In the explosion of cosmological ideas, it's a difficult battle to decide whether the advancements are made specifically from prior knowledge, technology or simply both. In the case of Werner Heisenberg, he explained “Natural science does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves; it describes nature as exposed to our method of questioning” (Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy, 1958). He has a point that prior knowledge helps to create better informed hypotheses and better planned experiments; however, without advancements in technology we might still be significantly behind in all we have discovered thus far. This is why I believe that there is a middle ground in the recent developments …show more content…
The issues with prior knowledge alone has to do with the problems of trying to prove a theory that is simply “here say”. For instance, before the telescope created in 1609, the idea that the universe was geocentric was a long standing theory. If modern technology that is available today might have been available earlier we would not have had to waste so much time on determining attributes such as a heliocentric model, the problem with the planets, or the question of the basic building blocks. Many technological developments include evidence found for the universes expansion, evidence that would support the Bing Bang Theory, and greater telescopes. For the expansion of the universe Hubble used the technology of The Doppler Effect to determine the redshift effect which gave proof the universe was “speeding away”. Tom Siegfried of ScienceNews.org states: “Hubble, using data collected by Vesto Slipher and Milton Humason, published the definitive analysis establishing that the cosmos actually is growing bigger” (Siegfried, Cosmological Discoveries, 2014); this discovery broke the concept of the unchanging and eternal universe that has been around since the days of Aristotle. The Big Bang Theory has been a difficult topic to prove being that there has been no significant evidence; however, the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation might have the answer to a theory that needs to be tested. When Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson first discovered this advancement it came as an accident in 1964. This happened specifically because the two realized there was static everywhere in space. Siegfried states, “That static was the echo of the birth of the universe, literally the smoke from the Big Bang gun, in the form of microwaves” (Siegfried, Cosmological Discoveries, 2014). Also, the advancements in telescopes were because of Joseph Fraunhofer who made advancements in
Moreover, Kuhn says observation is a double edged sword (page 7). This sword can confirm or conflict with cosmology which can destroy the theory. Kuhn discusses the astronomer (page 7), who because of his own world view (via his specialty) will not verify Milton's image of the Milky Way as being broad and ample or Shakespeare's vision of stars as night candles. Those descriptions don't tell the astronomer how far away the Milky Way, the Sun or Jupiter happen to be.
Only after Vesto Slipher, Hubble and others discovered in the second decade of this century that the universe was expanding, it could give a satisfactory explanation for the paradox.
Many scholars, researchers, and scientist claim that the greatest discovery in mankind’s history was actually made by Professor Albert Einstein and is called the “Theory of Relativity.” The reason they say this is that by being able to explain and understand how everything relates to everything else is the key to advancing or evolving our knowledge about everything. In other words if we know how a starfish relates to a star, in theory we can know or cause to be known everything in-between. So the very evolution of knowledge is at stake, never mind the methodology that is used.
In 1608 Hans Lippershey looked at Jupiter through a thin tube shaped object similar to a telescope. Galileo improved the telescope made by Hans in 1609 by adding a convex lens in the front. The telescope was built with a concave eyepiece and convex lenses. Telescopes were used for improving maps and figuring out the positions and motions of stars early on. Scientists believed that the bigger the lens of a telescope the better, so a man named George E. Hale had created a 100 inch telescope which was finished in 1917. Around the 1920s Edwin Hubble had looked through the telescope towards the sky and had discovered that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was not the only galaxy. He also discovered that our galaxy was expanding. Fifty years later the Hubble was funded to be built. The Hubble was supposed to be launched in 1983, but didn’t end up going into space until 1990. NASA launched the Hubb...
subsystems. Is, indeed cosmology “writ large” [1] in our material records? From the text the
Thomas S. Kuhn’s, “The Nature of Necessity of Scientific Revolutions” want us to understand that the nature of the universe is evolving because people gain new knowledge in science. He addresses that as the universe is evolving human beings aquire new knowledge in science. In Kuhn’s work he mentions, “Simultaneously we have had to alter the fundamental structural elements of which the universe to which they apply is composed.” From this I understood that the universe is growing and human beings are expanding their knowledge and discovering new things, all thanks to the evolution of the universe.
