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Epicycle: Difference between revisions
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Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{a|cosmology|450px|thumb|center|An [[ad hoc hypothesis yesterday.]]}}In Ptolemaic and other geocentric astronomies, epicycles were necessary fea...") |
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Of course it later became apparent that the planets weren’t orbiting the Earth at all, but were prescribing simple, lazy ellipses around the sun. | Of course it later became apparent that the planets weren’t orbiting the Earth at all, but were prescribing simple, lazy ellipses around the sun. | ||
Why mention this on a wiki largely devoted to complaining about modern legal practice in financial services? Because of its ''metaphorical power'', | Why mention this on a wiki largely devoted to complaining about modern legal practice in financial services? Because of its ''metaphorical power'', of course. The existence of epicycles was classic “[[ad hoc hypothesis]]” — a desperate attempt to shore up a research programme that was otherwise in crisis, because no-one wants to give up a cosmological theory that has worked perfectly well for twelve centuries. | ||
{{c2|Astrophysics|Metaphor}} | {{c2|Astrophysics|Metaphor}} | ||