Easier Not to Look

For about 1,400 years, everyone agreed. Earth was the center of everything. The sun, moon, planets, and stars revolved around us. This was the Ptolemaic model. It was taught in universities. Backed by the Church. Just how things were.

Then Copernicus said actually, the sun is the center. Not popular.

Then Galileo improved the telescope. Took it from 3x magnification to 30x. Pointed it at the sky. Saw moons orbiting Jupiter. Saw things that didn't fit the old model.

He invited the scholars to look. Some refused.

They had reasons. The telescope might create illusions. Aristotle never saw these moons, so they probably aren't real. This is a matter for authority, not for looking at things.

These weren't stupid people. They were professors. They'd built careers on the old model. Easier not to look.

We do this constantly.

Climate science has been clear for decades. The telescope is right there. Lots of people would rather not look. Or question whether the telescope works.

We know our economic systems are breaking things. They treat people as resources to extract from. Other models exist. The telescope is there.

We have the technology to switch to clean energy. The problems aren't technical. The telescope is there.

Thomas Kuhn studied how scientific thinking changes. He noticed the old guard rarely converts. They just eventually die. Then a new generation grows up thinking differently.

That's a slow way to learn. Works okay when you have time.

We're not dumber than the people who refused Galileo's telescope. We're about the same.

That's the problem.