Exploring Galileo's Revolutionary Impact

are you ready? then begin! go, one minute of revolution, from now! the end look, one minute is one minute not like at the stadiums I have just one consideration... anything that italians begin, ends early I don't want to criticize your choices, how did you live it, what did you chose to do, I won't discuss that I want to know, are you tired? sweaty? any side effects? and yet, congratulations we moved on we are not where we were one minute ago we made exactly 1800km of revolution around the Sun the only permantent revolution that this planet can still afford be aware that by the end of tonight we'll move on a lot of kilometers I mean, a lot we'll do together, at least 260, maybe 280'000km time equals space always less than how many a neutrino makes under the Gran Sasso tunnel, even slowed down it will be space-time with Galileo, yes but the rest of what I'm going to do you'll see it soon because now I'll go away from here I'll get in a highway tunnel I'll traverse the mountain I'll take the tunnel from the other direction and the rest of what I want to tell you I'll do it from underground 1400 meters under the Gran Sasso from the Fermi room here to the room B of the National Laboratories of the Gran Sasso see you soon! soon, "ITIS Galileo" live from the Gran Sasso Laboratories of the National Institiute of Nuclear Physics happy 25th of April to everyone! it's going to be an artisan show and also partisan from which side? the Galileo one, but it's not easy to stay on Galileo's side it looks obvious, but it's not if we're here, in a workplace, I recommend the helmet it's for this, not for the telescope but for a book it's this the reason for which Galileo got into troubles it was June, the 22nd of June, the year is 1633 it's for this book, for which, that day, with a candle in one hand, the Bible in the other, barefeet, with a white dress on his knees he had to abjure to everything that he wrote on that book on everything he believed "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" of Galileo Galilei this is the book's frontpage and this is the illustration I know that from the distance over there you can't see it I'll describe it myself, ok? so, they are three characters two on one side, one on the other opposite sides, right? the first one, at the left, back facing, authoritative, long beard, is Aristotle the one who's talking to, with the turban is Ptolemy, the Alexandrian astronomer mind, from one to the other there are 500 years but these talk, talk... that's fine also this one, on the other side is an astronomer but he's more modern looking a little astronomic tool, in the left hand the signs on the dress, the hat, identify him this is Nicolaus Copernicus, the polish yes, but Copernicus was thin he had a pointy chin, black bobbed hair, no beard I've said bobbed, much like your helmets, but black this one, is chubby, he's bald, he's got manly beard he's Galileo Galilei in the shoes of Copernic why? because he likes it, he really does because the challenge is this one: we on this side, me and Copernic you on the other side I have to talk about this ...but how? let's be clear... up the hands who did classical high school come on, class... only one?? classical? classical? classical? only you? you, you two, oh you too you too, classical, okay... not so many you are! what did you study? artistic high school!? what are you doing here?? they should not even let you in! do you realize that? is there anybody from scientific high school? here they are!! I've done it as well, it's useless dear colleague they scammed us! do you remember something? did it help you in life? you're not a researcher inside here? somewhere else, oooh you're trying at least, good! what's your name? Eugenio, you know that the show is titled "ITIS Galileo"? is there anybody from technical high school? blissful ignorance! my dear, you never studied philosophy? good, good! I'm grateful, I'm grateful you're a researcher as well in here? despite the technical high school? italian miracles, they do happen once in a while! congratulations look, the show is titled in your honor and for others like you, in ITIS Galileo tonight I'll fly a bit lower and those from classical, that knows everything shut up on the matter where are you, from the scientific? come here, help me because I don't trust those from the classical... so come here now we'll do... let's say that while reading, you remove the helmet yes, put it here there's an exception if you're on the stage also because, I like it more yes yes more authoritative let's do a summary of philosophy for those from the technical that never saw it but also for us from the scientific it's not bad to recap you have to talk as close as possible to the mic we'll do all Plato and all Aristotle in four minutes the Fermi room laughs look that on this... we'll base the entire evening therefore, if you understand this maybe they understand as well that's the point of this try to read this can you say your name again? Eugenio already here, with the stress... it's a problem "in the Tìmeo..." - noo, Timèo the classical school students will eat us! not Tìmeo, Timèo Fermi room, this is a consoling applause we don't want that don't mind it, go on "Plato describes the construction of the universe" "made by a demiurge" here, this we already know ...or divinity "this starts from the simplest geometric elements" "the triangles, and by changing them..." no, not changing them, read better "and by combining them.. combining in different ways" "it builds the five regular polyhedra" "the only possible" ...but you need... ...but you need also... the pentagons ...and the squares but..but.. we have found the complete philosopher... you dare to revisit Plato? I don't know! I'm available, but... I mean... five polyhedra, based on triangles until here, Plato is right. Go on "and each one... to each one of them, it associates one of the four elements" "water, earth, air, fire" "to the fifth, the dodecahedron associates the universe, the wholeness" ok Plato is done and we won't come back to it ok let's move on "Aristotle, differently from his master Plato, starts from the circle as prime element" "and simpler" "and describes the universe as a set of concentric spheres" I know it already! "the spherical earth is at the center" "and its sphere arrives to the air under the moon" "the other solid spheres correspond to the planets" "the last one, to the fixed stars" did..did you get it more or less? let's summarize it for Plato, the universe is made starting from triangles for Aristotle, the universe is made starting from circles if you had to choose on a personal universe, circles or triangles? triangles I'm platonic! you, circles or triangles? (murmuring circles) Fermi room, circles or triangles? (murmuring circles) look, in this entire room there's only you as a platonic I managed to choose the only single platonic! put again the helmet, please platonic is non conforming I don't want to discuss the greatness of Plato yet, Plato between us is out of fashion even as told by Renato Zero (nb. italian singer) not the triangle, not the triangle... here the triangle, mmmnh... for Galileo, Plato does not matter it's not matter of philosopher greatness for him, the matter is between him, Aristotle, and Ptolemy who's not even a philosopher, he's an astronomer and back then... thank you, please sit down because now I'll call the one from technical school what's your name? come with me, Alessandro, I'll make you read this second part from Ptomely which talks about you because, Ptolemy... you don't study even in classical school Ptolemy, maybe ... the word "ptolemy's tables" rings a bell but not much more yet, Ptolemy's world vision it the one that lasted more in history of humanity the Earth fixed in the center, the Sun goes around it it was something that every man with culture, sane of mind knew without discussing it what shall we do, laugh about that world? or we give it a bit of credit, tonight, before talking about Galileo? so solid... therefore, two minutes of reading Ptolemy's words from a book that, let's say, is not really about astronomy on the contary, it's the astrology book Ptolemy is the patron of the astrologers what I'll ask you to read if you manage it, because my handwriting is super hard it's called Tetrabiblos, the book, and the page I put in front of you is called "Left and Right populations" "The general characteristics of populations at different latitudes" "depend on their position relative to the ecliptical" - the ecliptical "those who live between the equator and the summer tropic" "have the Sun at the zenith and they're burnt from it" in arabic they would be called "brusài" "consequently, they have dark skin" "curly and wooly hair" - rasta no, not even you go on "thin figure, sun-drenched body" "scorched and wild nature because their houses are scorched by the Sun" Ptolemy asks, "why they're wild" he answers, "because of the houses" blame on the building surveyors are you a building surveyor? no, ok "we'll call them Ethiopians" - Ehtiopians "those in the higher parallels with the Ursas at the zenith" "feels the clamp of the cold living in humidity-filled lands" "which is nutritive" there, did you know that humidity is nutritive? now when you exit the tunnel if it's raining outside eat! you become tall, viking, nordic trans... transeuropean "populations of this area have clear skin slick hairs, tall figure" "robust body, cold and wild nature" "because their houses are penetrated by the ice" - there we'll call them "Scythians" - Scythians these are penetrated by ice the others by the heat always blame the building surveyors Ptolemy's vision of the world it's a bit...obsessive in this "those who stay where the Sun doesn't peak at the zenith" "but isn't far either, feels a variable climate," "consequently, they have intermediate skin" "hair... (don't bother...), intermediate figure," "and mild nature. Their habits are..." - not habits "their houses are close" their houses are close, not hot, not cold, close why are we sociable? praise the building surveyors Ptolemy gets away with this "between these, generally the most southern," "since they have the zenith under the zodiac," "they are more inclined on the studies of sciences, as mathematics" so, where were you born? in Rome in Rome, and you made technical high school? here, Ptolemy says it clearly... if someone isn't born south of Salerno, mathematics... doesn't come natural we're not all Cacioppoli I've done the scientific one, doesn't work if I'd read Ptolemy beforehand, I'd have known as well you've made it through "the easteners, due to the effect of the solar nature of the East," "they'll have a more manly disposition," "this region is diurnal, male, and right winged" "we observe