The article “Leonardo da Vinci’s Visualization of Gravity as a Form of Acceleration,” published in the aptly named journal Leonardo (peer-reviewed, MIT Press Direct), has gained some fame, as it has appeared in many news articles. The authors claim that Leonardo understood gravity almost as well as Newton, and even suggest that he anticipated Einstein’s equivalence principle. José María González Ondina presents a more likely interpretation, based on Leonardo’s own manuscripts, that negates these incredible claims.
Shermer and Loeb discuss: anomalies in science and astronomy in particular • Galileo and Saturn • Signal Detection Theory • face on Mars • Is Oumuamua ETI in origin? • Intelligent Design • Carl Sagan and SETI • Law of Very Large Numbers • How many unknown knowns could account for Oumuamua? • Kip Thorne • gravitational waves • multiverse theory, and more…
In episode 157 of The Michael Shermer Show, Dr. Shermer speaks with Avi Loeb about his new book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth which outlines his controversial theory and its profound implications for science, religion, and the future of our species and our planet.
In this week’s eSkeptic, John C. Snider reviews Galileo’s Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition.
