Author: Ralph Ellis

Preserving The Enlightenment 1

PRESERVING THE ENLIGHTENMENT

We have all seen the images: ISIS Neanderthals smashing up their own heritage and history because they think that the entire universe revolves around a little book, no bigger than the average novel. So where did this barbarity come from? Why have large sections of humanity steered themselves off the tortuous road towards higher civilisation over the many centuries, and into the fetid ditch of depraved ignorance? Read more…

Hero of Alexandria and his Magical Jars 2

HERO OF ALEXANDRIA AND HIS MAGICAL JARS

The most famous and successful of the scientists and engineers from the first century was Hero (Heron) of Alexandria, who was conjuring up all kinds of weird and wonderful mechanical gadgets and steam engines that both entertained the royalty and dumbfounded the faithful in the temples. The ancestry of Hero is unknown. He came from Alexandria in Egypt, but Carl Boyer, a historian of science and mathematics, has said that his work and mathematics demonstrate that Hero must also have had Parthian and Greek influences. Read more…