Do You believe in science? Even, if it is stained with blood?
Do You believe in science? And what if our scientific dogmatism exists because one scientist killed another one some 420 years ago? A local story from the former Duchy of Sagan. Can we trust in science dogmas if the story of science is stained with blood?
I run local media on the territory of the former Duchy of Sagan. One of the local ducal astronomers, was an assistant of a famous mathematician. He was accused of killing the scandalous royal mathematician of his era, of taking over his laboratory, his work and even his position at the court. Such a story is a part of a local history of the Duchy, with many people - modern scientific heretics- held for an example of why they are being openly and vocally sceptical about the scientific revolution that this change brought to our Duchy.
For over four hundred years, Tycho Brahe's untimely death has been a local mystery. It recently was revealed that Tycho Brache (Tyge Ottesen Brahe; 14 December 1546 - 24 October 1601) was probably fatally poisoned with mercury, but then this information was dismissed. An autopsy of his body revealed the poisoning, after Mr Tycho Brahe died from bladder inflamation on the morning of 24 October 1601. Baron Peter von Rosenberg invited him 11 days earlier for a banquet along with a student of the mathematician, our ducal astronomer Jan Kepler (Johannes Kepler).
"An obvious question that arises from these accounts is why nobody tried to catheterise Brahe in an effort to facilitate the healing process of his damaged bladder. Jessenius was Brahe’s physician and was no stranger to catheters. He had even written a treatise on which kinds of catheters to use in difficult situations, proposing that those ‘made of horn and made flexible by soaking them in warm water’ would be more effective than the more common wax catheters. Why, in this case, did he not help Brahe? Perhaps this was because somebody did want Brahe dead". Source: https://
First samples of hair and beard samples were extracted from Brahe’s tomb in 1901, however it was in 1992 that first accusations of poisoning started to gain force. Bent Kæmpe, forensic expert from Danemark, and Swedish physicist Jan Pallon, raised concerns. Formal exhumation took place in 1901: "In 1901, Brahe was exhumed to look for evidence of those kidney stones, but none were found." and again, in 2010. He was officially buried 3 consecutive times.
"Data showed a mercury concentration of 6.20 μg/g (6.2 micrograms of mercury per gram of beard-hair), which was interpreted as very high but not uncommon to values found in the contemporary unexposed population. Tycho Brahe's tomb was opened a second time in 2010. Hair, bone and textile samples were again collected. "
Source: https://nucleus.iaea.
"… Brahe is being disinterred starting November 15 for analysis for the second time since he was buried in Prague in 1601. Testing on hair samples taken from Brahe’s tomb the first time, in 1901, showed an abnormally high mercury content in the astronomer’s body, raising the possibility that he had been poisoned. But Brahe may well have met his fate by less malicious means; for centuries medical practitioners applied mercury as a treatment for maladies such as syphilis. …
The poison angle got a new look in 2004 in the book Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History’s Greatest Scientific Discoveries. Not only was Brahe poisoned, contended Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder, but all signs point to his famed protégé, Johannes Kepler, as the culprit." source: http://www.
"Data showed a mercury concentration of 6.20 μg/g (6.2 micrograms of mercury per gram of beard-hair), which was interpreted as very high but not uncommon to values found in the contemporary unexposed population. Tycho Brahe's tomb was opened a second time in 2010. Hair, bone and textile samples were again collected. "
Source: https://nucleus.iaea.
"… Brahe is being disinterred starting November 15 for analysis for the second time since he was buried in Prague in 1601. Testing on hair samples taken from Brahe’s tomb the first time, in 1901, showed an abnormally high mercury content in the astronomer’s body, raising the possibility that he had been poisoned. But Brahe may well have met his fate by less malicious means; for centuries medical practitioners applied mercury as a treatment for maladies such as syphilis. …
The poison angle got a new look in 2004 in the book Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History’s Greatest Scientific Discoveries. Not only was Brahe poisoned, contended Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder, but all signs point to his famed protégé, Johannes Kepler, as the culprit." source: http://www.
Composed by: Adam Fularz
Literature:
Forensic analysis: https://projekter.
