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The epicycle theory was pretty clever and complex, and fully supported by data at the time.
by Florin_Andrei 8y ago
The epicycle theory was pretty clever and complex, and fully supported by data at the time.
- 8bitsrule 8y agofully supported by data at the time. Not so much; people who -could see- the phases of Venus were in possession of -conclusive- data that it was not moving in a circle between the Earth and Sun. "Although the extreme crescent phase of Venus has been observed with the naked eyes, there are no indisputable historical pre-telescopic records of it being observed." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_Venus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_Venus There may be no records, but that might not have stopped ANYone with keen eyesight from knowing (including the Greeks back to Aristarchus, or even the Babylonians). For 2000 years, the 'authorities' (e.g. Aristotle) were wrong.
- Florin_Andrei 8y agoNo, I don't think that would have been considered solid data in any time period. It's almost the definition of "things only very few people claim to see". There are no records of it from the ancient world, and "Venus with horns" could mean anything. > For 2000 years, the 'authorities' (e.g. Aristotle) were wrong. Careful to not let desires and personal aspirations cloud your judgment there.