webb william larkin see thomas (1 Ergebnisse)

Hardcover. Zustand: Good. Numerous photoplates. (illustrator). 24x15cm, xii,298 pages., Embossed stamps to many page corners. Interior hinge cracks. Corner bumps. Some wear. Good. Full title reads: "Brief Biography and Popular Account of the Unparalleled Discoveries of T.J.J. See, A.M., Lt. M., Sc. M. (Missou.), A.M., Ph. D. ( Berol.), Famous Astronomer, Natural Philosopher, and Founder of the New Sciences of Cosmogony and Geogony". ["T. J. J. See was an American astronomer whose promulgated theories in astronomy and physics were eventually disproven. His educational and professional career were dogged by plagiarism and conflict, including his attacks on relativity. He was fired from his position at two observatories, eventually serving out his professional years at a naval shipyard in California., See's arrogance and overconfidence caused problems throughout his career, in both professional relationships and erroneous scientific results arising from carelessness. After his dismissal from Lowell, See joined the staff of the United States Naval Observatory in 1898.It was at the Naval Observatory that some of See's previous work, and his arrogance, led to his downfall. ., In 1913 William Larkin Webb published a Brief Biography and Popular Account of the Unparalleled Discoveries of T. J. J. See. Webb was a newspaper publisher and amateur astronomer, and a long-time admirer of See, a fellow Missourian. The book, which many regarded to have been written by See himself, essentially destroyed any remaining credibility he had in the astronomical community The Nation' published a review of the book poking fun at its extraordinary hyperbole, which included such material as: "The infant See, we are told, first saw the light on the 393rd anniversary of Copernicus's birth, .[and] showed himself "every inch a natural philosopher" by speculating on the origins of the sun, moon and stars at the age of two, never so much as dreaming that he should grow into a little boy with "methodical methods", and one day become "the greatest astronomer in the world"." See is notorious as the primary modern proponent of the idea that various ancient observers report the color of the bright star Sirius to be red as a result of stellar evolution. The Red-Sirius controversy arises because modern observations show that Sirius is white in color, and the very strong realization from modern astronomers that a reddish color for Sirius in antiquity is essentially impossible by any mechanism of astrophysics. See published six papers from 1892 to 1926 on the topic, making shrill attacks on critics, and ignoring the substantial numbers of texts from antiquity that described Sirius as blue or white in color. See's obsession with what is now considered as a fringe area (whose solution involves only cultural allusions) only served to further distance the maverick from mainstream astronomy.,.]- wikipedia.