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Sep 2009
40m 9s

Lecture 3: Imagining Other Worlds

Richard Pogge
About this episode
What is the cultural history of our imaginings of other worlds and their possible inhabitants? I will draw examples from history, philosophy, literature, cinema, and popular culture. In the end, our imaginings about other worlds inform us more about ourselves, our hopes and our fears, than about extraterrestrial life. The scientific inquiry we are under ... Show More
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Sep 2009
Lecture 4: The Copernican Revolution
Modern science was borne of an effort over many centuries to understand the motions of celestial bodies. The Copernican Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries was the crucial moment in history when we finally understood the nature of celestial motions, and opened the door to t ... Show More
43m 56s
Sep 2009
Lecture 5: The Chemical Revolution and the Nature of Matter
What is the nature of matter, and how did we come to understand the chemical elements and atomic structure? This lecture is a brief and selective overview of the history of our understanding of the nature of matter and chemistry. We will also introduce spectroscopy and radioactiv ... Show More
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Sep 2009
Lecture 6: The Geological Revolution - Deep Time and the Age of the Earth
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46m 11s
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