A VISIT TO THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, EDINBURGH
On the 12th of October our little group of students from the University of Stirling reached the summit of Blackford Hill (164m) in Edinburgh. We were on a mission not to look up for the stars, but from these amazing site with stunning views from the hilltop and welcomed by a librarian and a Science Communicator of the Royal Observatory, we were on a mission to be enlightened about how science can be communicated to the general public.
There seems to be a major concern among scientists about how to communicate and transpose science to children, educated adults, or simply to 'Joe the Plumber' without losing its essence. How to educate the general public without deforming science? It seems these questions would ring a bell to the students that we are in Translation Studies… Since our work leads us sometimes to the difficult questions: how to translate a text without losing its essence? Without deforming its initial cultural message?
THE WILL TO SHARE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE HAS ALWAYS EXISTED
The Crawford Library is named after James Lindsay, the 14th Earl of Crawford, who generously donated his collection to the nation in 1888. For more information visit http://www.roe.ac.uk/roe/library/crawford/
The Crawford Collection is considered amongst the four truly great astronomical collections of the world, containing over 15,000 books.
The impressive collection of books dating as far as the XII century proves that scientific works needed to be communicated to the world. However, only scholars and educated people could have access to these books.
As for us when entering the room, a collection of precious books have been displayed on a table, laid out chronologically so that we could understand better the evolution of mathematics, astronomy and physics through centuries.
We were not given any explanation as to the quality of the translated manuscripts and books, but some had to be revised in later editions.
Seeing the wonderful beauty of this collection, it is clear from Alhazen's discoveries on the human eye in his Book of Optics, to Newton's Law of Gravity, there was a will to transfer the scientific knowledge as part of a scientific heritage.
The Crawford Collection is considered amongst the four truly great astronomical collections of the world, containing over 15,000 books.
The impressive collection of books dating as far as the XII century proves that scientific works needed to be communicated to the world. However, only scholars and educated people could have access to these books.
As for us when entering the room, a collection of precious books have been displayed on a table, laid out chronologically so that we could understand better the evolution of mathematics, astronomy and physics through centuries.
We were not given any explanation as to the quality of the translated manuscripts and books, but some had to be revised in later editions.
Seeing the wonderful beauty of this collection, it is clear from Alhazen's discoveries on the human eye in his Book of Optics, to Newton's Law of Gravity, there was a will to transfer the scientific knowledge as part of a scientific heritage.