that, generally, the right wing is more vigorous" ha-ha what? ha-ha what? this is the greatest astrologer of humankind's history do you think he wouldn't have known some things that would happen to us in the upcoming years? "the westeners will be more delicate, introverted, effeminate," "because this is the region of the Moon" "the west results always nocturnal," "feminine, and less vigorous in other words, left winged" well, I think we've made enough damage I thank you a lot and you can go back to your seat why... why I've read you Ptolemy, here, tonight before beginning with Galileo? well, there should be a motivation for which every morning, even today they're like millions, the people that every day go consulting Ptolemy's fixed stars to make themselves an horoscope as if, Galileo... as if Copernicus would had never come by why they do it? because they like it? because is beautiful! Aristotle's world is beautiful! there is no vacuum everything's filled, world's made of balls and we are in the center one it's not that bad as a vision of the world in the world proposed by Copernicus from the middle of 1500 things change, we become "planet" someone here from classical studies, remembers what "planet" means? you did classical? what did you do? the scientific... and you didn't tell before? and you remember... "wandering" planet means "wandering", vagabond! thank you in Aristotle's proposed world we all had residence downtown, in Copernicus' proposed world, we become homeless ...and it's not an advantageous change Copernicus knows it, who in his book's introduction puts a pleading to the Pope why? ...you never know! "what His Holiness expects from me..." "...is to know how it came to my mind the fantasy..." "...of moving the Earth around the Sun star..." "the only reason is to have seen the mathematicians so uncertain" "on the movement of the Sun and the Moon..." to not even be able to calculate the exact duration of the year for the calendar ...and when after the first two planets started using the other five... they changed even the way of calculations and they never managed to explain the motions and revolutions, so... I've started to think that was the Earth to move around the Sun yes, it's clear to me, Holy Father... that now many will ask that I, that I, that I... ought to be banned ...as absurd would seem my presumption... to all these who know that Earth is immobile, in the sky for three times, in nine years... ...I've waited to publish this book... enough now enough now he says this is Copernicus daring, revolutionary? yes yes, but... the world he imagines is again little it's the same as Aristotle's, he switched places he put the Sun in place of Earth the universe remained narrow is there someone who imagines it bigger? is there someone who dares to imagine other possible worlds? yes... in those years, there's someone who writes about it writes... "infinite is the mass of the universe..." "in vain is searched universal center or circumference" he writes it, in a book called "La cena de le ceneri" (aka The Ash Wednesday Supper) ...and that's exactly what would be his demise ♫ and if Giordano Bruno...♫ ♫...would have lived... ♫ ♫...then would no longer...♫ ♫...even be the papacy! ♫ "ugly!" "ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly" says the midwife "the baby came out ugly!" "what does it mean, ugly!?" says the mother, humiliated "why ugly?" "don't you see ma'am, he's hairless!" "well, all babies here are born hairless!" "yes, yes, but this one, has the beard!" he had it... as far as I remember in all known portraits probably even in school photos, Galileo Galilei always has the beard could he be born old? well, of the famous ones of the '64 he's the oldest okay, the year is 1564, but centuries do matter little the famous ones are two, Galileo Galilei February, William Shakespeare April Galileo, Florentinian! no! why? the world's only Florentinian born in Pisa aah well... the father, Vincenzo, is a musician, but he never plays sssht! daddy is writing all his life, Vincenzo Galilei does calculations, at home. What does he calculate? he's trying to find the mathematical interval between seven notes on the pentagram he manages it, bravo, it's him that finds it, but... it's not a discovery that brings wealth to the finder's family, so... to let him go to school, at the university he had to tribulate but he managed to enroll him at medical school after one year, Galileo comes home and says "Daddy", "yes Leo", "I change faculty" the mother goes, "Vincenzo calm down, Vincenzo calm down..." "I'll study mathematics" ...that's like saying today to a parent "I'll study history of ballet" no..., by God, the subjects are not all the same! in Galileo's times, the hierarchy was clear below, the four lower subjects math, physics, astronomy, music above, the three noble subjects dialectic, rethoric, grammar... ...that approached to divine phylosophy that was the School "what syllabus do we do this year?" "the same of the past 400 years" if the ministry of reform was called Charlemagne, it's hard to change syllabus, dear Europe... the university is beautiful, it's all European but blame the arabs if we study. Yes... ...because when they invaded Spain, they took away some tools "what are those?" "books, they say" "...is it arabic?" you don't say! from the fall of the Roman Empire Europe made 400 years of vacation try to remember then where did we put the books! when we translated the arab ones, inside we found the Greeks oh, how much free time did have the Greeks you read them, and you get pissed they already knew everything! from here, University was born from the counciousness that we know less than them, and to avoid that the children would grow up ignorant better to teach them the Greeks and nobody dares to add a line to the knowledge of the Greeks there's an abyss between we and them and I understand this what I don't understand is why in this school there's more Aristotle than Plato maybe the explanation is because of Dante to how did Dante imagined the universe in the Commedia, do you remember? the universe was like an onion there's the Hell inside, then growing layer by layer til the circle of the fixed stars... ...where there's the Throne of God on triangles you don't sit well... Plato's vision of the world doesn't marry well with the Bible Aristotle's one, instead, yes so Tommaso D'Acquino "baptizes" Aristotle, and while at it, "baptizes" Ptolemy as well, that becomes the schoolbook and the Bible the reading material all, all the know-how, in Galileo's times comes from the Greeks even the practical one, even at medical school do you want an example lesson? ok let's do it so, let's do anatomy I'll be the Baron I'll get to the desk, I'll put on the robe (thunk) twelve kilograms I won't move anymore because of this, the Baron had the stick, to indicate the anatomic tables of the Greeks behind him in front of me there's the assistant with the light robe, only six kilograms he moves more, but he doesn't get far from the desk to not lose ranking in front of them, below... here's the anatomy table for the lesson with the corpse but, quiet... in all his career, a university medicine professor never had to touch dead meat nor did the assistant by God, it's not a medic's kind of thing! if has to be done, let an undertaker do it, or a butcher we have the tables of the Greeks that serves for the curious students you cut, you open, if opening it, turns out that inside... inside the corpse there's an organ in a different position than the one here on the tables of the Greeks... we have to conclude that that corpse is deformed, and has to be substituted as to say, the book is the truth, reality, better to conform, please go figure Galileo in a university like that Galileo! a street tagger! Galileo, more pubs than classrooms! Galileo even writes a sonet, against wearing the robe, where he writes at some point "in my opinion, the best thing, would be that men go around naked" " 'cause when they went around naked, merchandise was exposed, therefore no scams" why? why you say, why that boy would fare better at maths rather than medicine? tell that to me, "maths, divine maths" he calls it "maths, divine maths" for someone is like a palette of colors, for others... ...is like one of those crosswords without the black tiles maths is like that. For Galilei is a highway, a tunnel Galilei on math walks, reasons, elaborates thought. Too much! the student was not encouraged to top up the teacher mind, Aristotle... it's a bit closed, like his spheres... but inside you feel good I swear, inside there was everything, physics for example... "why does the rock fall down?" asks Aristotle "because it want to go back to its place" he answers isn't it nice as an answer? I find it beautiful! for Aristotle is simple, as the cause of motion is inside things heavier things have the gravitas and fall down lighter things have the levitas and go up, or come down slower half of us is still convinced that this is true! answers like this at physics admission tests! half of us, watching the sky, see the Sun moving Aristotle is intuituve like us as children but Galileo... Galileo is diffident sane diffidence ...and measurement when I was a kid, in the primary schoolbooks there was Galileo's figure that threw two rocks from the Tower of Pisa the big one and the small one which one falls down first? he never knew... because he had to flee because the police would come you can't solve the problem of throwing rocks from Tower of Pisa and to see one falling before the other but the other example is more fitting the one of Galileo, at the church... who, during Mass, gets distracted... watching a lamp that oscillates over his head I believe that it never happened to you to get distracted at the church watching a lamp oscillate it happened to me but... ...I didn't understood the pendulum isochrony by watching it because the pendulum apparently confirms Aristotle's theories what does the pendulum do? oscillates... ...then it stops, as close as possible to its place. Without chain, it would go there then Aristotle says "natural are the pendulum's motions when it closes by its place" what Aristotle doesn't get is why, once the pendulum arrives at its place, says "nah, I'll go there..." then "nah, I'll go back..." it's the uncertainity that baffles Aristotle and, in fact... on the explanation of the pendulum's motion he uses a single word: mysterium if they asked you that at the exam: "Pendulum" "Mysterium" "Passed!" as if to say: if he did not get it how the heck are you supposed to? follow the syllabus, student and Galileo? Galileo, diffident, measures with what? with what he measured time when there wasn't the clock how did they measured it befire the arrival of the clock? with music! music is mathematics