Was Galileo an expert at conformity?

[Boojatta]

He is famous for dissent, but it's doubtful that he was always pursuing the truth. Wouldn't dissent have gotten him into trouble when he was a young student, and prevented him from obtaining the credentials that gave him the opportunity to pursue the truth?

It would surprise me if Galileo had discovered the truth while he was merely trying to conform. However, given his interests, and the time and effort that he devoted to his unorthodox research, his creative accomplishments don't seem particularly noteworthy.

I would like to compare him to an athlete competing at the Olympics. What makes an Olympic Gold Medalist unusual? The number of competitors is relatively small. If there were only enough lottery tickets to give one ticket to every athlete competing in a particular event at the Olympics, then the odds of winning such a lottery would be pretty good. What deserves attention isn't winning such a lottery, but having a ticket. The major leap isn't from Olympic competitor to Olympic Gold medalist. The major leap is from random member of the general public to competitor in the Olympics.

Following this train of thought, I see conformity as Galileo's main claim to fame. I would like to know how he acquired his expertise at conformity. I would like to see a series of lectures to help others acquire that kind of expertise. Without that expertise, many people don't have a ticket. Without a ticket, they can't win.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Reminds me of that classic line from 'Jesus Camp'

The homeschooled kid says to hiss mom: "OH! Now I understand why Gallileo gave up science for Jesus!"

[Boojatta]

2. Kick

[Recursion]

3. When he was in school, heliocentrism was largely accepted

The argument wasn't that Copernicus was wrong, but that you shouldn't tell the plebs about it. He ran into trouble in a much more conservative era when the counter-reformation had taken over.

[Boojatta]

4. Kick