TOS Weekly - Two Unsung Heroes of Science
Plus "The Tragic Side of the American Founding," the bright side of Halloween, and the poetry of John Keats.
Isaac Newton once famously wrote, “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” This week, I shine a light on two of those giants: Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Through dogged determination and relentless attention to detail, they discovered the true structure of the Solar System, paving the way for Newton’s discovery of the laws of motion.
Also new this week, Timothy Sandefur reviews The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding by Joseph Ellis, a disappointingly unprincipled reaction to the slew of anti-American revisionism dominating the history profession today. From the archive, we have two articles to draw out the life-enhancing values of Halloween and horror, along with a celebration of the life and work of poet John Keats, born on October 31, 1795.
I hope you enjoy this week’s articles!
Thomas Walker-Werth
What’s New?
The Giants Who Paved the Way for Newton
Tycho Brahe’s industrious and detailed observation of the planets, together with Johannes Kepler’s use of those observations to formulate his laws of planetary motion, transformed our understanding of Earth’s place in the universe. Moreover, they provided the building blocks for discovering the fundamental laws of physics and thereby set the stage for the earth-shattering innovations of the Industrial Revolution.
The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding by Joseph Ellis (Review)
Joseph Ellis is clearly bothered by the scorn recently heaped upon the American founding fathers by writers such as those affiliated with The New York Times’s “1619 Project.” Unfortunately, the picture Ellis offers—in which the founding is an “epic” that “defies all moralistic categories”—turns out to be a cure worse than the disease.
From the Archive
The Bright Side of Horror
Many people tend to think of horror-themed movies, games, and holidays as inherently depressing, nihilistic, or pointless, but none of that necessarily must be true. Done right, horror can be positive, fun, and pro-life.
Ayn Rand’s Method for Slaying Monsters
Happy Halloween! It’s a holiday to make light of evil and to celebrate the good. But, given the inflatable ghosts on your neighbor’s lawn and the kids dressed as zombies and monsters—it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the basis and nature of evil.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
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