162. van der Plicht, J., Kaupová, S.D., Velemínský, P., Smolík, J., Kučera, J., Kameník, J., Havránek, V., Brůžek, J., Vellev, J., Rasmussen, K.L. (2020). On the diet of Tycho Brahe and his wife: did they consume fish from stagnant pools? Heritage Science 8:73. https://doi.org/10.1186/
151. Dorch, B.F., Holck, J.P., Rasmussen, K.L., Christensen, M.B.E. (2019). Making Tycho Brahe’s Sky Accessible to Future Astronomers. Under One Sky – The IAU Centenary Symposium, Proceedings IAU, Symposium No. 349, 2018.
150. Guyomarc’h, P., Veleminsky, P., Bruzek, J., Lynnerup, N., Horak, M., Kucera, J., Rasmussen, K.L., Podliska, J., Dragoun, Z., Smolik, J. , Vellev, J. (2018). Facial approximation of Tycho Brahe’s partial skull based on estimated data with TIVMI-AFA3D. Forensic Science International, vol 292, 131-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
147. Kacki, S., Veleminsky, P., Lynnerup, N., Kaupova, S., Jeanson, A.L., Povysil, C., Horak, M., Kucera, J., Rasmussen, K.L, Podliska, J., Dragoun, Z., Smolik, J., Vellev, J., Bruzek, J. (2018). Rich table but short life: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and its possible consequences. PLoS ONE, 19. April 2018. http://journals.plos.org/
142. Kučera, J., K.L. Rasmussen, J. Kameník, M. Kubešová, L. Skytte, C. Povýšil, V. Karpenko, V. Havránek, P. Velemínský, N. Lynnerup, J. Bružek, J. Smolík J. Vellev (2017). Was he murdered or was he not? - Part II: Multi elemental analyses of hair and bone samples of Tycho Brahe and histopathology of his bones. Archaeometry, vol 59, 918–933.
130. Rasmussen, K.L., Kučera, J., Skytte, L., Kameník, J., Havránek, V., Smolík, J., Velemínský, P., Lynnerup, N., Bruzek, J., Vellev, J. (2013). Was he murdered or was he not? – Part I: Analyses of mercury in the remains of Tycho Brahe. Archaeometry 55, 1187-1195.
J. Kučera et al. "Was He Murdered or Was He Not? —Part II: Multi-Elemental Analyses of Hair and Bone Samples from Tycho Brahe and Histopathology of His Bones", Archeometry, volume 59, 5th delivery (November 28, 2016).
Jonas, Ludwig, Jaksch, Heiner, Zellmann, Erhard, Klemm, Kerstin I, and Andersen, Peter Hvilshøj. “Detection of Mercury in the 411-year-old Beard Hairs of the Astronomer Tycho Brahe by Elemental Analysis in Electron Microscopy.” Ultrastructural Pathology 36, no. 5 (2012): 312-19.
Kacki, Sacha, Velemínský, Petr, Lynnerup, Niels, Kaupová, Sylva, Jeanson, Alizé Lacoste, Povýšil, Ctibor, Horák, Martin, Kučera, Jan, Rasmussen, Kaare Lund, Podliska, Jaroslav, Dragoun, Zdeněk, Smolík, Jiří, Vellev, Jens, and Brůžek, Jaroslav. “Rich Table but Short Life: Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and Its Possible Consequences.” PloS One 13, no. 4 (2018): E0195920.
Rasmussen, K. L, Kučera, J, Skytte, L, Kameník, J, Havránek, V, Smolík, J, Velemínský, P, Lynnerup, N, Bruzek, J, and Vellev, J. “Was He Murdered Or Was He Not?—Part I: Analyses of Mercury in the Remains of Tycho Brahe.” Archaeometry 55, no. 6 (2013): 1187-195.
Wyner, Lawrence M. “Urologic Demise of Astronomer Tycho Brahe: A Cosmic Case of Urinary Retention.” Urology (Ridgewood, N.J.) 88 (2015): 33-35.
