THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

”With very few exceptions, philosophers do not know much science and do not understand it, which is quite natural because science lies beyond the boundaries of typical philosophical subjects such as ethics, aestetics, and gnosiology. But while in the free countries philosophers are quite harmless, in the dictatorial countries they constitute a great danger for the development of science. In Russia, state philosophers are bred in the Communist Academy in Moscow and are placed in all the educational and research institutions to prevent the professors and researchers from falling into idealistic, capitalistic heresies. The state philosophers are usually familiar with the subject of the research institution they are going to supervise, being either former schoolteachers or having taken in the academy a one-semester course on the subject in question. But they rank in the their power above the scientific directors of the institution and can veto any research project on publication which deviates from the correct ideology. One notable example of philosophical dictatorship in Russian science was the prohibition of Einstein’s theory of relativity on the ground that it denied world ether, “the existence of which follows directly from the philosophy of dialectical materialism”. It is interesting to note that the existence of the “world ether” was doubted long before Einstein by Engels, who in one of his letter to friend wrote ‘…the world ether, if it exists’.”

― George Gamow

BIRTHDAYS:

1492 Francesco de Layolle, Italian Renaissance composer and organist. Lasso la dolce vista

1602 Kanō Tan’yū [Kanō Morinobu], Japanese painter.

1610 William Dobson, English portraitist and painter

1678 Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Concerto in D Major RV 212 “St. Antonio”, and Four Seasons: Winter (L’Inverno), original version, and Concerto No. 10 in B minor for 4 violins, Op. 3

1719 Aert Schouman, Dutch bird and portrait painter.

1756 Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter.

1782 Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss folklorist and writer (Swiss Family Robinson).

1813 Wijnand Nuijen, Dutch romantic and water color painter

1856 Alfred William Rich, English painter

1904 George Gamow, Ukrainian-born American nuclear physicist and writer (Big Bang Theory, DNA)

1923 Patrick Moore, British amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter.

MISCELLANY:

AT ONE TIME THIS STORY MIGHT HAVE BEEN COVERED BY THE AMERICAN PRESS.
Argentina’s Milei warns lawmakers he will make reforms ‘with or without’ them

SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW. Alma Deutscher. Piano concerto in E-flat major. ii: Adagio (in memoriam)

FOCUSED PROTECTION: The Great Barrington Declaration

Yes, the following is on the website for the Bulgarian Association for Pathology (BPAP). As near as I can tell, the Canadian website was taken down.

SCIENCE, ETHICS, AND THE NUREMBERG CODE: Declaration of Canadian Physicians for Science and Truth

RELATED. Nuremberg Code