Professor Tom McLeish, “Working with Medieval Scholars on 13th-Century Science Texts” , presented by the Centre for the Study of Science, Religion & Society (CSSRS)
Event Details
- Date:
- Tuesday, 15 September 2015
- Time:
- 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
- Room:
- Stevens Bonnin Room
- UQ Location:
- Emmanuel College (St Lucia)
- URL:
- http://centressrs.org/events/special-events/professor-tom-mcleish-working-with-medieval-scholars-on-13th-century-science-texts/
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Michelle
- Phone:
- -
- Email:
- m.aroney@emmanuel.uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Emmanuel College
Event Description
- Full Description:
- Tuesday 15 September 2015, 4 – 5.30pm
Stevens Bonnin Room, Emmanuel College, The University of Queensland
free public event, all welcome, drinks and canapés served, RSVP essential
Emmanuel College’s Centre for the Study of Science, Religion and Society and UQ’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) invite you to a presentation by Professor Tom McLeish, “Working with Medieval Scholars on 13th-century Science Texts: A Scientist’s Tale”‘.
For the English polymath Robert Grosseteste (ca 1170 -1253), light was the fundamental first form that gave dimensionality and stability to the material world. In a dozen scientific treatises written in the early 13th century, he postulated a physics of light, colour and the rainbow. In his De luce (on light) he extends it to the origin of the universe in what has been referred to as the “Medieval Big Bang”. His arguments are so taut that they can be translated into mathematics; our resulting numerical simulations show that Grosseteste’s model does actually work. He also described the method for developing a universal principle from repeated observations under controlled conditions and argued that the explanation needing fewer suppositions and premises was the best. Through close examination of the manuscript evidence for his De colore (on colour) and his De iride (on the rainbow) and a mathematical analysis of their content, we have found that he presents the first three-dimensional theory of perceptual colour space.
In this presentation, Tom introduces Robert Grosseteste — scientist, teacher, theologian and bishop — and describes how a unique collaborative research approach has revealed new insights into his thought, particularly on light. An interdisciplinary team of historians, scientists, linguists and philosophers has developed techniques of joint reading of the medieval texts that have shown them to be logically consistent and founded on mathematically based models. Tom will reflect on how a study of this extraordinary medieval science can help throw fresh light on the history of scientific thought, and bridge the current perception gap between the study of science and humanities.
Tom McLeish is Professor of Physics at Durham University. A member of the Royal Society and several advanced physics institutes and the head of several large interdisciplinary research teams, his research interests revolve around soft condensed matter physics, biological physics, polymer molecular rheology and history of science. His book on the cultural position of science, Faith and Wisdom in Science, was published by Oxford University Press in 2014.
Please RSVP here: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/prof-tom-mcleish-working-with-medieval-scholars-on-13th-century-science-texts-tickets-18111486945
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
-
- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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