The concept of uniform acceleration, space, and time is an
intriguing one if you look at how readily we accept it in modern times. The
same can be said for a lot of our concepts and theories of course, but Drake
explores whether or not Galileo had this understanding.
A central point to the argument that had to be cleared up
was the translation of the original notes. These are notes that were not a part
of any of Galileo's other work, so they do not have that context to help them.
What is important to also understand is that translations from old languages
can change over time. Whether or not that is a good thing is another
discussion, but Drake holds that mistakes are made in more recent translations
when compared to older ones and guessing as to what Galileo was implying.
Galileo also makes his argument for uniform acceleration
without the usage of any diagram. It is strictly what could be considered a verbal
argument. This makes the translations even more important as there are no
diagrams to compare to as drawn by Galileo. If the translations have errors,
the conclusions that are drawn have errors. It is something that propagates
through.
Why is this important? I think it highlights the
understanding that is required in exploring theories and concepts. A student
has to be sure of what they are being taught if they are going to be able to be
confident in using that knowledge they are gaining. As luck would have it, we
have a country that speaks English and holds classes in English. All citizens
learn English as that is the language of the country. The same could be said
for China if you replace English with Chinese, or for Japan, France, Germany,
etc.
We are not having to teach students material from a language
that is not their own (internationals are a special case), but there is still a
concern about the clarity of the language that is used. Drake brings attention
to the differences in the plural and singular form for double in the original
text. If you read it as "double," it has one meaning. If you read it
as "doubles," it has another meaning. Again, this is translation
causing issues, but as said above, it highlights proper word choice being
significantly important.
If a lecturer is talking about force, they have to be
mindful of when they say force or forces. It is known that an object can have
many forces acting on it, but it will only have one resultant force. This
clarity is required to be able to progress in the solution of the equations of
motion for the system.
Stillman Drake, "Uniform acceleration, space, and time," British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 5, pages 21-43 (1970)
