When I reached the last page of the Starry Messenger and felt relieved, I came across a sentence that struck me.
“It is known that the interposition of terrestrial vapors makes the sun and moon appear large while the fixed stars and planets are made to appear smaller.” (Galileo 58)
The reason it caught my attention is that while Galileo understood of the similarity between the natural machine and the artificial one, he also knew that there is in fact a difference in effect that the two can produce. And Shapin also acknowledges this notion by stating that
“…except that the former must necessarily be proportioned in size to the hands of their builders, whereas the machines that produce natural effects may be so small as to be invisible.” (Shapin 32)
Galileo knew that in order to go beyond where Aristotelian natural philosophers have reached, he needed an instrument that could provide him with the visual information and the means of verification.
And his telescope did just that; it provided him with the incredible views that has never been explored before him. The illustrations and diagrams in Starry Messenger owe a great credit to Galileo”s telescope and the believers of Galileo in turn owe a great credit to his illustrations and diagrams.
There is no doubt that Galileo”s work in Starry Messenger has set the standard for the modern scientific experiment. The experiments conducted at schools today require students to come up with a question, formulate a hypothesis, identify the control and the experimental group, etc. This typical genre of scientific experiment is taught in schools and is practiced by modern scientists. Using this method, one can easily find out whether or not if his/her hypothesis was right and only the experiments conducted with this method are accepted by the majority.
If one has perused and understood Galileo”s writing in Starry Messenger, he/she would be able to identify all of the elements that are required in the modern scientific experiments. Needless to say, he provides countless observations and records. In order to explain why the lighted part of the moon does not appear to be perfectly elliptical but rather the line formed by the lighted parts and dark spots irregularly crosses the ideal line, he asks the following question to provide a logical answer:
“And on earth, before the rising of the sun, are not the highest peaks of the mountains illuminated by the sun”s rays while the plains remain in shadow?” (Galileo 33)
If the moon is considered an experimental group, the phenomenon on earth explained above would be considered as a control group that retains similar characteristics but give a different result depending on the experiment. He goes on with a few more of the similar questions just to make sure to have his readers understand but this is only a part of countless examples that Galileo provides of the elements found in a modern scientific experiments.
Galileo indeed is indispensable individual if we are to make a list of “the most influential contributors to the scientific revolution and the establishment of modern science.” He has definitely set the standard for the modern scientific experiment. I remember drawing pictures of cells bacteria and recording my observations after looking through a microscope in high school. And that is just what Galileo did when he wrote Starry Messenger. Thus Galileo is a big contributor to the scientific revolution in that sense; he has truly defined what an acceptable scientific experiment ought to be.
