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Galileo Galilei
1564–1642
Italian astronomer and physicist at the centre of the Scientific Revolution.
What they got right
He combined maths with experiment and the telescope, and was willing to say that observation beat the authority of Aristotle.
Skill it shows
Evidence and sources
Practise this skillI do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them.
Worth knowing
He was wrong about the tides and ignored Kepler's elliptical orbits. 'And yet it moves' (Eppur si muove) is a later legend, not something he is recorded saying.
Try it yourself
Think of a claim you accept mainly because an expert said so. What observation could you make yourself that would support or challenge it?