you could measure in two, in three, in four beats and the music is precise so Galileo measures the pendulum's oscillation the small one, the original one, the bigger one... has the same duration the period is the same based on the length of the arm, the back and forth oscillation has the same duration if it would make a full turnaround it would have the same duration it's maths you can verify it the boy is 19, and makes this observation nice abstraction skill the idea of the turnaround of the wheel of the pendulum... did he create a new physics by himself at 19? no, no, no... he doesn't know why the rock falls down he doesn't know why the pendulum moves like that but Galileo back then doesn't ask himself why he asks himself how how the rock falls, how the pendulum moves yes, I know, there is no comparison between the precarious how of Galileo and the definitive elegance of the why of Aristotle who's intersted in knowing how? Mechanics! who? mechanics, those who need the instruction booklet! when Galileo was born, nobody had ever published an instruction booklet Galileo is a leap of continuity it takes one person like him the year is 1582, I don't speak with metaphores I'm talking about real leaps, like the mystery of the days never lived in humankind's history like the 5th of October 1582 nobody ever lived that it's the year when the calendar changes and comes ours how do we call our calendar? Gregorian, yes, which is from the name, Gregory... ...who was the Pope at the time of student Galileo. A warrior Pope before him, there was the Julian calendar, Caesar, and before it, the Egyptian one which was well made, has to be said, they were good because 2500 years ago the Egyptians already calculated a year comprising 365 days how did they do it? they put a stubborn one and he went "one..." you're laughing now, but when was he really good? when he said "one" for the second time then, he was excellent! how did he do it? how did he do what? the ancients knew! for them the sky was both map and clock, they recognized what they'd see up there! then the Romans came, and said "yes, but like this is too short" the Egyptians went "well, we were already comfortable" "what would you do?" Caesar answers "I'd add one day every four years" "let's call it leap year, it's unlucky but it's needed" and the Romans added it and after a while somebody said "yes, but like this is too long" "oh what the heck, damned if you do, damned if you don't" "let's keep it!" and in fact, they said "ok, we'll keep it, we'll keep it" and while the Romans are around is ok but if it's too long, it's too long even few minutes per year, it's too long, after 1000 years from Caesar to Galileo, the Spring would come at 11th of March people would say "there are no more middle seasons!" didn't Copernicus also said in the plead to the Pope "mathematicians that are not able anymore to calculate the exact duration of the calendar's year" at the end, they agree, and changes and our calendar arrive and I know, someone would tell me "but in ours, we still have leap years" yes, but we, every 400 years, remove 3 leap years you might say "but why are you telling us these useless things?" ...because since life gets longer someone should remember it anyway, in Galileo's times there was the phasing when this thing happened unique to humankind history if you want to verify it, tonight when you're back home and if you have it, check it on the saint's book ok, if you don't have it, check it on Wikipedia, which is almost the same... and check on the date of death of Saint Therese d'Avila she's an important doctor of Church "died between 4th and 15th of October 1582" you might say "poor soul, what an agony!" it's not an error, no, no it's a single night! as of Papal decree, it was established that, on that year, for pairing up the days after the 4th day it would never happen the 5th, but directly the 15th! it was already messy three weeks ago, passing to the summer time zone can you imagine what happened that day? students of University of Pisa went "10 less days of school! Long live the Pope!" Protestants, protested "it's a catholic reform!" the worst happened to the Swiss who being made of half cantons Catholic the other Protestant for years, when they waited each other at the border, one of them waited for the other 10 days! the last ones who adopted it were the Ortodox and that's why the October revolution was made in November, Fermi room, it's not easy to make everyone follow the same calendar, you know? what really bothers me, is that today, by "calendar" we describe a catalog of boobies and booties and with all the work needed to line up those numbers by God, some respect! and who fixed those numbers? Mechanics! Mathematicians! the last wheels of the cart repaired time on the planet but it wasn't the only thing repaired in Galileo's times by God, there's one more even the space got "repaired" the globalization, the biggest one we didn't live it ourselves, but them instead the planet's land was doubled in a bunch of years who doubled it up? Columbus, no? Columbus! seventy years before Galileo, where did Columbus want to go? "in India" like a hippie on a R4? excuse me, Genova, but... why via sea? " 'coz it's shorter" ...because Columbus had in mind the Earth as a shpere... ...as the Greeks imagined it, which imagined it as a sphere... ...but a little smaller Columbus was just ass-lucky to have found the Americas in between otherwise he'd run out of snacks before arriving in India! where do you go with Ptolemy?! Ptolemy is nice, I swear is beautiful if you have to sail from Naples to Ischia it's perfect! if you screw up, you'd arrive at Procida! but not if you have to traverse the ocean because you'd lose the men, the wares, the ships... you'd need star maps more precise or instruments to calculate the longitude and how do you call them? Clocks! and who makes them? Mechanics! Mechanics! Mechanics! people for whom nobody had yet written a book would become the oil on which the new management would make this planet work and Galileo is exactly there, like being the first technical high school teacher in history, who's still a substitute teacher in a classical high school consoling any dropouts here tonight ...no, you've done it I'll say that Galilei won't graduate in mathematics either but he's good, so they gave him a teaching position in Pisa, in the university at 23 years old, Galileo is the youngest temporary ever hired in an Italian university ...so much ammiration in your eyes! salary? meager and how did he make ends meet? Horoscopes! if I can give advice, Horoscopes! what's a mathematician to do? Horoscopes! the man who invents science, to live, will write horoscopes all his life! then, at 27, a true lucky strike they offer him a job position abroad. Galileo... ...is one of the first examples of young brain drain from Italy where did they offer it? In Padua ha-ha what? Padua, respective to Pisa, back then was abroad and tomorrow? who knows... Padua...was Harvard yes, with all due respect for Bologna, which was older, or Paris... Padua back then was like Harvard. why? It was the most free university in Europe emperors' children would say "daddy, let me go to Padua for Erasmus!" why? because the Most Serene Repubblic of Venice allowed freedom of teaching without no ever any ingerence from the churches in the University of Padua... catholic and protestant students could freely mix, in the days just after the Trento Council when young Galilei went for his Lectio Magistralis when young Galilei came there his first lesson was taken in front of 1250 boys I asked myself where did they put them. On the street! swarmed of boys, coming to hear him he taught well after the lesson they would come to him and ask to come for private lessons you, not you, you, not you, you, not you based on their income the richer ones, he would take them home as apprentices Galileo is the founder of that dinasty of sharks that rent rooms for students in university cities do you see how many good traditions had this man created? Padua... ...means Venice, means The Arsenal the biggest factory of the times and Galilei did services for the war industries which financed his researches and frequenting Venice... finds his lover Marina Gamba, from Castello ♫ Marina, Marina, Marina ♫ ♫ oh my nice brunette ♫ ♫ give me half an hour ♫ ♫ you below and me above ♫ he will stay together with her 18 years without ever marrying her he would say "I cannot bring you to Padua, I have a student-full home" "you stay in Venice, we are more free, we'll love each other more like so" yeah, but... they made three children on the birth registry of the firstborn Virginia it's written "born from fornication" who'd ever marry her ? indeed, he did put her in a monastery she'll become Suor Maria Celeste she's going to be very important on the last difficult years of Galileo Galileo is going to have troubles with the Inquisition because of this life outside the marriage in Venice the Repubblic will save him from the Inquisition the Repubblic cares about his professors while he's in Venice, he's untouched but after 18 years, he'll go away because he's famous and he asks himself "what shall I do with this woman, Marina, she loved me..." he'll make her marry to his assistant not everytime, geniuses are genial in the world's things Moreover, Galileo's 18 years in Padua are not filled with sensational discoveries but it's not true, he works there for example, the inclined slope... the idea of it came in Padua if you throw rocks from the Tower of Pisa you won't understand which one falls faster you have to slow down things and invents this long inclined slope on which he makes things fall and then falling, he understands, the first and only at that time, that things accelerate falling so he's interested in how things fall down how but he never writes about it never publishes, only some letter as for the rest, much discussion over comets much academia, some drinks, low profile, and many horoscopes what about Shakespeare? we forgot about him until now, but... he was born after, but... Shakespeare? he's premature between 30s and 40s, Skakespeare... takes off! England's most famous man on a masterpiece after the other, Shakespeare frequents the Queen at 40 years old he's already nurturing the Hamlet. Tonight I'll recite a part of it ...in native language (in venetian) "in these past times, boys..." (in venetian) "...I don't know why..." (in venetian) "...I've lost all the morbìn" friccicore (=thrill) (in venetian) "I've forgone my customs..." (in venetian) "...and I feel so down that to me this beautiful factory of the Earth" (in venetian) "...seems to me like a sterile promontory" (in venetian) "this very excellent canopy of the air, boys, this wondrous palace of the firmament" (in