Johannes Kepler Astrologer Mathematician Mystic SCSTS 3760 IX

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Johannes Kepler Astrologer, Mathematician, Mystic SC/STS 3760, IX 1

Johannes Kepler Astrologer, Mathematician, Mystic SC/STS 3760, IX 1

Delving into Kepler • As you will know from Arthur Koestler’s book, Johannes Kepler

Delving into Kepler • As you will know from Arthur Koestler’s book, Johannes Kepler was an extraordinary character, driven by obsessions and motivations that enabled him (or compelled him) to spend most of his life doing arcane calculations to uncover what he viewed as the secrets of the universe. – And also to keep out of trouble and to earn a living as an astrologer and a computer (a person who can do calculations till the cows come home). SC/STS 3760, IX 2

Video clips about Kepler • Last week’s Power. Point presentation hit the highlights of

Video clips about Kepler • Last week’s Power. Point presentation hit the highlights of Kepler’s memorable theoretical writings. Tonight we will discuss Kepler’s life and personality. • To provide some context for discussion, I have two videos to show in class. SC/STS 3760, IX 3

A dramatized lecture on Kepler’s Laws • This video is taken from a class

A dramatized lecture on Kepler’s Laws • This video is taken from a class on the history of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. It discussed Kepler’s three laws in an interesting way and is put in the context of Kepler’s life with scenes from Carl Sagan’s series Cosmos. • This video is available on the internet through You. Tube at the site below. We will watch it in class directly from this site. You may also review this at home be entering this URL into your internet browser. – http: //video. google. com/videoplay? docid=7839087922490151264#doci d=2003674873092336626 • http: //www. flipbooth. com/video/b 47 aafa 00 d 59281/Triumph. Of-Modern-Science-Over-Medieval-Superstition Carl Sagan Triumph Of Modern Science Over Medieval Superstition SC/STS 3760, IX 4

An astronomy video • The other video for tonight is entitled The Origins of

An astronomy video • The other video for tonight is entitled The Origins of Modern Astronomy. It is from the collection in the Scott Library and may be viewed there in the Sount and Moving Image Library. This briefly reviews cosmological theories from ancient times up to the Scientific Revolution. SC/STS 3760, IX 5

More videos about Kepler • For further information and review, below are the URLs

More videos about Kepler • For further information and review, below are the URLs for several videos available on the internet, which you may wish to view at your leisure: – Carl Sagan The Harmony of the Worlds. This is Episode 3 of Sagan’s expansive series Cosmos. This episode is ostensibly about astrology and why it had its hold on humanity for so long. Then it turns to a biographical analysis and dramatization of the life of the person Sagan calls the last great astrologer, none other than Johannes Kepler. This program is 58 minutes in running time. It is the source for much of the dramatized bits in the Cal Tech class shown in class. I debated showing this in class because it is quite interesting about Kepler’s life, but it does go pretty far afield and gets a little corny in places. But I recommend it to you for viewing at home if you can spare an hour. The URL is • http: //www. snagfilms. com/films/title/the_cosmos_episode_3_the_harmony_of_the_worlds/ – Beware this URL. What shows as spaces in the address above are underscores “_”. You have to enter it exactly as above, with the underscores inserted between words. – Carl Sagan The Triumph Of Modern Science Over Medieval Superstition. This is a very abbreviated version of the episode above, running about ten minutes. If you go to this site, you have to navigate through some advertising clips to get to this excerpt. • http: //www. flipbooth. com/video/b 47 aafa 00 d 59281/Triumph-Of-Modern-Science-Over. Medieval-Superstition SC/STS 3760, IX 6