2015
What changed over time?
Understanding
Before we were able to accept assumptions made from several astronomers, the past was full of the Catholic Church owning the most power. A handful of ideas and arguments astronomers ( for example, Copernicus ) had discovered were rejected and denied by the church because they were against church teachings. Galileo was put under house arrest for bringing up the heliocentric planetary system again after Nicolaus did. Aristotle was one of the most influential astronomers back in the times, and because he had gained a lot of respect from most of the people at that time, his theories were accepted and was taught for a long time without anyone realizing this was completely wrong. Thus, he had come up with the 'Geocentric' model, where Earth was in the centre of the universe.
Although several other astronomers have come up with a sun-centered universe, Copernicus was the first to use evidence to back up his claim. Because his theory differentiated from nearly all of his scholar's beliefs, not that much people decided to have a deeper understanding of his claim. Those who did, studied in secret and earned the name, 'Copernicans.' Thanks to everyone's contribution and observations in relation to the universe, we were finally able to arrive at the right answer.
“Scientific knowledge changed as new evidence became available. Some discoveries significantly changed people’s understanding of the World” (AusVELS).
Evidence
Because of the world's improvement in evidence gathering and advance in technology, we don't question much of the information provided to us. We rely on people to collect right information and the use of technology certainly made collecting precise information easier. In the past, astronomers didn't have access to most of the technology we have now and did not have a clear understanding of the world they had lived in.
Another difference from now and the past is that when observations and theories were made, heavy consequences didn't follow. For example, Giordano Bruno was executed because of heresy after his trial in 1600. |
The Future
There are a lot of problems the world is soon going to have to face, one of the biggest ones being global warming. It is said to be the emission of greenhouse gas that is causing this problem, and some others state that this might just be a natural phenomenon. People often have trouble acknowledging this, and aren't doing much to stop global warming. If global warming does occur, everyone will be effected.
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