venetian) "...this majestic roof decorated with golden lights, to me...well..." (in venetian) "...feels to me none other but a pestilent congregation of vapors" (in venetian) "damn!" (in venetian) "so what is this quintessence?" (in venetian) "damn!" despite some roughness of the native language... ha-ha what? I never told that it would be his native language I never told you that what Hamlet is this? he's crazy, he's crazy... what's he talking about? stars in every Shakespeare's work there's half a page about stars so did he like them? absolutely! I said: incredible, they were born on the same year, had the same passions, what if Shakepeare also liked Copernicus? I really don't think so... there's no proof at most he could have looked into the Tychonic universe, but no further and about Galileo... about Galileo what? what would you think someone famous in London... ...could know about a temporary professor in Padua of the same age? come on, Galileo in Padua is not famous but...someone notices him a German mathematician astronomer even younger than Galileo his name was Giovanni or at least that's how we call him Johannes Kepler he was teaching in Prague for one year was staying with Tycho Brahe, then... Tycho died, and remained alone and sent Galileo a youthful astronomy book he's seven years younger than Galileo Galileo for one year doesn't even answer then he does, saying thanks... and Kepler very happy writes to his master "master, master, he answered, he answered! you know, that italian astronomer in Padua..." "the one with the name same as the surname" "he said that he'd read the introduction of my book and he liked it!" "well, he had the book for over one year, he could have read it entirely, but I'm happy anyway" why is Kepler so happy? what did he and Galileo had in common? copernicans copernicans, at that time, they were less than all the wolves in the Gran Sasso now they calculated, Copernicus died 20 years before Galileo was born from the death of Copernicus to the telescope, total copernicans in Europe were no more than ten like an endangered species under anti-extincion protection but then, one of those is called Kepler... and the other Galileo and these two know each other! no, not in person no they write each other! wait, not even this is fully true let's tell it correctly Kepler will write to Galileo all his life Galileo answers Kepler only until he becomes famous why? because he has a shitty attitude it needs to be said. But... the first letter from Galileo to Kepler is beautiful is beautiful! he writes: "Johannes! I'm a copernican too! of course, because starting from Copernicus" "I've found the explanation to a series of phenomena that with the other one I would never find" I've even written things... but I didn't dare to publish anything. No... afraid, let's say, of the luck of our master Copernicus, who's to us immortal but for a lot of people, is an ass, an ass who should be forgotten. I'd find the courage to publish, if there were more like us, but since... I don't see many others, I'll supersede such a judgement. Prudence... why prudence? well, let's say that while Galileo and Kepler write each other on them is incumbent the shadow of a trial being held in Rome it has to be said, though... back then, trials could last many many years imagine that this lasted even 8 years. Wonder how did they manage that (in Italy now, trials can last more than 10 years) at the end, though, it went to final judgement, and... do you think, the smell of burning from Campo Dei Fiori in Rome arrived to the Ponte di Rialto in Venice? I think, over the Danube, in Prague over the Senna, in Paris "Bruno brulé, Bruno brulé" a scandal went through all Europe. Burnt alive! Giordano Bruno alive it seems that, intellectuals of the time didn't scandalize as such regarding witches which, regularly every season, thousands were burnt but then, one might ask, what's the difference at the time of being mage, or being witch what's that? the gender? also that but it could not have been only that because as witches at times they burned men, elders, children... so? the difference is in the status the mage was management, the mage was in witches? almost never who were these witches? the neighbors! who, among us, never thought once of burning the neighbors once, it was possible! then, strangely, its usage wasn't allowed anymore witches, and neighbors, often are ignorant people problem is, we are also neighbors of someone that thinks the same things about us! who woke up earlier, burned the other one! mages were not ignorant, mages were wise men mages studied in the same academies as the men of science it was normal, at talk shows back then to see Giordano Bruno VS Johannes Kepler and even now, when in a talk show I see Rita Levi Montalcini VS The Divine Mage Otelma I'm wondering, in what century we're in! Bruno was mage? of course Bruno was mage and philosopher he wrote amazing things which he never had to prove, like instead Galileo had to Bruno, thought of himself "I come from another planet" "I'm only passing by" he challenged his executioners including, the theologist Cardinal Bellarmino who tried to convert him, without luck Bruno taunted him, and them, saying "Burn me", or better... (in neapolitan) "Burn me! Burn me! Burn me!" (in neapolitan) "you're much more scared of burning me" (in neapolitan) "than me burning you! Burn me! Burn me! Burn..." and at the end they... Galileo is not that kind of people! no! not even Kepler, no not even Copernicus Copernicus, in his book's introduction didn't he say "for three times in nine years I've waited to publish this book" ? ultimately, Copernicus, publishes De Revolutionibus in death's bed saying "why the heck do I even care anymore..." the man who wrote the world's most revolutionary book, which, apart from Galileo and Kepler, almost nobody read it fully, wasn't an agitated sovversive, he was really a calm revolutionary but when his book came out, nothing happened they didn't ban it, they didn't put it in the Index otherwise, how could Galileo say "I'm copernican like you" ? where did he read it? normally, in the library, at the Univerisity of Pisa, it's not banned they don't teach it, but it's there, but... wasn't it dangerous? why didn't they ban it right away? did did they wait 70 years? why? ...because it was too hard! what? it was too hard to understand! it's one of the hardest book ever written! no wonder they didn't read it it's 6 chapters, words are only in the first one few, but clear: "Sun fixed in the center, Earth goes around it" it's written, very clearly the other five chapters are filled with numbers come on! hard, how much? as the multiplication table of 163 try it! hard even to censor, understand? ok but what were these numbers used for? Horoscopes! as soon as a mathematician made up a universe, he had also to provide the numbers to calculate houses and planets now, since it seems that with the new universe from Copernicus suddenly horoscopes would come out much easier for 70 years, it's used as a horoscope table ignoring chapter one only Galileo would find out chapter one after chapter one but before talking, Galileo has to see! and what he seeks... is invisible with naked eye, he needs a telescope it doesn't exist? he invents it! but it took him 40 years of his life time between the idea and the realization in reality is short the year is 1609, the place is Padua from there, everything changes "what are you doing Galilei?" "what I am doing? what am I doing?" "I'm grinding lens" "what for?" "one of my creations, which I called cannocchiale" "your creation?" "yes, why?" "didn't you copy it?" "no!" "from the Dutch" "no, no, no!" "and stop with this story, it's not true" "it's not true, I mean..." "I've heard about the Dutch spyglasses in venetian Paolo Sarpi's home" "but never, I swear never, saw one of those with my eyes" "but, from the description, I understood how they worked" "and I replicated it, with better quality. Please, say to them" "how such low quality are those Dutch spyglasses" "please say to them, like a chinese laser, 3 euro, bought already broken" "that was! a toy! mine worked, by God" "and how did you make it, Galilei?" "how...how did I make it? well...the mechanics..." on mechanics, nothing to say Galileo Galilei's passion was mechanics, mechanics, mechanics but, optics? as he also confessed, completely starving from optics how did he make the lens? someone might say, well, he was in Venice, there's MuranoGlass no, in Murano glass is blown, they don't grind lens how did he make the lens? he doesn't specify it well, but, I think, the explanation is there, 18 years in Padua, 18 years in Padua, during which, he embraced the venetian lifestyle "love in a workshop" and inside, work, work, work illegal, but work for him, inside, works an artisan mechanic called Marcantonio Mazzoleni what does he do for Galilei? by God, prototypes for the Arsenale of machines, inventions, elaborations, and also precision instruments for students, invented by Galileo like the military compass and sells them to the students attached to the course book if, together with the course book, you buy the professor's gadget, you may have it easier at the exam those are economies for temporaries Mazzoleni is a man of few words but strong hands Galilei asks him a pair of lens, like so and so his hands go "on it!" a concave and a convex lined up hope that there's enough focus... Mazzoleni, let's do better, much bigger "on it!" Mazzoleni? much bigger "on it!" a cannon he calls it cannone-occhiale he brings it to the Doge of Venice "his exellence, I've got here a new instrument of which I would give a demonstration..." "...for which, it behoves to go on the top of the bell tower" (in venetian) "are you crazy Galilei?" (in venetian) "it's August... 