Science Taught In School in 1543
Erik Bye
July 3, 2025
The Earth
You are at school in the middle of the 16th century. The next lesson is science, and you are going to learn more about space – the Earth and other celestial bodies. In the previous lesson, the teacher talked about the Earth's place in the sky, the planet that all the other planets move around, e.g. the sun. With its orbit around our planet. And this was not difficult to understand. Everyone could see that the sun moved in the sky, it rose in the east, rose in the sky and stood directly in the south at its highest.
Then it went west, getting lower and lower in the sky, and finally disappearing behind the horizon. In addition to the teacher telling us about this, it is written about this in the textbook, with drawings of how the Earth is the center of space. With other planets in obedient movements around us. In addition to all this, parents, family and friends tell us the same thing. No one doubts this worldview – the geocentric system. The Earth is the king and rules it all.
The Earth-centric model of the universe in 1543
The School
The teaching assistant has unlocked the classroom, and all the students are sitting quietly waiting for the teacher. He is an older, rather strict teacher. He knows a lot, he talks with empathy and conviction. But he seems a bit old-fashioned. He wears yesterday's clothes and often expresses that he doesn't like new things. He doesn't understand what young people are
doing with these little telescopes – which can be bought from travelling salesmen. They are completely useless. You can see everything with the naked eye!
Something happens
However, he has noticed that some strange so-called wise men have started talking about "something" about our celestial bodies. He has heard some murmurings that perhaps the Earth is not the center of space? But he is sure that this kind of thing will pass. We can see the connection in the sky. New ideas are mostly disruptive, but before long, we will be back to the usual. And it is especially important for a teacher not to be influenced, or carried away by new trends. Especially perceptions that, among other things, can disrupt what is supposed to be the text of the day.
The Teacher
As soon as the teacher enters the room, you know something is wrong. The teacher is in a hurry, actually a little out of breath, a little red in the face and even with disheveled hair. The color of his face is like when the teacher is angry and really upset about something. Usually about something we have done wrong. There must be something really serious going on here.
The Disaster
He looks out over the class with an almost despairing look. He swallows, takes a few deep breaths, and begins to speak. But his voice is completely different than usual. In a kind of heartfelt, a little distant, and downbeat, like in a minor key. And then we hear it: “The Earth is not the center of space. It is the sun, and we orbit it, like any other planet, without any significance. And I, who believed in what I saw and what the old councilors said.”
His life did fall apart that very day.
Now, in 2025, somebody started to talk about a global average temperature, which is just a mathematical number, not a real temperature. Does it increase because of carbon dioxide?
Is man-made carbon dioxide from the use of fossil fuels a pollutant causing never-before-seen climate change?
Is all carbon dioxide the wonderful molecule of life?
Life on Earth exists because of sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.