From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Date: Wed May 05 1999 - 07:05:50 MDT
Anders Sandberg wrote:
> "Michael S. Lorrey" <mike@lorrey.com> writes:
>
>
> > Moreover, the scarce information left about the lost 'Atlantis'
> > inspired Columbus in his quest for the new world.
>
> What is the evidence for this being a more important factor than
> finding a trade route to India?
He apparently associated the preponderance of stories of earthquakes and volcanos in the 'indies' with the stories of the destruction of the lost Atlantis, thinking that this Isle beyond the Pillars of Heracles was just another Oriental island.
> >If there had been more substantial supporting 'evidence' for the
> >Ptolemaic solar system, Copernicus and Galileo might have been
> >supressed even more violently than they were.
>
> No, rather the opposite. Their claims would have been less convincing,
> and hence less of a threat. So they might not have been suppressed,
> but instead their ideas could have remained forgotten for a long time.
Possibly, but supressed or forgotten, the effect is the same..
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