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A Formula to Keep the Science Flame Burning by James Hansen [View all]
https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2025/Formula.08July2025.pdfA Formula to Keep the Science Flame Burning
James Hansen - 08 July 2025
Why is the Trump Administration trying to kill a small space science institute in New York City? Explanation begins with Galileo’s method of scientific inquiry and ends with the role of special interest money in the United States government.
Galileo improved the telescope, allowing clearer observations of the planets and the Sun. Galileo differed from his peers, as he was unafraid to challenge authority. He claimed that the world should be understood based on observations, and he spoke directly to the public. He obtained philanthropic support for his observations and openly described the conclusion that Earth was not the center of the solar system – Earth revolved around the Sun.
Implications of Galileo’s approach rattled the establishment. Galileo was opposed not only by the Catholic Church, but by many professors who did not fully understand Galileo’s work and were reluctant to support a heretical viewpoint. At his Inquisition, Galileo recanted his views, to save his life. He could wait for history to vindicate him; the Scientific Revolution was beginning.
Science research and the primacy of observations were well advanced by October 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite. The United States responded by forming NASA in 1958 and supporting universities to develop space scientists. I benefitted from that support and, as a 25-year-old post-doc in February 1967, drove with great expectations from Iowa City to New York City, pulling over only once for a few hours of sleep, my destination being the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) on the edge of the Columbia University campus.
…
James Hansen - 08 July 2025
Why is the Trump Administration trying to kill a small space science institute in New York City? Explanation begins with Galileo’s method of scientific inquiry and ends with the role of special interest money in the United States government.
Galileo improved the telescope, allowing clearer observations of the planets and the Sun. Galileo differed from his peers, as he was unafraid to challenge authority. He claimed that the world should be understood based on observations, and he spoke directly to the public. He obtained philanthropic support for his observations and openly described the conclusion that Earth was not the center of the solar system – Earth revolved around the Sun.
Implications of Galileo’s approach rattled the establishment. Galileo was opposed not only by the Catholic Church, but by many professors who did not fully understand Galileo’s work and were reluctant to support a heretical viewpoint. At his Inquisition, Galileo recanted his views, to save his life. He could wait for history to vindicate him; the Scientific Revolution was beginning.
Science research and the primacy of observations were well advanced by October 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite. The United States responded by forming NASA in 1958 and supporting universities to develop space scientists. I benefitted from that support and, as a 25-year-old post-doc in February 1967, drove with great expectations from Iowa City to New York City, pulling over only once for a few hours of sleep, my destination being the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) on the edge of the Columbia University campus.
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