The concept of fake news has become a hot topic in recent years. With the current ease of online interconnectivity, misinformation can proliferate at a rapid rate and pose a large threat to our social integrity. This is particularly true of social media platforms, where misleading content such as articles or videos have the ability to heavily influence public opinion. The statistical analyses of fake news trends helps to play an important role in identifying and combating the spread of misinformation.
Misinformation And Its Impact
Misinformation can be classed as misleading through unintentional inaccuracies, or as disinformation – content that is intentionally designed to deceive. In either case, misinformation can be very damaging. The danger of fake news lies in the rapidity of its spread, which can often become viral due to the highly emotional reactions they elicit or from the echo chambers caused by social media algorithms. Ramifications include political polarisation and social division as well as the erosion of public trust.
A recent example of this can be seen during the COVID-19 pandemic vaccination rollout, where a vast amount of misinformation was shared that lacked scientific evidence, focusing on claims of vaccine negative side effects. This resulted in the hesitancy for vaccination amongst certain demographics, affecting world governments’ efforts to achieve herd immunity and control the health crisis.
Identifying Misinformation
To identify typical patterns of misinformation, mathematical statistics and analysis can be used to establish content credibility and allow for counter measures to be made. By analysing the frequency, sources and spread of information, analysts can use machine learning and data visualisation techniques to see if certain types of content are being shared disproportionality compared to other similar topics.
Techniques such as sentiment analysis involves collecting large amounts of data from shared content by analysing emotional tone through natural language processing. Misinformation typically contains negative sentiments and a large, sudden spike in activity can signal a possible recent spread of misinformation. Network analysis can also help to look at how information is shared between users and identify key influencers and fake news hubs.
Countering Efforts
Once misinformation has been identified, campaigns can be made to raise public awareness of its existence and provide corrected information. Governments can put in place policies to help curb its spread such as the removal of content while enforcing stricter guidelines.
During the 2024 American election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, misinformation was spread throughout prominent social media platforms, particularly within the area of immigration. Trump’s claim that many more migrants have crossed the border than actually reported have been circulating online and is particularly prominent when content is shared in other languages, such as Spanish. Content written in Spanish is not as restricted as heavily as English and can have a particularly adverse effect Latino voters. Organisations such as the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas (DDIA) have aided in tracking misinformation and fact checking content to ensure Latino voters are able to make an informed decision.
Despite such regulators, the challenge of sorting misinformation from truth will continue to be a great one, and arguably is set to become more difficult in the future.
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Data mining is the process of analysing large amounts of data to identify patterns and trends that can be used to make predictions or decisions. Machine learning and algorithms are usually used to handle the vast information gathered, providing intelligence for a wide range of industries including marketing, healthcare and finance. As this area continues to grow, the practice raises many ethical concerns about the invasion of user’s privacy, outcome biases and data transparency.
User Privacy
Many individuals are usually unaware that their data and behaviours are being recorded, with some online platforms failing to clearly inform participants or gain their consent. Although user data is supposedly anonymous, it can be possible to identify individuals from patterns in cross-referenced data sets, where sensitive user data can be exposed.
An example of this was during the Cambridge Analytica Scandal of 2018, when Facebook’s data was mined to create user profiles to influence political campaigns without user consent or awareness. One of the earliest controversies in 2012 involved Target, a US retailer. They developed an algorithm to predict when female customers became pregnant based on their purchase habits in order to send them relevant advertising. In one case, this led to a father receiving pregnancy ads before his daughter had made him aware that she was pregnant.
Outcome Biases
Algorithms trained on historical data that contain certain biases can perpetuate the issue. These historical biases, for example, can lead to lower credit rating scores for individuals from marginalised communities. Biases can also occur from incomplete or inaccurate data which can lead to over simplified outcomes or results, or from unforeseen algorithmic biases, where the programming itself can discriminate due to its coding.
The outcome of these issues can lead to discrimination in certain industries, for example hiring, education and finance. One such example was Amazon’s AI hiring tool, developed in 2014, to identify the best talent from the analyses of job resumes. As the algorithm was based on historical data where the majority of hires were men, the algorithm favoured applicants in male-dominated fields while downgrading resumes from female applicants.
Transparency And Accountability
Given the large amounts of user data collected, transparency helps build trust while protecting individual rights. It means that users should have the right to be informed in a clear fashion that their data is being collected, how it will be used and whether it will be shared with third parties. Algorithms should also have clear guidelines of what criteria they use to make their decisions and organisations should have access to be able to understand and interpret their algorithms decisions. This can be a challenging aspect, given the complexity and ‘black box’ approach of many current algorithms.
