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I keep mentioning that the apparently surprising fact that geocentric models of the solar system allowed successful prediction of celestial events is due to the
by qubex 11y ago
I keep mentioning that the apparently surprising fact that geocentric models of the solar system allowed successful prediction of celestial events is due to the (accidental) approximation afforded by low-degree Fourier transformations, up to and including excessively-awed mumbling about what the Antikythera Mechanism implies about ancient greeks' knowledge of heliocentrism and gravitation.
- bonoboTP 11y agoAside from approximating the elliptical orbits as circular, there is no further approximation in the epicycle geocentric model. It really is like that, it's not some low-degree approximation. Again, aside from the circularity instead of the ellipses.
- qubex 11y agoYou are correct. Thanks for pointing that out.