For anyone interested in more information on this topic the project has it's own website: http://ordered-universe.com/
I actually worked on this project over last summer, as an intern in the computer science department, trying to visualise some of his ideas for inclusion in a 3d film.
There is some context that I think a lot of people in this thread are missing in regards to grossetestes work. Most importantly, he was one of the earliest practitioners of what we would now call the scientific method, and the one of the first to try and actually link his theories with actual observations.
On top of this, he also attempted to link ancient greek philosophical traditions, which posited an unending constant universe, with (then) contemporary christian ones, which believed in a fixed moment of creation. This led to him being one of the earliest people to put forward the idea of an expanding universe, and propose a scientific explanation to the start to the universe.
Finally, Durham university is one of the best in europe for studying astronomy, and Professor Tom McLeish and the department he's in one of the best. I only mention this as it seems like there are number of comments accusing the researchers of being hacks who are trying to twist science to fit outdated ideas. In reality, what they're doing is assisting historians in analysing how early scientists thought and conceived of ideas in the hope of providing more context to the history of science.
I love this. Do you happen to know of any good reading materials on pre-Enlightenment or even pre-printing press scientific history? It gets boring hearing that there was no academic advancement from the fall of the Roman Empire until Galileo.
I actually worked on this project over last summer, as an intern in the computer science department, trying to visualise some of his ideas for inclusion in a 3d film.
There is some context that I think a lot of people in this thread are missing in regards to grossetestes work. Most importantly, he was one of the earliest practitioners of what we would now call the scientific method, and the one of the first to try and actually link his theories with actual observations.
On top of this, he also attempted to link ancient greek philosophical traditions, which posited an unending constant universe, with (then) contemporary christian ones, which believed in a fixed moment of creation. This led to him being one of the earliest people to put forward the idea of an expanding universe, and propose a scientific explanation to the start to the universe.
Finally, Durham university is one of the best in europe for studying astronomy, and Professor Tom McLeish and the department he's in one of the best. I only mention this as it seems like there are number of comments accusing the researchers of being hacks who are trying to twist science to fit outdated ideas. In reality, what they're doing is assisting historians in analysing how early scientists thought and conceived of ideas in the hope of providing more context to the history of science.