--Literature:
Forensic analysis: https://projekter.
162. van der Plicht, J., Kaupová, S.D., Velemínský, P., Smolík, J., Kučera, J., Kameník, J., Havránek, V., Brůžek, J., Vellev, J., Rasmussen, K.L. (2020). On the diet of Tycho Brahe and his wife: did they consume fish from stagnant pools? Heritage Science 8:73. https://doi.org/10.1186/
151. Dorch, B.F., Holck, J.P., Rasmussen, K.L., Christensen, M.B.E. (2019). Making Tycho Brahe’s Sky Accessible to Future Astronomers. Under One Sky – The IAU Centenary Symposium, Proceedings IAU, Symposium No. 349, 2018.
150. Guyomarc’h, P., Veleminsky, P., Bruzek, J., Lynnerup, N., Horak, M., Kucera, J., Rasmussen, K.L., Podliska, J., Dragoun, Z., Smolik, J. , Vellev, J. (2018). Facial approximation of Tycho Brahe’s partial skull based on estimated data with TIVMI-AFA3D. Forensic Science International, vol 292, 131-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
147. Kacki, S., Veleminsky, P., Lynnerup, N., Kaupova, S., Jeanson, A.L., Povysil, C., Horak, M., Kucera, J., Rasmussen, K.L, Podliska, J., Dragoun, Z., Smolik, J., Vellev, J., Bruzek, J. (2018). Rich table but short life: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and its possible consequences. PLoS ONE, 19. April 2018. http://journals.plos.org/
142. Kučera, J., K.L. Rasmussen, J. Kameník, M. Kubešová, L. Skytte, C. Povýšil, V. Karpenko, V. Havránek, P. Velemínský, N. Lynnerup, J. Bružek, J. Smolík J. Vellev (2017). Was he murdered or was he not? - Part II: Multi elemental analyses of hair and bone samples of Tycho Brahe and histopathology of his bones. Archaeometry, vol 59, 918–933.
130. Rasmussen, K.L., Kučera, J., Skytte, L., Kameník, J., Havránek, V., Smolík, J., Velemínský, P., Lynnerup, N., Bruzek, J., Vellev, J. (2013). Was he murdered or was he not? – Part I: Analyses of mercury in the remains of Tycho Brahe. Archaeometry 55, 1187-1195.
J. Kučera et al. "Was He Murdered or Was He Not? —Part II: Multi-Elemental Analyses of Hair and Bone Samples from Tycho Brahe and Histopathology of His Bones", Archeometry, volume 59, 5th delivery (November 28, 2016).
Jonas, Ludwig, Jaksch, Heiner, Zellmann, Erhard, Klemm, Kerstin I, and Andersen, Peter Hvilshøj. “Detection of Mercury in the 411-year-old Beard Hairs of the Astronomer Tycho Brahe by Elemental Analysis in Electron Microscopy.” Ultrastructural Pathology 36, no. 5 (2012): 312-19.
Kacki, Sacha, Velemínský, Petr, Lynnerup, Niels, Kaupová, Sylva, Jeanson, Alizé Lacoste, Povýšil, Ctibor, Horák, Martin, Kučera, Jan, Rasmussen, Kaare Lund, Podliska, Jaroslav, Dragoun, Zdeněk, Smolík, Jiří, Vellev, Jens, and Brůžek, Jaroslav. “Rich Table but Short Life: Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and Its Possible Consequences.” PloS One 13, no. 4 (2018): E0195920.
Rasmussen, K. L, Kučera, J, Skytte, L, Kameník, J, Havránek, V, Smolík, J, Velemínský, P, Lynnerup, N, Bruzek, J, and Vellev, J. “Was He Murdered Or Was He Not?—Part I: Analyses of Mercury in the Remains of Tycho Brahe.” Archaeometry 55, no. 6 (2013): 1187-195.
Wyner, Lawrence M. “Urologic Demise of Astronomer Tycho Brahe: A Cosmic Case of Urinary Retention.” Urology (Ridgewood, N.J.) 88 (2015): 33-35.
Komentarze
Prześlij komentarz