682 steps... we'll die!" "his excellence, it behoves!" "behoves...what?" "er...it's needed" (in venetian) "then why do you say behoves, instead of needed" (in venetian) "come on kids!" the "kids" are the members of the council of the ten they're elders they start climbing the stairs, two die on the stairs, then stop... ...they make the primaries to elect the elders, like we do in Italy, they start climbing again, arrive at the bell cell, and the Doge goes: (in venetian) "Galilei!" (in venetian) "I really hope it will be worth it! not for me, for you" (in venetian) "otherwise, you see here the big bell?" (in venetian) "I'll remove the clapper, and I'll replace it with your balls" "his excellence, for the demonstration, it behoves to aim with the telescope, inside that far window" (in venetian) "but, Galilei, why do you want me to see inside windows of others, it's not nice" "his excellence, but it behoves!" "...what?" "...it's needed!" (in venetian) "then why do you say behoves instead of needed what does it say here, ass?" (in venetian) "and this one would be the hole of the telescope?" (in venetian) "eh, aah and this tube would be the telescope and the thing below would be the tripod" (in venetian) "aah the tripod... may I have a question Galilei?" (in venetian) "why, while you were at it, didn't you make this tripod a little bit higher?" (in venetian) "so that I could see straight instead of leaning down" (in venetian) "and I don't want anybody behind me while I'm looking in it!" and the Doge, saw... not in the intimacy of a window but at the port of Venice reading color of flag and ship two hours in advantage over naked eye with a cannocchiale of 30 magnifications that today, to us, it looks ephemeral, ridiculous, laughable no. At the times of sail, 30 magnifications would mean two hours. Of what? war is offence and defence he who gains two hours of advantage... half wins next battle it's pure gold! the tool is pure gold! "give mister Galilei a gratification of 1000 florins!" "and a job for life as an ordinary professor at the University of Padua!" to man's memory, he's the last temporary who'd become ordinary professor in Italy with no referrals The day after, at the Rialto market, a shipful of Dutch spyglasses arrived they don't cost shit, but they're shitty "yes, but, we have overpaid Galilei's one, 1000 fiorins" "well, he's got already the position..." "we'll pay him in installments" "over the course of four years, deducting it from the tax declarations" how stingy these Venetians worse for them, worse for them because from then, Galilei decides where and how to gain money why, what does he do? Another telescope better? no! no, he can't make the telescope better not much, it's still the same but it's not the technology itself it's the usage of it that excites historians he's not looking at flags with the telescope no, directly... towards infinity! if I aim 30 magnifications towards infinity... how much do I get closer? well, infinite divided by 30 equals... ...infinite. For us, yes for him, less. Why? I've said it before, for the ancients the sky was map and clock so they knew exactly what they were looking at he could name every star over there and when from one known star passes to the other known star with the telescope, what was dark to human eye he sees ten, plus ten, new ones toh, the firmament is not so firm then he checks on the Moon oh dear, it's got wrinkles then ckecks on the Sun oh dear... it's got spots is there anybody healthy up there, or...? because Aristotle said, on Earth, water, earth, air, fire but in the sky, quintessence... "to me it seems much of the same" and that's how Galileo draws the Moon, made of mountains and valleys very Earth-like and all of this is already... very heretic the he stops watching the Moon and searches another big target that shines in the winter's sky more than the others around the 45° parallel... Jupiter it's the biggest one and this is the major observation from Galilei on January "Jupiter..." this is a fragment of his notes it's not a book, no... it's just a magnification of his notebook Jupiter is drawn like a cartwheel sometimes between the lines you see Galilei's notes? these are those from 4 entire days at most three rows per night of course, in Padua, at night, outside... you freeze your balls on the other hand, I think, notes should always be taken like that syntetic anyway, you see the observation is Jupiter and its closest stars of which he sees only two then he adds a third one there it is then, he will add a fourth one Jupiter and four stars, but the problem is not how many it's because they move by definition, stars are fixed fixed if they move, they're planets but planets were seven any sound-minded man, who had studied, knew... that planets were seven and if all willful and wise men from 2000 years knew that were seven why doubt it? Aristotle said it! and seven is the perfect number so that's fine seven, it's like... the seven holes on man's head two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, one mouth seven, perfect like, "you say it, Galilei" "err, the seven dwarves?" "not the seven dwarves, Galilei!" seven like the seven notes of the music of the angels the celestial music seven, if you really want, like "seven brides for seven brothers" that's also ok seven like the week's days on which God created the universe "excuse me, Galilei, how many new planets have you seen this year?" "four? Galilei!" "can you imagine a week of 7+4=11 days? "who's ever going to arrive to the weekend alive?" "Galilei, if the seven blows," "the perfection of the universe blows up" "we're ruined, destroyed, put to shame" yes, ...if you're aristotelian but if you're copernican... you come like a pig! he sees what he read if he wouldn't have read Copernicus' book before, he couldn't understand what he sees but since he's read it, now he says "now I'll talk, no more caution, I'll tell everything, even" "as fast as possible" why? and here's the scientist it's burning from behind "I want to be the first one!" stops watching, it's the 15th of January 1610 the 15th of March, the book is already in the stores it's this, it's this one 27 little pages, not one to waste "celestial announcement" no, no, says Galileo this time, I'll write it in latin why? because so I'll sell it abroad so then, Nuncius Sidereus "big, new things" "news, news, news" "I bring to your attention news" "for news in centuries" "for the new tool with which they were discovered" "it's beautiful to show you" "new stars in the sky, 10 times more" "than ever seen on naked eye" "the Moon, to show you 30 times of its diameter" "the surface of the Moon, with the telescope" "everyone can see, it's not smooth, but wrinkly" "full of beautiful cavities and roughness, but..." "more than that..." "what pushed us to tell the astronomers" "and philosophers, with our book," "and having discovered, four, I said *four*" "new planets" "which, as Mercury, Venus, rotate around..." "...the Sun..." "...those rotate around star Jupiter" "never separating from it, like a happy family" ...and all these things were discovered by me... ...with the help of a telescope invented by me... ...after being illuminated by divine grace (better put it there, yeah...) the Nuncius... ...flew off the shelves 672 copies printed and sold sold out ...a best seller! The Nuncius... in a year, this book reached India in a year and a half, in China there's already a pirated copy now, this is Italian success in all European capitals everybody talks about this astronomer with the same name and surname... ...even in London! in one go he became more famous than Shakespeare! for the VIP customers, he created a Nuncius special edition... ...with a wrapped up telescope as a free gadget he sent it to all important people... ...except Kepler Kepler asked for it, "we're friends..." what did he do? Kepler... ...dared to publish another book... ...a competitor one! How did he call it? Astronomia Nova what a show-off! he'd put in even the Laws of Kepler ...which are still present in the schools' physics syllabuses and Galilei at most is studied in history and Kepler didn't have any telescope! how did he do that? how did he do what? astronomy did not begin with the telescope astronomers were able to work with naked eye calculations! calculations! it's math, and time! Kepler used Tycho's calculations and its own and after some time he found that Mars' orbit is not a circle, it's an ellipse! strange... ...and the Sun occupies one of the two focal points planets don't travel in a constant motion they decelerate, acceler... Galileo... ...did not like the idea of an universe shaped like a rugby ball and neither do you you all said circles except of him, triangles... Kepler is too ahead of times and he's not liked ask the librarians of that time "Kepler? no, nobody wants it, everybody asks for Galilei" Galileo did a slightly more ruffian book he dedicated the planets... ...and even the book, to the Medici family, the lords of Florence oh, the reinassance, oh, the statues, the palaces... oh, the collections, the Medici had it all! but a 4-star in the Michelin guide not yet Galileo offered it to them, they enjoyed it they invited him, "why don't you come to Florence?" "thanks, my lords, but they offered me a lifelong place at the University of Padua" "Galilei, we don't give a shit about the University of Padua" "we offer you a place at the University of Pisa" "so you'll be closer to your mom" the frends went "don't go to Pisa" and Galileo "why" "because it's too close to Rome" "Thanks my lords, but I can't come... ...they promised me the gratification they still didn't gave it ...but I'm expecting it" "Galilei, we don't care shit about the gratification from the venetians" "what did they give you? 1000 florins of gratification?" "Galilei, 1000 florins is misery we will double that..." "...what do you do? deal, or not?" well... "...Galiliei?" "no, no, no..." "do you have any additional request?" "no,no,noo" "do you want to think about it?" ...but if you have requests, tell them" "tell them!" "Galiliei!" "I would like to be exempted from the mandatory teaching" every... ...professor's... ...dream! to be professor... ...without professing! ok, ok, for those like like you we'll create the National Research Center "...where in case, we'll put there all those like you, ok?" "so, what do you do, you'll come?" "...Galilei!" "you'll come??" "weeeeeellll...." "what else do you want?" "no, no, nothing..." overacting? the actor overacts embarassingly the problem is, how can the actor show what Galilei did which is embarassing! because what's embarassing is to decipher Galilei's monstrous awareness of the value of the telescope, since the beginning he understood that there's a "before Galileo", an "after Galileo"... and that he is Galileo "can we add to the duties, in addition to mathematician, astronomer..." "...also philosopher?" jeez, what a show-off! come on! he never graduated, and now! "ok, Galilei! we'll do what you ask for, given you'll come! will you come??" of course he'll come! he came back to Pisa, where he studied and never graduated came back with two degrees... ...and a salary big as the Secretary of State of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany six times bigger than the rector of the University of Pisa all for a telescope! the colleagues went "he's got no curriculum, no curriculum!" he just got ass-lucky! and everybody says "the enemies of Galilei... "...were priests and monks" after! after! the first enemies of Galilei were colleagues! it's the University! it's the old school that when the new ones come... ...expel antibodies! but Galilei didn't give a damn about the polemic in Pisa he took the express train from Padua straight to Rome bypassing Tuscany arrived to Pope Paul V the Pope