The Hubble Telescope is the world’s first space-based optical telescope. The Hubble telescope received its name from American astronomer Dr. Edwin P. Hubble. Dr. Hubble confirmed an ever expanding universe which provided the basic foundation of the Big Bang theory. The first concept of the Hubble telescope came from Lyman Spitzer in 1946, who at that time was a professor and researcher at Yale University. In 1946, Professor Spitzer believed that Earth’s atmosphere blurs and distorts light, and a space orbited telescope would be able to overcome this problem.
Prior knowledge plays a pivotal role in every aspect of human life. Knowledge can be stored in various formats like images, features, statistical patterns, all these formats help in making sense of the environment. Using prior knowledge humans can perform various activities including, but not limited to: focusing attention, organizing information in to groups, categorizing objects around, hypothesizing, understanding language, and generating inferences(Smith & Kosslyn, 2007). Processing of information is influenced by prior knowledge during the top down processing. Once signal has been detected by the biological visual system, we try to infer meaning using the prior related knowledge which has been stored in the long term memory based on category, association and similarity in features and statistical patterns(Wickens, Lee, Liu, & Becker, 2004). Prior knowledge has no boundaries and it keeps on changing based on experience with the environment making it easier for us humans to understand our surrounding better and quicker as time passes.
Natural science are constantly developing over time, the scientist makes new discoveries which leads to new information that may prove some theories to be wrong or change some of the current information that they already have obtained through the existing information. For examples in the past, people believed that the continents were immovable, but it was proved to be wron...
‘It is more important to discover new ways of thinking about what is already known than to discover new data or facts’. To what extent would you agree with this claim?
Black holes have been one of the most difficult challenges for astronomers and scientist for many years. I think with new technology that astronomers will be able to gather more information that can offer more insight into the world of black holes. There are many unanswered questions that could possibly lead to a better understanding of how Earth was created. It could also lead to more information on different galaxies and any similarities they may have to our own. The universe is so vast and we may never find the answers to some questions, but it is a worthy task to try and find out all we can about our existence.
Thomas Kuhn, one of the most widely recognized contributors to the discipline of the philosophy of science, raises the argument within The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that advancement within the field of science occurs in a revolutionary manner as opposed to one more progressive or cumulative. Kuhn makes the observation that scientific research is conducted cumulatively where every piece of evidence contributes towards gradually understanding a specific scientific phenomenon (Kuhn, 96). However, lasting scientific advancement only transpires when previously accepted scientific theories are overturned with entirely different, more suitable theories. Kuhn makes reference to the Copernican Heliocentric model as an instance to validate his assertion (Forster). Applying Kuhn’s argument to this revolutionary theory will provide clarity and further understanding necessary to demonstrate how this philosophical approach can be applicable towards relatively modern scientific theories such as plate tectonics.
...t is that human reasoning abilities have allowed mankind to develop a virtual telescope far beyond the reach of our newest space viewing technologies. With this theory, humans come closer to realizing our place within the multiverse and the uniqueness of our own universe. The conflicting ideas, though difficult to prove one way or another, provide an impetus that will stimulate further research into this field, opening new doors and potentially useful technologies that could further humans’ understanding of everything on which our knowledge rests.
Even though we know a great amount more than the astronomers in the past, there is still an even larger amount we do not know about the universe to this day. Even our own solar system contains many questions yet to be answered. Some of these include the possibility of a planet beyond Pluto (Planet X), the means by which the system was created, and even the possibility of a sister star to the Sun named Nemesis. Another astronomical mystery is the creation of the universe. In time, many questions will be answered but some will always remain. Astronomy is something that will never be completely understood.
Thomas Kuhn's book The Copernican Revolution effectively demonstrates how the conceptual schemes of science are constantly changing and being replaced. Kuhn was able to recount the past with diagrams, and full explanations of the different theories and systems that lead up to the Copernican revolution. He also gave a full explanation of the theories that followed. This book was surprisingly enjoyable to read, and should be read by anyone interested in the evolution of science and western thought.