.

Examples of earlier civilizations who discovered mathematical concepts that are still in use today:

• the number zero - ancient India
• decimal system - Muslim mathematicians
• place value system - Babylonia

Through the application of mathematical principle, Filippo Brunelleschi, used drawings of buildings he was planning to show his clients what they would look like after completion.

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