Comments by "Ash Roskell" (@ashroskell) on "Biographics"
channel.
-
Biographics : Come ooohhhn, guys? He was a tragic, deborched, waster, who COULD have been the, “most interesting man who ever lived,” but, instead, wasted his life, rebelling against his parents and ruining his own health, ensuring that his final decade would make him a burden on his friends in a state of bodily and mental decay . . .
12
-
Biographics : Why does no one ever mention Galileo’s darker side? He frequently ripped off business associates. He made a deal with some Dutch inventors, regarding their invention of the telescope, which he then improved upon, and then sold, to the very people that he’d just talked the Dutch guys into delaying their sales meeting with. His friends (yes, “friends”) in the church supported his Copernican work, and frequently told him to stop Trolling the church by saying that either, “God or the Bible,” were, “wrong,” regarding claims that the Bible NEVER asserted in the first place. He deliberately courted controversy and the inquisition bent over backwards to avoid punishing him; the church, having funded much of this research in the first place. He treated people with disdain and betrayed the trust of friend and foe alike, out of arrogance and ego.
NONE of this side of his character is EVER mentioned in his hagiographies, because they are, just like this video, usually, nothing more than that: “hagiographies,” with a specific agenda to them. In Galileo’s case, he has become the poster boy for the martyrs of science. The real Galileo was a flawed human being, who’s life and very real achievements have been hijacked into making him a symbol of, “Righteous Science,” being held back and/or crushed, by those perennially, “evil,” and nearly always, “ignorant,” Christians.
I love science, but I love history more. And, by telling only half the story, you might as well be telling a different one altogether, or even lying by omission. The irony is that, by painting so many figures as impossibly perfect, in this way, you make it less likely for the rest us mere mortals to follow in their footsteps, or to feel able, or even worthy, of such an enterprise. Come on, now? I know you have a lot to get through, with your output, but learn your topic? And, remember, if the figure you’re discussing sounds like a perfect saint, or seems unredeemably evil, then you probably don’t have the whole story.
I have come to expect a higher standard from this channel, which is why I care that you hear this, for what it’s worth. Small errors are forgivable, but this is way beyond that. You’re not the only people to do this with Galileo, but I thought the whole shtick of your vids was about dispelling the popular mythology, and received wisdom, surrounding famous figures? Tell me? Am I wrong about that?
5
-
2