Gethin Richards

New episode this weekend, start of the Johannes Kepler story!

(Posting this so I actually have to finish it).

I am the author of a podcast on the history of science (in bio). I have written extensively on the history of astronomy, especially ancient astronomy. I'd like to be part of the feed to connect with a community in this subject.

yes

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I'm very bad at visualizing mental images. I think it's a bit of a spectrum.

Books are not a visual medium.

This means your big desire to describe the appearance of your main character is a mistake. You can describe them over time but that description is not critical to your reader aligning with your character.

We align through behaviors.

#writingcommunity #booksky

Was interviewed by Gerry Fialka this weekend. If you want to hear me talk about life, philosophy etc. here it is:

www.youtube.com/live/xCWmMAw...

Bust of Aristotle

Aristotle wasn’t just a philosopher — he was also the world’s first serious zoologist.
More than 2,000 years ago, he began observing animals closely, recording their bodies, habits and behaviour.

🧵 Here are a few of his strangest and most impressive discoveries:

Hi!

Working on a video for the Complete History of Science Youtube channel. Hope people enjoy it!

Oh thanks that's so nice 🙂

All the information is on the worksheet.

Tycho Brahe first episode now live. So much hard work - hope people enjoy.

Used to judge bad grammar, now I think we'll at least it's not ai.

Aristotle: The Philosopher as Scientist The Complete History of Science · Episode

More about Aristotle here: open.spotify.com/episode/4hyT...

This would mean Aristotle dissected an elephant over 2,000 years ago.

And this is an important point. Aristotle wasn't the type of philosopher who relied on thinking alone.

He looked, asked questions, and checked the facts. Arguably he was the first scientist.

Drawing of war elephants

Somehow, Aristotle even knew the liver of an elephant is four times bigger than an ox’s. This was pretty much right.

But how did he know? Elephants didn’t live in Greece.

The leading theory:
His former student, Alexander the Great, may have sent him one from his conquests in Asia.

He didn’t just observe — he tested what others claimed.

The historian Herodotus once wrote that hyenas were hermaphrodites: both male and female.

Aristotle, showing real dedication, checked for himself. He dissected hyenas and found clear male and female organs.

Herodotus was wrong.

Photo of the dogfish - looks like a small shark

He discovered that the dogfish — a small shark — gives birth to live young.
Not eggs, like most fish. We'd now call them ovoviviparous.

This was ahead of its time and wasn’t confirmed by scientists until the 19th century.

Bust of Aristotle

Aristotle wasn’t just a philosopher — he was also the world’s first serious zoologist.
More than 2,000 years ago, he began observing animals closely, recording their bodies, habits and behaviour.

🧵 Here are a few of his strangest and most impressive discoveries:

Was this ever mentioned again?

It's nice to hear you learned something new!

YouTube video by The Complete History of Science Podcast The Lodestone, the Compass and the Magnetic Earth

Also on YouTube (as well as most other podcast apps!)

youtu.be/vl7VNxJ6Mqs?...

The Lodestone, the Compass and the Magnetic Earth The Complete History of Science · Episode

Hope people enjoy the latest episode on the history of the science of magnetism:

open.spotify.com/episode/4b9x...

The Complete History of Science A podcast exploring the history of science from the beginning.  We will cover all of the most important scientific discoveries from Archimedes to Newton to Einstein.  The aim is to give a co...

Hi, can I be added to the science feed to post history of science content please. I have a popular podcast:

thecompletehistoryofscience.buzzsprout.com

I am also a published scientist with a PhD in physics:
scholar.google.com.au/citations?us...

Thanks!

Sounds interesting, I'll have a look.

I worked that out lol. What was his PhD?

The Origins of Astronomy The Complete History of Science · Episode

This goes beyond the MUL.APIN tablets though and is perhaps a story for another day.

Let me know if you want more!

Until then enjoy here: open.spotify.com/episode/2j0P...

Astrological predictions depended largely on observations of the planets.

Unlike the Sun, Moon and Stars, the planets paths are much harder to track. The planets ‘wander’ from the Greek word for wanderer ‘planen’.

Plating at the right time meant a good harvest but as time went on these constellations gained associations beyond agriculture.

The high priests became astrologers and used their predictions to advise kings 👑.