Galileo's Daughter

Longitude by Dava Sobel is a book about how the first accurate clock for determining longitude was made. The book starts off by describing the longitude problem which is about how difficult it is to determine longitude at sea. In order to determine longitude, two clocks are needed, one from the home port and one based upon the local time of the ship. The difference in times allows for the longitude of the ship to be determined. However, it is very hard to make accurate clocks at sea due to the swinging motion of ships making pendulums invalid. This was such a problem that multiple governments offered prizes to solve this longitude problem with the British prize being offered by a Board of Longitude when the Board has determined that the problem is solved. A man, John Harrison, decided to solve this problem by constructing a clock that maintained its accuracy during voyages. John Harrison made five clocks each with increasing accuracy that solved this problem. However, there was also a competing way to determine longitude with astronomy. The astronomist Maskelyne, who was on the Board of Longitude, preferred his method and was very abusive towards Harrison and his clocks. This led to the clocks being seen as inferior to astronomy until John Harrison appealed to King George III. The king’s actions helped the clocks immensely. After the King’s intervention and the accuracy of John Harrison’s fifth clock’s and a replica of his fourth being determined, clocks finally won out over…

Galileo’s Daughter Book Review Dava Sobel, an experienced science writer, has written many books about historical figures of science. She has been a New York Times science reporter and a contributor to many other magazines and publications. She has authored or co-authored multiple prize-winning books. One of her best works is a historical memoir called Galileo’s Daughter. This book is written using the surviving letters from Galileo’s oldest daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, written to Galileo.…

In Galileo’s Daughter, Dava Sobel assembles an account of Galileo’s attempt to prove the heliocentric model of the universe in a world where mans’ logical reasoning is potent, yet second to his devotion to God, and by relation, the Catholic Church. Sobel writes about Galileo’s tendency to question the reasoning of those around him. Though it may not be apparent, Galileo was born into a world of great similarity to the modern day. In Galileo’s time, Science was seen as blasphemy and a tool to…

story. In Galileo’s Daughter, Sobel tells the story of Galileo as well as the tale of Galileo’s daughter, Maria Celeste. Although the book is named Galileo’s Daughter, the book is more about Galileo’s lift through the eyes and writing of his daughter. The main point of this book shows Sobel not only trying to portray Galileo’s life struggles and successes, but she is also trying to show the love between Galileo and his daughter. Galileo’s Daughter reveals many letters written by Maria Celeste…

for death. Kent doesn’t die because his passing would not teach Lear the lesson he needs to be faced with as the death of an advisor is far less impactful than the death of a family member. The question that remains is what the relevance of Kent’s banishment could possibly be, and the answer to as much is that his banishment is the catalyst itself. Kent’s attempt to overturn Lear’s judgment is the latter’s last chance to save himself and his daughter. Kent says it quite plainly himself, telling…

In one situation in describing Dee’s high acquisitive approach to life, Mama recalls, “Often I fought off the temptation to shake her. At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was” (Walker, 61). Notice that Mama does not confront her daughter and instead she “fought off the temptation.” In another scene, where their house burns down and Dee has no remorse towards the situation, Mama proclaims, “Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. She had hated the…

talking about. By letting the readers try to imagine themselves in that position who Kincaid is talking about. Kincaid added, this creates respect in the community as being an honest, hardworking woman. “Kincaid is trying to teach her daughter the steps into womanhood and how hard you have to work to learn the true ways of becoming a lady that is respected into today’s society” (Kincaid, 2013, p.172). Throughout…

But let that go… This in obedience hath my daughter shown me, And more above, hath his solicitings, As they fell out by time, by means, and place, All given to mine ear.” (Act 2 Scene 2) Hamlet is clearly distressed due to his father’s death, and the marriage that soon followed. Hamlet conveys his interest and disinterest towards Ophelia. Rather than Polonius offering support towards her daughter, he uses the situation as an attempt to show his worth to the King. What Polonius had before is now…

characterization, figure, and emotional feeling, “chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle” (167). Maggie has been like this ever since she had received the marks when the house burned down. Maggie does not have much confidence about herself;“how do i look, Mama?” she felt like this because of the scars she had on her body. She is a sensitive child that her mother worried about her “have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car,…

First off, one of the standards that aren’t always seen equal is intelligence. For instance, some parents tend to think that their sons are smarter than their daughters are. They believe that their sons will exceed educationally more than their daughters. For example, in the New York Times they states that “Parents are two and a half times more likely to ask “Is my son gifted?” than “Is my daughter gifted?” However, in reality, girls are about 11 percent more likely to be in a gifted program…