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Arguably the first science, was the science of astronomy. Beginning in the middle east I begin with a look at science in ancient Egypt, before moving onto their more sophisticated neighbours The Babylonians. Along the way I discuss the astronomical discoveries of these early cultures and ask the question: Why did science start here?

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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The Greeks were undoubtedly the most important culture in the development of early science. This episodes investigates how Greek astronomy world grew out of their philosophical traditions and was succesful in being able to explain many astronomical phenomena.

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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We take for granted that science is quantitative. But the early Greeks were primarily interested in philosophical argument rather than careful measurement. This began to change in the 3rd century BC when two of the great figures in early science came on the scene. Eratosthenes would measure the circumference of the Earth, while Aristarchus would be even more ambitious and would attempt to measure the distance to the Sun and the Moon.

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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In the second century B.C. Greek astronomy came of age. While it had previously been closely connected with philosophy and mathematics, the increased use of observation pushed astronomy into the realm of science. And the man most responsible for this was Hipparchus of Nicaea.

This episode delves into some of Hipparchus's achievments, as well as arguing that more than any other persons Hipparchus was responsible for turning astronomy into a fully fledges science.

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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By the beginning of the 1st century A.D. the great age of astronomy in ancient Greece was coming to an end. However, before it did, there was one last noteworthy figure, who would take ancient astronomy to its pinnacle. Ptolemy wrote arguably the most important work of science in the ancient world. Known as The Almagest, it would collect all early knowledge of astronomy into a single work, and set the course of science for the next 1000 year.

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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Ancient Greece was the birthplace of many scientific fields. The men we have to thank for this are the Greek philosophers, who while not scientists in our sense, were frequently exploring scientific ideas. The greatest of these 'scientific' philosophers was arguably Aristotle, whose interest in the natural world would, more than any other individual in antiquity, shape the development of scientific thought. While we now know most of his ideas were false, this episode sets out to defend his legacy and place it in the context of the scientific work which would for the next millenia develop under his influence. In this episode we explore Aristotle's contribution in many fields including his theory of matter, theory of motion and his zoology.

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Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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Archimedes is a unique indiviudal in the history of science. Unlike all of his ancient contemporaries, his scientific legacy is still largely intact and widely accepted in the modern era. While many legends surround his life, we delve into his more solid scientific legacy and explore the impact and importance of his work.

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Twitter: @complete_sci
Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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Many Greek scientific fields were born out of simple questions. Optics was one such field, which was not so much the study of light, but an attempt to answer the question, "How do we see?". This episode takes in the development of Optics over the course of around 500 years from its inception to the work of Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D.

Contact: thecompletehistoryofscience@gmail.com
Twitter: @complete_sci
Music Credit: Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License