wanted to know Galilei! he arrived at the Pope, he kneeled, and the Pope said "no, Galilei, a man like you..." "...will stand before us!" he stood up and went "howdy, Paul!" totally embarassing! he's the three stooges all combined! the natural elegance of a plumber in the Sunday's Mass like... it would have been epic, seeing Galilei coming with the cardboard tube... ...inside the Collegium of the Gesuites who hover! the most exclusive place of christianity knowledge he comes in, puts the cardboard down and then goes: "who's first??" among them, there's Clavius I mean, Clavius he was one of the most intelligent astronomers and one of the biggest mathematicians at the time well, the first to put eyes on the telescope of Galilei was him, Clavius bypassing the others and if the most important man of the most important academy put eyes on the telescope, the henchmen, what do they do? an enormous success! but not taken for granted, no... ...because at the time, astronomers worked well with naked eye and with naked eye you have a beautiful relationship with the sky mystic, personal, selective... you decide what's in and what's out Galilei's telescope, instead, was always blurry it's got limited field of view you can't see well! who makes you do that? it's like the first man, used to typewriters and they took it away and put a computer in front of him saying "come on, try it!" "you'll save time!" and 10 years after, he continued to think "at some point, I'll save time..." "one day...I'll save..." one thing is being born, with technologies another, is reconverting the word itself says it it's difficult but despite all of this, the sucess of the telescope was resounding the year is 1611, there's no man in Rome who hasn't heard of Galilei the only skeptics are the theologists, he underestimates them but as soon as he got home, in Pisa as soon as the 1612 academic year starts troubles began! his disciple, Benedetto Castelli, who's friar, and gesuit... ...but copernican... ...puts Copernic in the syllabus causing the uproar of the teachers "rector!" "rector! are we changing syllabus??" "what's wrong with the old one?" "it's 500 years that we teach it!" "who will pay me the training hours to keep up to date??" even... Madame Cristina di Lorena, mother of the Grand Duke, criticizes him "Galillei doesn't know the Bible..." "...in Joshua's book it's written: Sun, stop on the Gabaon valley..." "...so that Israel's army will smite the enemy" "it's not written Earth, stop, it's written Sun" Galileo's answer to Madame Cristina was not a masterpiece of diplomacy "Madame Cristina is right..." "...God wouldn't have lied on the Holy Bible" "...since that is, the Word of God" "But, Madame, would you mean then..." "...that God would have lied on the rest?" "The Book of Nature, the Creation..." "isn't it the work of God?" "Madame, I believe, God wouldn't have lied in the Bible nor in the Nature" "but I'm wondering, whether that opera, during the times... ...could have been wrongly interpreted?" theologicians went "a technical applications professor..." "...who comes to criticize our preciouuuuuuus" for this, he wanted to be nominated philosopher not for glory, but because he knew that there will be battles and he didn't want to be put in the lower shelf of maths, with Copernicus and Zwirner" and so, every night, he seeks proof, proof that Copernicus was right and how to do that? he seeks Venus, and his phases "Venus, you bitch..." "why don't you make regular 28 days phases like your sister Moon..." "...no, you Venus, your phases last 6 months" "and every 6 months outside here I freeze my balls for you, Venus..." "...and because of you it's months that I can't get laid, oh Venus..." then when he wakes up in the morning he has to answer to the polemics, on the gazettes, on the letters Galilei, five days a week gets attacked from the academia two days a week gets attacked from the altars ...and he answers all of them for six years! he made a file of things big like this someone, for him, in Rome, started a blackmail activity and in the high, saint locations, someone is asking... "but, this Copernicus, always nominated by Galiliei..." "how, how's called the book?" "It's called De Revolutionibus, his eminence" "would it be dangerous?" "and why didn't we put it in the Index?" "errr, well, his eminence..." "De Revolitionibus lies... on the unfinished files of the inquisition" "and...for how long it lies?" "73 years, his eminence" "and why does it lie?" "for bureucratic reasons, his eminence" "...meaning??" "hi eminence, this book is darn difficult, we cannot understand it!" "can't we speed it up?" "of course, his eminence, let's do Tuesday" "let's do Tuesday!" then they called the master theologicians because they're infallible, and asked them... technically, the statement that the Sun is the center of the world and doesn't move and the Earth is not the center of the world and moves, is... heretic? reckless? and they went... so... ...after a long examination... ...we can state, undoubtedly... that the statement that Sun is the center of the world and doesn't move... ...and Earth is not the center of the world and moves technically, for us, is reckless, and... reckless, and erotic heretic yes, that one! a book labelled as heretic was not always burned. Very rarely, rather more often, a book like this from Copernicus considered heretic, was purged purged from words, which some got erased sometimes cut out these were the rats but the precision is almost surgical the unburned book... was left available to men of faith because then, the men of faith could have the proof ... that with the illusion of knowledge... the devil was tempting the curiosity of those. Basically, books were dangerous Galileo was in Rome, to ask for a court hearing with the Vatican's most influential man the Cardinal Bellarmino yes, that one! the one from the trial of Giordano Bruno for which most likely they made him a saint Saint Roberto Bellarmino a very elegant man versed, and very knowledgeable of the theology of the Holy Bible he's elderly but Galileo went for him Bellarmino accepts him on Thursday two days before, the Saint Office, maybe even under his sollecitations... pronounced the judgement. So when Galileo was with him... Bellarmino did not even let him talk "I know, I know, why you came among us, Galileo!" e pur, si muove (and yet, it moves) as you said... "and yes, we remember" "when you came in Rome" "with your book, the telescope..." "how was the book called? Nuncius!" nuncius... "I'm sorry..." "Galilei" "if only you would've limited yourself to be just a mathematician" "if you, at all costs..." "you wouldn't have wanted to lean out..." "...out and over the limits of your discipline" "I can't do nothing, neither for you nor for Copernicus" "the Saint Office has sentenced, from now on, believe me..." "...it's better for all of us, that Copernicus would be..." "...a closed book" yes, it happens sometimes that some ideas become loose mines happens when you ignore the time where you're living in what would it mean, the obsession... that Copernicus was right, and Aristotle was wrong. But Galileo! Aristotle is a saint! he's beside the Bible! how can you reform Aristotle... without someone trying, while we're at it to reform the Bible? Before, there were Calvin, Luther the Council of Trento sentenced to stop experiments on the holy scriptures and interpretations. The centuries-old wisdom of the Church says it... it's just not the time yet. Do you understand it? "no" Galileo Galilei looked totally unequipped... with that thing called "opportunism" or, sense of history but, he's lucky! three months, I mean, three years after the warning, Bellarmino dies after four years, the Pope dies, and when a Pope dies... and the new one... is a Barberini! Remember how do they say in Rome? "What barbarians didn't do..." "the Barberini did!" why do we care about history's judgement the result is Pope Urbano VIII a Pope who's an amateur astronomer! and wrote a poem for Galileo! it's your moment! go, Galileo! he dedicates him his next book called "The Assayer" the Pope appreciated it, invited Galileo at the Vatican for one week, no appointments for the Pope every morning, he wants to walk around with Galileo, discussing about... solar spots phases of Venus the new theory of Galileo about high tides he was obsessed! According to him, is the proof that Copernicus was right he goes "Pope! for you, what causes the tides?" the Pope goes "because of the influence of the Moon..." "what influence?? don't try to be infallible with me, Pope, listen to me..." "the tides are caused by the rotation and revolution of Earth" "do you see how Earth moves, rotating?" rotating even like this, Pope! attach a bucket to a rope... move the bucket, then make it spin... the water inside the bucket moves slower than the bucket... and at some point cannot catch up and what it does then? pisses out same thing do the tides Earth says "stay here!" And the tide "no! I piss this way!" and Earth "no, stay here!" "no!" "no" says the Pope, "it depends on the influence of the Moon..." "no! from the rotation and revol..." "no, the influence..." "no, the..." so... before starting the show I've made a verification I made a meeting with the researchers of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics on the tides... ...the Pope is right! and Galileo made one of his biggest blunders on the tides but, the discussion between these two... is beautiful beautiful! can you imagine Pope Ratzinger with Margherita Hack? (italian astrophysic) with all respect due to both, for their age and what they've done, the problem is, that there are no more words for a discussion words, probably, were scarce even at that time it was not easy, never was Copernicus remained locked the Pope didn't change his mind and Galileo, for ten years... ate dust but then... comes this not only this time, the leaflet from the beginning but, look! it's a precious litographed copy one of those rare editions... of the Dialogue of Galileo if I'm here tonight it's because a man from Padua some years ago, challenged me "Bring the Dialogue in theatre, you'll make a great interpretation!" I answered only "eeeEeeeEhheheEeehhh...." then inside of me I thought "yes, but before that..." "I'll need at least to read the book" and I thought: "eehEhhhehEhhhEEhhhehh.." and so... I read page 1 well... read... skipped page 3... skipped page 7... skipped page 14... skipped page 25, I have a method, let's say with "100 years of solitude" it worked if you start from page 40, goes on like a train! the Dialogue, no, I still had it on my cupboard at some point I thought "I'm missing some basics" that was the point where I criticized scientific high school maybe you did better than me... there, I started to falter and I was