Carl Sagan’s book Cosmos explains a bit about how some people in the 15 & 1600s have spent a good deal of time trying to find out the truths about Earth’s position in the cosmos. Kepler is one of them who have contributed significantly to our current understanding with help of years of observation about the night sky and lots of mathematics. Kepler did not have enough resources to get hold of good telescopes so he had to rely on readings from people who had access to it. Tycho was one of the few who had access to good telescopes and made detailed observations. Kepler had a great interest in Tycho’s mars observation, Tycho was impressed by Kepler’s work still guarded all his data because of the work he put in. Kepler left Tycho after it was becoming increasingly difficult to get data from Tycho to test his theory and trouble to get into a formal agreement to work with each other.

Some time later Tycho’s unexpected demise landed Kepler the task of finishing what has been left by Tycho. Kepler began testing his theory of earth going through circular orbit around the Sun and backed that with the date of Tycho’s observation of Mars. At one point he observed that his theory fit perfectly fine except a couple of reading which were off by 8 minutes of arc in angular degree. 8 minutes of arc deviation in a 90 degree observation field is just 0.15% deviation.

Kepler not only had faith in Tycho’s observations but also had the courage to question his assumptions even though the deviation was only 0.15%. Kepler felt that his fascination with the circle was a delusion and he abandoned his circular orbit theory and went for other curvy shapes. Eventually when he came up with an elliptical orbit with Sun at one of its foci, all the data from the observation and theory matched perfectly fine. He could have easily patched up 0.15% deviation and closed his work, but the trust he had on his fellow researcher’s data and his perseverance to find the right brought in a reformation in astronomy. His laws of planetary motion still hold good.

Many at times in school I have succumbed to the temptations of approximating or convincing myself that others could be wrong and prematurely ended feeding my curious brain. This definitely has delayed many things which I could have understood better had I spent enough time on it. If Kepler could question 0.15% deviation and come up with a revolution, then we have ample opportunities to break paths every day.

Below is Kepler’s quote

Divine benevolence has bestowed the most diligent of observers, Tycho Brahe, from whose observations this eight-minute error of Ptolemy’s in regard to Mars is deduced, it is fitting that we accept with grateful minds this gift from God, and both acknowledge and build upon it. If I had believed that the we could ignore these eight minutes (0.15% deviation), I would have patched up my work accordingly. But, since it is not permissible to ignore, those eight minutes pointed the road to a complete reformation in astronomy.

More Kepler’s quotes here

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In the movie matrix Agent Smith says to Neo “But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned” as an answer to why an Utopian matrix was a disaster.  So many inventions which have been dreams to our ancestors are now an indispensable everyday need in our life. Right now an individual with an average income is able afford phones, computers, automobiles and so on which was not so easy to possess just a few decades ago. Yet we crave for better ones and we keep getting them.

Countries where first civilizations surfaced and lived a life ahead of its times were later colonized by more technologically advanced nations which sometimes were much smaller in area and people count. If the civilization stops advancing then it is destroyed or taken over by an advanced one.

There has to be a constant urge to keep pushing ourselves to improve, upgrade and innovate else it is very easy for us to be pushed out of existence. The fact does not apply only to civilizations, it is for individuals or organizations as well. The pay check after easy days at office gives a false sense of security as it takes care of immediate and long term basic needs. Jobs are easy if there is not a slight stretch or push; a stretch or push means we are out of the comfort zone learning and unlearning, if we are learning and applying then we are advancing. If we advance then dreams become true through inventions and they become necessity.

As the advancements in technology and methodologies keep going sky high, the amount of preparation an individual goes through before landing at the workplace is also increasing. That puts a greater emphasis on effective and efficient learning right from childhood that will keep going on and on and on. Workplace always has a cycle of tight work, vacation and lean days, we can plan our continuous learning such that we don’t get burnt out and at the same time we are not left behind.

Every morning in Africa, a deer wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest deer, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or deer – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

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