The Scientific Odyssey

In this episode we look at the astronomical work done during the Golden Age of Islamic Science.  This includes the work sponsored by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, the work of al-Balkhi, al-Battani, al-Biruni and ibn al-Haytham.  We conclude with material covering the Andalusian Revolt and the Maragha Revolution.

In this episode we look at the role of astronomy in the culture of the Inca Empire and Kogi Tribe.  We examine the Cusco, Coricancha and the ceques and huacas that embody Inca religious practice along with the city of Machu Picchu.  Finally, we look at the woven universe of the Kogi tribe of northern Colombia.

A look at the work of Ptolemy's Mathematical Treatise, otherwise known as the Almagest.  Hipparchus, precession, the Library of Alexandria and the broader Greco-Roman world are also discussed.

We look at the failure of the Eudoxian model of homocentric spheres and the models of Aristarchus of Samos, Apollonius of Perga and Hipparchus to proposed to replace it.  We also discuss the ideas of scientific realism and instrumentalism with respect to Hellenistic astronomy.

A look at the evidence gathered by the Greek, Hellenistic and Arabic natural philosophers that determined the size and shape of the Earth.  Aristotle's lines of evidence are discussed as are the measurements of Eratosthenes, Posidonius and al-Biruni.  We also take a look at the myth that it was Columbus who first thought the Earth was round and how it arose.

A look at Greek astronomy from the time of Hesiod and Homer to the spherical model of Aristotle.  The writings of Thales, Empedocles, the Pythagoreans and Plato are considered before moving to the sphere's of Eudoxus and Callipus and the synthesis of physics and astronomy by the tutor of Alexander the Great.

A discussion of some aspects of Mesoamerican astronomy including the Mayan calendar with its Calendar Round and Long Count Calendar and the cities of Chichen Itza, Palenque, Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan.  

In this episode we look at the practice of Babylonian astronomy and the tools that made it possible: cuneiform writing and arithmetical mathematics.

Some unscripted thoughts about the detection of gravitational waves by direct observation by LIGO.  We briefly discuss some aspects of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, how interferometers work and what the significance of the detection is.  We also look at how experimental science is done and communicated.

This week we look at the narratives, sites and artifacts of the native North Americans in their practice of religion and astronomy.  We look at the traditions Chumash tribe of California, the kivas and spirals of the peoples of the Four Corners region including the Hopi, Navaho, Zuni and Anasazi, the Medicine Wheels of the central plains and the mounds and woodhenges of the Cahokia site of Mississippian peoples of Illinois.