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He literally put his life on the line advocating that the church (which believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around it because of their interpretation of The Bible) look to science first when trying to solve problems in nature.

The church tried him, threatened him with torture and execution, and eventually he recanted so as not to be tortured to death.

People in the same era were simply burned to death for lesser heresies, Galileo was a bishop in the church and a friend of the pope, so he got away with a lot more. I think of him as the Lenny Bruce of science. Just like LB is a big part of the reason why people like george carlin don't get arrested for their comedy, Galileo is a big reason why people don't (anymore) get arrested for teachings evolutionary Biology and other subjects.

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13y ago

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