This is a summative assignment i.e. the marks form 30% of the total assessment for the Astronomy For All Module. Doing well on this means that you will be most of the way to a module pass.
Write a ~2000 word essay on ONE of the two questions listed below.
Deadline is 5pm on Friday 26th April
A Hellenophile suffers from a form of madness that blinds him or her to historical truth and creates in the imagination the idea that one of several false propositions is true. The first of these is that the Greeks invented science; the second is that they discovered a way to truth, the scientific method, that we are now successfully following; the third is that the only real sciences are those that began in Greece; and the fourth (and last?) is that the true definition of science is just that which scientists happen to be doing now, following a method or methods adumbrated by the Greeks, but never fully understood or utilized by them. (David Pingree, Hellenophilia versus the History of Science, Isis 83 (1992), p. 555.)
Discuss each of the characteristics David Pingree attributes to a Hellenophile in the light of what we have looked at in the lectures. Your answer should include for each attribute a detailed discussion of an example from the course which either supports or contradicts the Hellenophiles view. Marks will be awarded for clear and well-argued essays, irrespective of which viewpoint you hold.The anthropic cosmological principle asserts that the laws, constants and basic structure of the universe are not completely arbitrary. Instead they are contrained by the requirement that they must allow for the existence of intelligent observers, ourselves. Assess the extent of this 'fine-tuning' of physical laws, and discuss whether this necessitates the existence of either a multitude of Universes, or of a God.
Your answer should include a discussion of the Big Bang initial conditions, including the ratio of strengths of fundamental forces, expansion rate and density, together with the formation of heavy elements in stars and their dispersal in supernovae. Clearly distinguish between the weak and strong versions of the Anthropic Principle, and outline your assessment as to the strengths of the conclusions which can be drawn. Any cogent and coherent argument will get marks irrespective of the conclusion. You should include a complete bibliography, including references to web sites (beware of nutters) where applicable.