Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Search for Copernicus Over

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the lost-and-found dept.

blamanj writes "Nikolaus Kopernik, aka Copernicus, father of modern heliocentric theory, was buried in Frombork Cathedral (Poland) after he died in 1543. However, the cathedral's tombs were a mess, and it was unclear exactly where he was. Archaeologists now believe they've found his remains, and are planning to do DNA testing to verify. The search began in 2004."

7 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. check out that portrait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do you get the impression that old Kopernick was the sort of chap that would run down the street screaming pretty much anything, and maybe he got the heliocentric theory thing right just by coincidence?

    "Apples will set your house on fire!"

    "Birds and dogs mate and give birth to lizards!"

    "By rubbing together two sticks, I created cheese!"

    "The Earth revolves around the sun!"

    "Bannanas are SATAN!!! SATAN!!!"

    "Abolish underwear!!!"

    1. Re:check out that portrait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Umm. Not quite.

      You should not apply current views of knowledge to earlier times when the entire paradigm wa different. Nowadays we prize independent and inovative thinking - as the Greeks did around 500 BC. During the Middle Ages and up to the Renaissance, however, this was not the case. All human knowledge was believed to have already been revealed, either in the Bible or the 'wisdom of ancients', and the job of an intellectual was to extract this knowledge.

      So prior authority was not only important - it was critical. You HAD to cite such authority for your ideas, otherwise they could not be accepted. Producing your own ideas with no authoritative backing was seen as a sin similar to fabricating your base data nowadays. Intellectual giants like Roger Bacon fought against this approach in favour of the experimental method, but it was not really overcome until the 1700s. This is why all writings of this period cite earlier authority.

      School histories of Galileo and others are always done in complete ignorance of the mediaeval mindset, and end up portraying all his opponents as a set of unthinking morons - they were most decidedly not. However, I suppose simple ideas make better television!

  2. Why should we care? by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny

    The world doesn't revolve around Copernicus, you know...

    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  3. DNA Testing... by MrFlannel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, well, we've got these bones. And we're going to test them to make sure they match with the known DNA sequence of Copernicus.

    Alright, so, they track down known relatives... problem is, 500 years? Thats what... 25 generations?
    "Yes, this man is Copernicus's Great-great-great-....-great-grandson. We can see they both have green eyes. This woman is his great-great-...-great-granddaughter, twice removed. We can see by this DNA that they're both left handed. So, of course, these must be is bones!"

    Not to mention he didn't have any kids of his own. Which just quarters the probabiliy of similarities.

    Or did I miss something? Anyone know how accurate this will actually be?

    --
    Clones are people two.
    1. Re:DNA Testing... by Oxen · · Score: 5, Informative

      I haven't read the article, nor am I at all informed as to the specifics of this case. However, they may be able to find a relative with the same mitochondrial DNA or the same Y-chromosome as Copernicus. Both of these pass unchanged from generation to generation.

      A person only inherits mitochondrial DNA from his mother. Using this principle, if we know someone who has descended entirely maternally from a common female ancestor of both him and Copernicus, we can check to see if it is Copernicus.

      The same thing goes for Y-chromosomes and men. This is done surprisingly frequently with historical figures. It was done with the Thomas Jefferson/Slave thing and also with Anastasia Romanov. There is a caveat, however. You cannot distinguish between relatives, so even if it tests positive, it could be Copernicus's brother or another relative in the same genetic umbrella.

      -Mark

      --
      First you animate. Then you SUSPEND!!!
  4. Comments and Documentation by GodOfCode · · Score: 5, Funny

    This shows us how important it is to properly comment and document the code we write!

  5. He must still be alive! by stirz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've seen two photos of the reconstructed head over at German "Spiegel online" and I the first thing that came to my mind was: "That's James Cromwell". Just compare some photos on your own. The similarity is really amazing:-)

    Regards,
    Stirz