about to abandon... when... I decided to make another investment and I bought all Galileo's books another 16 whole euros. Damn it.... at that point I had to do the show I started to read, what was actual physics at my age, if they ask "well, what are you reading?" in those cases you want to answer "well, I'm re-reading Galileo" who has ever read Galileo?? in Italy, they are 1000, like Garibaldi's army those who actually read Galileo the probelm is, that those 1000 never tell the others... how great are Galileo's books! they'd say "read Dante!" I have nothing against those who read Dante, I like Dante as well... but by God, Galileo gave me incredible emotions everything is written in Italian, and is comprehensible and while reading Galileo I felt some abysses, I swear, at some point I said to myself... "I understand physics??" how come? I didn't go to Lourdes... Galileo writes with an extraordinary italian and his books are always comprehensible... ...except this! this one... the Dialogue concerning two chief world systems another one wrote this, I thought... "this is Hyde, and the other is mr.Jekyll" "It's not the same person!" "I can't underst..." then, my philosophy-savy friends... looked and told me... told me... take out the helmet, you're sweating like a pig I'm telling all of you I know your brain is frying at least who wants can keep it, for the others, you're free jeez, look at all your sweaty foreheads! before exiting, as you stand up, you put it on again thank you my friends told me... they didn't tell me take off the helmet, told me.. about the book... it's just that you really were miserable I don't know, there wasn't even one of you who tried to take it off, no "we need to keep it on!" and we're in Italy! it's 25th of April, ok the resistance, but now... you can take it off! so my friends that knew everything told me of course you don't understand, this book is a fac-simile of a classical greek philosophical debate I told them that in school I was good at philosophy when I didn't know something I would tell the prof well, the "dialectic materialism..." I could bring home a barely sufficient mark be it, barely sufficient or barely idiot... Galileo can't go down this way! I went back and forth with this book for a whole year at some point, I even broke my own copy and there I understood... it's not a novel... it's a play! you can keep theatrical plays at home or at the library but you should use it with some instructions otherwise, you'll get hurt theatre has voices the locations, the bodies the genders... plays, when those are real plays once they are in paper, blow up! meaning that you have to imagine it loudly and so is the "Dialogue" of Galileo pure theatre! not as good as the Shakespeare's one... no, Shakespeare on this is much better he can write theatre with 12 even 16 characters Galileo, no knows his limits, and makes it with three and which theatre can you do with only three characters? well, by God... this one! the traditional Italian theatre, my job, the comedy! my job... is as old as the mechanics' meaning... that it's not the oldest job of the world mine can be dated 3rd of february 1545 on that day, seven people went in front of the notary in the city of Padua to sign the constitutional act of the first wandering company of professional actors of which we have traces of! God knows how many things the actors had to write... to convince other people why they have to pay them for their work and, even more, to explain people that actresses... just because they're in front of people on the stage they're not automatically whores and sometimes this difference has to be cyclically re-explained, in Italy you would ask me, where's the comedy well, difficult to answer tonight I was thinking how to do the "Dialogue concerning two chief world systems" as a comedy, how to do it... eeh, in native language I see your faces getting lost, and frightened even on those watching at home right now you might say: "how do you manage for those who don't understand" "your native language?" "nothing, I think, they won't understand anything anyway reading the book" therefore I try, I take a risk! I'll make only one scene called the Dialogue of the ship hold in the book there are three characters one is called Sagredo, the owner of the house where the dialogue is held the other two, one is called Simplicio, and is the peripatetic, or Aristotelic the other is called Salviati and is the copernican but, they are two servants, or Zanni, of the Commedia dell'Arte that hit each other with philosophical sticks, which hurt a lot I'll explain now what's the topic of discussion is the Earth still, or is it moving? Simplicio, the Aristotelic, tells "of course it's still!" "Earth is still, because Aristotle said it" why does the rock fall? because it wants to go back to its place because of this, if I take a rock and I throw it in vertical above myself... then I wait... what does the friend say? the caring true friend of mine that true friend of mine who cares and sees me in that situation that friend will tell me "watch out!" move yourself out otherwise your head gets split but, if the Earth moved, when the rock falls, I will be 18m aside I dodge it, and the friend won't tell we "watch out" he would tell me "look where it fell!" but this is not what we see, therefore the Earth is still think of what tragedy it would be for all the beasts not firmly attached to the ground if the Earth would move. Think of the birds! you try flying 1800km per minute you do it for one minute, then you go excinct to counter the Aristotelic peripatetic thesis Galilei gives Salviati the copernican, arguments stolen from Giordano Bruno but never citing him, why not? two reasons, one, the copyright second... (gesture of "frightened") prudence... mask on inside... inside... a ship hold inside! go in, go inside the hold of a ship, a big one a fishing ship, a sail boat, a motorboat, the Ark of Noah, whatever the heck you want close yourselves inside, locked in, that you cannot see outside bring with yourself three friends, and a ball "why?" because then you won't break your balls awaiting ah, ok... bring also, a big cauldron, like so filled with water pieces of wood, and matches to light up the fire bring also some fishes which fish? alive which fish? good for boiling which fish? sardines, crabs, eels, polips... stop! they don't have to buy the fish yeah but you asked me which fish, and I tell you so bring also some wine which wine? Merlot why? because I like it! and how much? how many are we? four. And how long do we stay there? two hours 5 liters, it should be enough bring with you a full flask and an empty one exactly equals. Last, bring in the hold... a jar full of annoying flying insects moths, flies, mosquitoes - the bad ones "like tiger mosquitoes?" "even more! Lion mosquitoes!" lock yourselves up in the hold, put in the center the wood pieces below, and the cauldron above, full of water put inside the fishes, so that they swim in circles looking, thinking "the heck are we doing? where the heck are we?" tie up the wine flask horizontally above make a hole in the cork, and before the wine starts to drip put the empty flask exactly where the wine is going to drop "and why?" "because otherwise I'll be pissed" "ah ok" after that, put the three friends on the three corners of the boat put yourself in the fourth corner, and begin to make ball passes left - right, poop - bow ahead - behind, left - right so that the music and sound of the ball would be the same regular, unchanging, in other words, boring at last, in the hold, take the jar with the insects, and... open up the stroppolo and this is difficult this is an international physics laboratory I see the faces... they don't understand me! then... I know what to do! take the jar and you open the stroppolo and you control... the zanzares go away away away away breaking the balls, breaking the balls democratically in every corner I'm happy that even the Chinese laughs! thank you, thank you very much I was worried, but now I'm better! so... breaking the balls... It's universal, right? in every corner of the hold at this point, given the equilibrium of the static universe command to set up the sails, start the boat, and while the boat goes... don't stop it and with the boat in movement, check that inside the hold passing the ball, left - right, poop - bow woud be exactly like before and you won't see that, shooting from back to front, the ball would never reach the target, as the boat is moving and that won't happen the contrary, shooting from front to back you won't take the ball in the face as the boat is moving instead, equal and boring it would be, as before then, check the cauldron, and the fishes inside they will continue to swim around, and won't be pushed to the wall saying "oh how fast are we! what the heck are we doing?" that the wine will continue to drip vertically and won't have made puddles outside and at last, unfortunately, I say... the insects... they would also continue to break the balls democratically like before and they wouldn't go ... squishing against the wall due to the boat's movement with that you would have the proof that every thing transported by the movement of the boat... would continue the motions of before without being altered by the movement of the boat that contains them "what does it mean?" it means that Copernicus is right! even if the Earth moved... unless it breaks suddenly or accelerates... without an external reference point, for us is exactly the same you got the proof? do me a favor then light up the fire, boil the water, eat the fishes, drink the wine... and a toast for me and Nicolaus Copernicus like so... reacted those, who read the Dialogue of Galileo at the time because, excuse me... if it is autoreferential... but, are the actors who make the theatre if they're not there, you have to imagine it by reading Galileo's book blows up on paper it's a powerful weapon, which demolishes the competition he knew, what he did and, somehow, got the censor's approval and got published he was not so much lucky, as... just after the book publication, the plague came to Florence it happened at the time, I mean, it was normal getting old was a luxury, epidemics, famine, wars... Galileo avoided it, many florentinians not he was locked inside, the book was out there... and he only thing the thought about since two months... "am I in the Top 10?" after two months, from Rome... came a letter from Tommaso Campanella, great Italian intellectual who they made you hate him in high school he wrote: "Your new book is goodgoodgoodgoodgood..." "if I were you I'd call a lawyer, but it's goodgoodgood..." "or even, if you want, I could be your lawyer" and Galileo though "well he did 30 years in prison, he knows the stuff..." "yes yes he