English translation
Hello, this video will be about Nicolaus Copernicus, one of the greatest Poles in the history and a great revolutionary who completely changed the way the world was perceived, what is called the Copernican Revolution [alternative name provided]. If you are watching this video, please turn on the subtitles, this way you will be able to follow what I say in English, even though I speak in Polish, because this video, (like) other videos on my channel, „Polish with Radek” is directed to people who are learning Polish.
I come from Toruń, the same city where Nicolaus Copernicus was born, so he is a big inspiration for me. Now you may ask: „No, Radek, what are you talking about… How can someone who was born in the 15th century inspire you, a lot of time has passed since then, it’s been ages, you must have other inspirations? I have other inspirations, but one of these inspirations is Nicolaus Copernicus.
And today I will tell you not only about the biography of this astronomer, but about eight things… thoughts: what contributed to his success, or what’s interesting, when it comes to his discoveries. So it won’t be a typical historical or biographical film, but rather a more personal reflection. I hope you will like it.
As usual, you can read the entire transcript of what I’m talking about here. There is a link to this transcript in the video description. You can download (such) transcript and analyze it at your own pace. Translating incomprehensible words, or by following the English translation that you will find (right) next to the Polish transcript.
The first (such) thing which is worth highlighting in the biography of Nicolaus Copernicus is that you could say that he was a person who was born in the right place and at the right time… Success doesn’t come out of nowhere. What do I mean by that? The fact that Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Toruń at the moment of its greatness. He developed most of his career in the 16th century which is considered the golden age in the history of Poland, i.e. when Poland had the greatest importance in its history.
Copernicus was also born into a wealthy merchant family. It is speculated that his surname „Copernicus” comes from the English word 'copper’, [meaning copper], and that his family, his ancestors, were involved in the copper trade. He also had institutional support because his uncle, Łukasz Watzendrode was an influential diplomat, the Bishop of Warmia, a university lecturer. Such support, or even patronage, from his uncle allowed Copernicus to develop, both as a church official, as well as as a scientist.
Malcolm Gladwell in (the) book titled „Poza schematem”, or in English it is „Outliers”, describes that (for example) biographies of people such as Bill Gates also show that the success of these people is not so much due to their own genius, but to do the right thing in the circumstances, where this thing would the most potential, and would still be in the early stages of its development. And for Gates it was IT systems, the Internet, while for Copernicus it was astronomy.
He was born in 1473, and it was in the years of his youth, when he went to college that Columbus discovered America (from the point of view of Europeans). The second (such) event was Martin Luther’s revolution, who started the Reformation in the Catholic Church in 1517. These two events (and of course a number of others) made it such a moment in history when societies were open to new ideas that were not acceptable before.
The second point is Copernicus’s broad education which also allowed him to have broad horizons, and interdisciplinary knowledge, which likely allowed him to use the findings of certain fields of science in the context of other fields of science. It is said that Copernicus was (a kind of) a renaissance man, he studied both law and medicine, he knew mathematics, astronomy and even economics. Probably these broad horizons, this curiosity, allowed him to keep an open mind, thanks to which he arrived at his discoveries.
The third element is (a kind of) a sense of challenge, that accompanied Copernicus. Before Copernicus, the geocentric theory was in force, which said that the Earth was at the center of the solar system, or even the universe. And the author of this theory was the ancient scientist, Ptolemy. In Copernicus’ records there is a comparison which says that the conditions he had in Poland in Frombork, when he conducted his research, were not as good as those that Ptolemy had.
Copernicus was bothered by damp, vapors from the Vistula River that covered the sky and he could not carry out his measurements with sufficient precision. And Ptolemy did not face such obstacles, when he was conducting his research in the Nile Valley. I think it’s (actually a kind of) a nice contrast: Vistula on one side and Nile on the other side, and this (kind of) sense of challenge, competition between Copernicus, who lived in the 15th century and the ancient scholar whose theory Copernicus tried to refute.
Another thing that deserves attention, is Copernicus’s acceptance of the church hierarchy. At that time, the Church was one of the strongest institutions that had enormous power concentrated in its hands. Copernicus knew this, but he was also part of this institution, he was a church hierarch, so it was harder to challenge his theories, because they came from within this institution. And that is one of the reasons why his theories were accepted by the Church, they were a kind of a curiosity, or an alternative view of the world.
It was only several dozen years after Copernicus’ death that these theories began to be questioned. And as a result, they were also listed on the index of prohibited books, as contrary to the Church’s faith. And it would probably happen faster, if Copernicus was an „outsider” (from the very beginning). I.e. it would be easier to accuse him of disbelief, inconsistency with the doctrine of the Church. This shows that sometimes within one’s (such) revolutionary, activist agenda, it is worth accepting the order that rules the world because it is not always possible to introduce a new idea without respect [alternative word provided] for the existing social order. Of course we may like it or not, but this is often the reality.
Copernicus contributed to the Church, among others, already in 1514, when, thanks to his mathematical knowledge, he helped to reform the calendar. The calendar that was in force until then did not agree with the facts. That is, there was a substantial shift between what the date on the calendar indicated and the seasons that could be seen outside the window. And this help from Copernicus turned out to be a success, that is, the calendar was reformed, and it is still in force today. And Copernicus’ theory was viewed in a somewhat similar way. I mean, it seemed like this heliocentric theory would help make… make the state of knowledge or applicable theories consistent with practice [or evidence].
Okay. Another fact is (a kind of) desire to pursue the truth. That is, even though Copernicus was part of the Catholic Church, part of this institution, he took advantage of the influence, the position it gave him, he remained independent and developed his theories in accordance with the truth, in accordance with what he noticed, what his reason and perhaps also his heart was telling him. In the introduction to his greatest work, i.e. „On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres…”, Copernicus wrote to the Pope that he realizes that his work is fresh, unconventional and at times even absurd, but he would like to present it anyway, because he thinks it is true.
And here we come to the next point, i.e. preparation. Even though Copernicus had been already expressing his theories several decades earlier, he knew that in order for them to have a chance to question the current order, they must be well-documented. Copernicus created some astronomical tools himself, so that he could back up what he claimed with facts. For example, one of such facts was the period how long it takes each planet to orbit the sun.
Another (such) virtue is attachment to beauty. Copernicus assumed that the planets moved in circular orbits, which referred to Aristotle’s ideas, who considered the circle to be the perfect shape. Later Kepler, several dozen years after Copernicus, proved that these orbits are not circular, but elliptical. But this vision of circular orbits, and additionally planets, which move along the so-called epicycles, appealed to Copernicus very much. Perhaps that’s why this theory got a chance. If it was from the very beginning said that the planets move in elliptical orbits, this theory would be considered less attractive, less correct.
And the last, eighth thing that we can learn from Copernicus, is (this kind of) dedication for his life’s work. Already in the 1590s Copernicus received his first exposure to the new ideas. And probably already then he started thinking that the heliocentric theory is the right one. And yet it took him nearly 50 years to present it. There is a legend that says that Copernicus left this world shortly after the finished work that he had published was brought to his bed.