Subject: Re: [HM] Aristarchus
From: Abe Shenitzer (shenitze@pascal.math.yorku.ca)
Date: Sun Feb 13 2000 - 03:50:20 EST
I wish to thank Chris Linton for for his fine essay on heliocentrism.
I had no idea that "in also removing Ptolemy's equant mechanism,
Copernicus actually produced a scheme with more epicycles rather than
less".
The following sentence, taken from P.J.Davis' article on Otto Neugebauer
(The Monthly, Feb. 1994, pp. 129-131) gives Neugebauer's view on the
merits of Ptolemy, Copernicus,and Kepler: "[Otto Neugebauer] thought
that Copernicus was overrated - he called him Koppernickel. Kepler
was much better, and he loved Arthur Kestler's popularization of
Kepler in 'The Sleepwalkers'. Ptolemy was a great hero."
Abe Shenitzer
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