How did one Greek philosopher put his wisdom to the test and make a fortune?
Subject: Natural Philosophy/Science - Eclipse of Thales
Event: Thales the Milesain predicts a solar eclipse, 585 B.C.
Philosophy began in the seaport town of Miletus on the Aegean Sea. Here, instead of doing what others had done for thousands of years, accepting answers about the world via mythology and superstition, a group of people began asking questions. One of these was Thales (625 BC-545 BC), who asked, “What is it that everything is made of?” His hypothesis was that everything is made of water.
One anecdote about Thales says that a servant girl mocked him when he was so busy looking up at the stars that he fell into a well. Thales had the last laugh though because it was on this day in 585 B.C. that he predicted a solar eclipse. We don’t know exactly how he did it, but because of this successful prediction, science writer Isaac Asimov credits Thales with the first successful science experiment (1).
Another anecdote about Thales reveals that he didn’t always have his head in the clouds. One winter he speculated that there would be an enormous olive harvest in the coming year. Putting his money where his prediction was, he rented all the olive presses in Miletus ahead of the harvest. When his hypothesis proved correct, Thales’ monopoly on olive presses allowed him to make a killing by charging high rental fees. Thales’ sound thinking earned him the praise of other philosophers. In his Politics, Aristotle said the following about Thales: “He showed the world that philosophers can easily be rich if they like, but that their ambition is of another sort” (2).
Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: Why is May 28 celebrated as an important date in the history of science? How did Thales make a fortune on the olive harvest?
Challenge: A Date With Science: Do some other research on significant dates in the history of science. What is one date that you would argue should be included in a timeline of dates as extremely important? Make your case.
Also on This Day:
May 28, 1738: Today is the birthday of Joseph Ignace Guillotin, the inventor of the guillotine. Ironically, this French physician was against capital punishment. He suggested his invention to the French Legislative Assembly with the hope that a more human and less painful form of execution would be a logical stepping stone to the elimination of the death penalty altogether (3).
Source:
1-The Philosophy Book
2-Bahr, David. “Xenophon The Athenian: Not Your Average Pasty-Faced Philosopher.” Forbes.com 31 May 2017
3-Sorel, Nancy Caldwell. Word People. New York: American Heritage Press, 1970.
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