can be my lawyer" from the Vatican they made him know "the lawyer is unnecessary" he only had to present himself in front of the Holy Office's inquisitor Galileo sent a sickness certificate it's written "near-blind" but he was not cheating he became blind what was it, the plague? I don't know... for sure, it's not healthy to see solar spots, even with smoked lenses inflexible, from Rome they asked "we want him here" he resisted, he knew it was a trap in the end though he had to go he moved, he took a while, very slowly he came at the end of lent, since October he came in Rome, and they put him in isolation to purge away bad thoughts, a sort of "moral pickling" and one morning, they woke him up "wake up, he inquisitor is awaiting you soon" "where?" "at the monastery of the Minerva" "and where is it?" "beside the Pantheon's church" "isn't it the same place where they judged Giordano Bruno?" "yes, yes, do you know the place?" the inquisitor is young he's called Vincenzo Maculano he's nice meeting Galilei, he told him only (in neapolitan) "Galilei Galilei, what'd ya did, what'd ya did..." (in neapolitan) here nobody's a fool, nobody's a fool "this' your book" and he showed him all filled in with notes, like they used to do in the blank spaces of the books "ah, so you did read it?" "yes, we did read it..." "and we didn't expect so much disobedience from you, Galilei" "disobedience? what do you mean?" "Galileo, didn't we tell you..." "leave out Copernicus?" "and look instead of the service you gave here to him" "no, no, eminence, I did not do a service to Copernicus" "no, I put him on the same level of Aristotle" "and left the reader free to take an opinion" the defense is weak, and he lies knowingly do you remember the picture in the beginning, where did Galileo put himself? he even called the Aristotelian philosopher Simplicio nomen omen, give me something in exchange he even gave him the same words that the Pope said in the Vatican gardens the Pope noticed! and said "apart that I still think I'm right regarding the tides..." "you're making me look like an idiot in front of the world!" Galileo has been left alone nobody is there to defend him, and doesn't confess. Bad idea at the Inquisition, everybody confesses right away they have a tool to extract confessions out of those who do not confess on their own it's called torture, and it's legal they don't use it with Galilei he didn't do the hero, he inquisitor doesn't use it, maybe he flinched? at some point, the inquisitor went back to the Pope he said "his Holiness, like this it does not work, make me speak with him, alone" the Pope said "then try the extra judicial way" got back, makes the notary and the witnesses go out nobody else than him and Galileo, for six hours nobody knows what did they speak of we only know that, when Galileo came out, he said "I was misunderstood" which revealed being one of the base characteristics of Italians "the trial went well..." I'm clean! four days later, the judgement came. "Suspected... ... of heresy" he must... ...abjure "Rome, 22nd of June 1633" "I, Galileo, son of Vincenzo" "Florentinian, 70 years old" "kneeled..." "kneeled in front of you, inquisitor cardinals, swear..." "that I always believed on what the Holy Church taught me" "after being intimated that I had to leave out..." "the false opinion that the Sun is center of the world and doesn't move..." "and Earth is not center of the world and moves..." "after being ordered not to talk..." "defend, teach, neither by writing or speaking, this false doctrine..." "because against the Holy Scriptures, I..." "...published a book..." "...in which I follow this theory" "bringing on its favor very effective arguments" because of this, I've been vehemently suspected of heresy of me believing that Sun is the center of the world and doesn't move... and Earth is not the center of the world and moves... I wish to get out of your minds, your eminences... and from every christian this vehement suspicion, I, here... with sincere heart, no fake faith, I abjure... I condemn... I detest... those errors and heresies and I swear that in the future I won't, I won't, I won't do I won't say anything for which there could be such suspicion I, Galileo... abjured...sweared...promised they burned his book in front of him he didn't go to prison instead, home arrest but, the abjuration text... was read in every room of every catholic University "Galileo Galilei..." "ridiculed" at 70, if you fall down... you won't get up 70 years... and Shakespeare? long dead Kepler? died in disgrace there's only him alive yes of those, only him was still alive he lived much longer... than the average of the time but... he's blind, controlled each day by nuns he can't have students, he can't teach, he can't talk where could he go? what could he do? he's done ...no! if there's one reason... to talk about Galileo today, in this country... it's this one it's what Galileo did after the abjure between 70 and 80 ridiculed because it proved to a country of old men and many ridiculed what old and ridiculed men can do if they don't go to a cruise because Galileo won't get his brain retired by nobody two passions, all his life physics and astronomy astronomy is kaputt if you don't see but, physics, well... "I've left some work behind" he's got unfinished work since Padua "I've got work to finish, I'll close the open parenthesis" it's a good way to conclude your life he got back to work reordered his notes redid the experiments. But he's blind! someone sees for him, patient and loyal students redoing the experiments, on some things he changed his mind on others not some things are correct some others, not but for everything he did, in that book, it's written how... how he arrived to that conclusion. They called it... ...method. It's a logic! everybody can follow that road it's clear, not opaque nobody ever wrote a book like that it's the first new physics since Aristotle! somebody would say, that is the Galileian relativity from that book starts Newton for the gravitational theory from that book starts Einstein for the relativity theory he published it at 78 it's called "Discourse over two new sciences" and it's a book with an extraordinary freshness somebody would say, that was the dangerous book from there everything started that was the vase of Pandora from that book was born the personal responsibility of Galileo... which opened a road that brought the humanity to the atom bomb! I'm trying to prove, even physically... how improbable could it be to imagine Galileo... shitting out the atom bomb I'm not absolving anyone with this science doesn't produce conscience watch out but it's not the question on who put the hat on top of it of certification of controlled origin by God no conscience is a personal thing, it's about training, it's like science as soon as you stop training, you're done, like breath after running but condemning Galileo is as ridiculous as defending him no matter what he's not used only to absolve those who condemned him let'give Galileo his responsibilities what did Galileo do? I think he overdid it he ridimensioned reality he gave dignity to doubt he took the error from the area of the Devil to give it back to the human could it be old, this way of thinking? we are laughing now, right? of what they believed, right? the Earth at the center, Sun which rotates around ideas, after they get old... they are always laughable after. Then, sooner or later, ours will make someone laugh it's just that you forget, while you have them, that they're precarious you care for them it sterilizes, it hardens "many are thinking the same" it's consoling to stay average science is not democratic and in the average you won't find virtue, in everything, in this times changing your mind can be revolutionary can be a good way... to imagine a 25th of April a country not resigned to which it's most affectionate sometimes ideas go old and you notice that they're not enough for the future they call it "crisis" "what do we do?" either you exercise a doubt on your preconcepts or you believe the mages who are mages today? those who read the spread! there's no single way of thinking there's no single way of imagining if we can open limits on our thoughts, we have to give credit to that old man an old man... who, in a constant stubborn direction, rejuvenated its own thoughts incredible was the way how he published his book from his prison house in Arcetri "no visits!" but we're in Italy, after a while, there's an exception... an ambassador from Venice came and when he was gone the manuscript came out inside the underpants of the ambassador the guardian nuns, seeing him would have thought "what a hunk!" how many underpants mutatis mutandis would the ambassador changed in order to bring the manuscript to the Netherlands because to find someone willing to publish Galileo, in Italian, at that time you had to go to a protestant country. And, by the way.... in the new book there were still the old characters of the old one. even Simplicio! he's recidive! didn't he swear? they had to stop him before by then that way of doing, of thinking was translated traveled, went through Europe on what was an internet before time from one volounteer to the other and he didn't have to do anything else, and died died 15 days before becoming 80 no funerals, well, I understand he was suspected of heresy I think it was a bit vengeful, but I do understand it by the way, of all this story, I understood that to Galileo himself, not having had his funerals... was the thing that hurt him the most he cared about those things he would have liked to know who would have come and the never spoken funeral oration, who would have done it? Campanella? I don't know but tonight in this tunnel, here, we can put a remedy to it and I, from here, would do a praise I've chosed texts from Giordano Bruno I think that Bruno wrote it for himself but we tonight, dedicate this to you... I know that you don't hear us! but for us, you're here I start here's... to who went through the air here's to who penetrated the sky who discussed stars and trespassed margins of the world and vanished the fantastic walls of the 2nd, 8th, 9th, 10th spheres of the vain mathematicians and of the vulgar philosophers here's to who opened the gates of truths that could be opened for us who stripped down the covered nature who gave back eyes to the moles who illuminated blind men who... couldn't gaze... his image on many mirrors that from every side, opposed him... here's to who untied the tongue to mutes that couldn't know, wouldn't dare to express the intricate sentiments here's to... who went through the air, penetrated the sky saying... E PUR, SI MUOVE

Transcript for:Exploring Galileo's Revolutionary Impact

Transcript for:
Exploring Galileo's Revolutionary Impact