> Galileo was notoriously cantankerous, and it was his habit of insulting and assaulting public figures <...> that landed him in hot water. That is very well p

> Galileo was notoriously cantankerous, and it was his habit of insulting and assaulting public figures <...> that landed him in hot water. That is very well put. On the topic of his punishment, I must say, you seriously downplayed it, but it really must be emphasized just how much he brought it onto himself. It's not even that there was "no possible doctrinal basis", but the Church was very purposefully evasive about this, trying to keep its official position somewhat neutral, and it was Galileo who really insisted on starting a process he wasn't going to win. And you really don't have to dig deep to understand why — simply reading his "The Assayer" by any somewhat socially-aware adult must be enough to get what was the issue with Galileo. The man really knew no chill.