For the first episode of the Here and How Podcast (that me, Thomas Westbrook and Rachel
Oates are hosting), we decided to investigate the history of science, and during our research
we found many fascinating facts.
For example, did you know that the peer review process has only been around since 1665?
Or that the first controlled placebo trial didn't occur until as late as 1937?
Pretty surprising, right?
Anyhow, while researching for the show I stumbled upon a man that I had somehow never heard
of, but who is nevertheless credited as the Father of Philosophy, the Father of Science,
and, after becoming acquainted, I would argue is also the Father of Irreligion… his name
was Thales of Miletus.
Now I entirely appreciate that there's a chance that you already know of this man, and that
further still you might know precisely why he matters, but since most people don't, this
is The Most Important Person You've Never Heard Of.
On the 28th of May, 585 BC, a long-waged war between the Mades and the Lydians came to
an abrupt end, when while clashing swords an eerie darkness (which was caused by a solar
eclipse) enveloped both armies.
They, of course, interpreted the event as an omen from the gods, but Thales didn’t,
because he had, well in advance, accurately predicted it – and in doing so had become
the first.
This alone (which has been subsequently supported by modern astronomy), demonstrates Thales
genius, but what makes this prediction so damn important is that is that he achieved
it by doing what no other had done before.
That is, he refused to assume that nature is controlled by the gods; that thunder comes
from Zeus, earthquakes from Poseidon, and famine from Limos.
Instead, he hypothesised that nature follows inherent laws that can be understood – and
he had just proved it.
To quote the documentary What the Ancients Knew, “Thales dared the gods, and thereby
demystified the world.
He cast aside tradition by asking the critical question ‘why’ in the effort to find underlying
laws.
This became the foundation of science.”
What’s more, and to quote the sorely missed legend that is Carl Sagan, “This was the
first conflict of which we know between science and mysticism – between nature and the gods.”
A conflict which, as we unfortunately know all too well, still exists today – and in
my opinion will do so forever, if only because we’ll always bear the lowly stamp of our
origin, and with it the deep desire to be the centre of the universe.
“This crazy evolution theory that they're teaching in the schools is dumb!
It didn't happen; you didn't come from a monkey – or an ape-like ancestor!
And dinosaurs did not live millions of years ago.
Dinosaurs existed lived with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.”
Anyhow, Thales used his new ‘scientific approach’ (though it wasn’t called that
at the time) to make many hypotheses about nature, such as that all land floats on water,
and that earthquakes are the result turbulent waves crashing into the land.
Of course, these hypotheses, like many of his, turned out to be incorrect, but to once
again quote Sagan, “Whether Thales’ conclusions were right or wrong was not nearly as important
as his approach.”
His hypotheses were, unlike those made by his religious counterparts, falsifiable, and
as such could be disproven.
In a nutshell, this is why Thales matters, and it’s why I’m annoyed that I wasn’t
taught about him at school, and that those who were seem only to know that he mistakenly
thought that everything is made of water… which is a criminal account of the man, and,
to be honest, one of the biggest reasons I’ve decided to create this video.
Thales was a brilliant person, and if you’re not already convinced of this then the following
anecdote should change your mind.
According to the likes of Aristotle, Thales, in response to being mocked by his contemporaries
for being poor (which was a fact they used to dismiss his intelligence), used his scientific
approach to predict a particularly great harvest olives, and then, in advance and at a discount,
reserved all of the olive presses in Miletus so that he could rent them out at a premium
during the peak of the season… and thus, he made himself rich.
Now this act, in my opinion, was not only one of Thales’ most important, but is one
if humanity’s most important, because in doing this he demonstrated that the accumulation
of wealth and science go hand in hand – that knowledge really is power.
That if you know what you competition does not, then you’re at a tremendous advantage.
Now I could go on for hours about the feats that Thales evidently achieved, such as his
discovering of the timings of solstices, equinoxes and seasons, and his many mathematical theorems,
but in the interest of time I’ll leave you with just one more.
According to Cicero, Aëtius and many other scholars, it is very likely that Thales figured
out that the earth is a sphere.
The reasons for this, in short, is because, as a well-travelled man with an avid passion
for astronomy and geometry, he would’ve observed that during a lunar eclipse the shadow
caused by the interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon is always convex; that
some stars which are visible in the South are never visible in the North (and vice-versa);
and that while, at sea-level, distant objects appear to sink into the horizon, they can
be brought back into sight by viewing them from a higher vantage point.
However, with this said, it would be remiss of me not to emphasise that likewise to most
of what we know about antiquity, we can’t be certain of what exactly Thales thought,
nor if the discoveries and stories attributed to him actually happened, but what we are
certain of is that Thales’ revolutionary scientific approach (which necessitates the
refusal to assume the involvement of the supernatural) did indeed occur, and that this paradigm shift
is one of, if not the, most important of our story – and we all ought appreciate it.
Among philosophers and scientists Thales is acknowledged as their father, but I would
argue that because of his refusal to assume agency until proven, he is also the father
of irreligion (be that whatever name we go by).
The first time I read about Thales I instantly fell in love, and my hope is that you do too.
Thales is the most important person that you hadn’t heard of.
Anyhow, as always, thank you kindly for the view, and an extra special thank you to my
wonderful patrons and those of you who’ve donated via PayPal.
Videos such as this simply wouldn’t exist without you.
Oh, and check this out – it’s not yet healed, and so it’s scabtastic, but I thought
you’d all appreciate it nevertheless.
Consider me branded!