The Security Risks Of Data Mining
Data mining raises the question of who owns the data collected and is therefore responsible for its safeguarding. Large amounts of sensitive data are normally a target for hackers and a breach can lead to the theft of personally identifiable information. In 2021, 700 million user records from LinkedIn were breached, exposing names email address and phone numbers, raising the potential for identity theft and phishing.
Future Improvements
As data mining becomes more sophisticated, demands for better privacy and protection will place pressure on organisations to follow practices such as GDPR, where the minimum data required is collected and for a finite time period, or using enhanced encryption techniques and increased regulation and compliance. Bias detection and the incorporation of ethical frameworks will also be critical to ensure fairness and diversity.
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The ancient Americas were home to some of the most sophisticated and innovative societies who had a profound influence on us with their mathematical and astronomical discoveries. We have learnt a lot about their cultures and way of life through their wealth of artifacts and architecture and in this article, we take a closer look at three of these societies in particular: the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas.
The Aztecs
The Aztecs arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century and emerged as a dominant force in central Mexico, establishing themselves in the capital city of Tenochtitlan under direction of their patron god Huitzilopochtli. They employed sophisticated agricultural techniques such as irrigation, had a powerful military presence and were known for their discoveries in tool making, medicine and astronomy.
The religion of the Aztecs shared many common practices with other Mesoamerican societies at the time, including the practice of human sacrifice. They incorporated a 260-day ritual calendar in which to show their religious devotion and constructed many magnificent temples and palaces in honour of their gods. The great Aztec empire eventually came to an end when Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés invaded in 1521.
The Mayans
Mayan society was also based in Mesoamerica – built in the region of modern-day Guatemala – and reached its height during the sixth century AD. They lived in three separate sub-areas with distinct environmental and cultural differences. They too had moved from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agricultural practices, cultivating maize, beans and squash. The Maya built many of their temples in the famously stepped pyramid design, adorned with inscriptions and religious reliefs. It was unclear if these structures were used as residences for their elite leaders or if they served another purpose. The Mayans were well known for their advancements in mathematics and astronomy.
It is not certain what caused the decline of the Mayan empire; some scholars believe it was overpopulation or warfare which ultimately led to their decline. Mayan descendants can still be found in modern day central America.
The Incas
The Incan empire began in Peru in the 1200s and was the largest empire of the ancient Americas. They were skilled at growing their crops on the mountainsides by building large terraces. They created great highways to allow easy transportation and were known for their incredible architecture high in the Andes mountains – Machu Picchu (the remains of which are pictured) being one of them. The Inca believed their rulers were the descendants of the gods and would mummify them in a similar fashion to the Egyptians. Their society was ruled through aristocratic bureaucracy who continually strove to expand the empire’s territory. Interestingly, the Inca didn’t have a written language and instead used knotted cords to keep historical records.
In 1531, Spanish invaders attacked the Incas in search of their gold and set about removing their leaders and disrupting their religious practices, eventually leading to their decline. Some Peruvian descendants still use old Inca weaving techniques to make clothes, while the ancient language of Quechua is still spoken by over eight million people.
For the last 5,000 years, the concept of currency has been used by humanity in some form or another, with its evolution a testament to our constant innovations and adaptions in the face of economic, societal and technological change.
The Bartering System
Before money existed as a physical form of currency, it is generally believed that transactions were made in the form of bartering. Here, items of value such as food, tools, animals and services were traded. The value of these transactions were not set in stone, and were decided by the participating parties at the time. There were, however, issues that occurred with this system; each participant had to desire what the other was offering at the time.
Commodity Money
Regular items of value soon became traded as commodities. As humans began to domesticate animals, cattle served as a primary source for trade. This practice still exists in some countries today, such as South Sudan, where cattle could even be used to purchase a house. Other forms of commodity included cowrie shells, which are sometimes thought of as precursors to coins. They were used by China from the end of the Neolithic period and are the longest and most widely used currency in history.
Coin System
Around 1000 BC, copper and bronze cowrie imitations were made by China as the first form of coinage. However, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, it was in the ancient kingdom of Lydia around the 7th century that true coins made of a gold and silver alloy called electrum started to become circulated. The idea of coinage soon spread to other countries such as Greece and the Roman Empire, and made transactions much easier and flexible without the need to carry heavy items of trade.
Paper Money
Paper money is believed to have originated in ancient China. In the 11th century, during the Song dynasty, paper money was issued to combat a shortage of copper for coin production and as a result of the weight of carrying around large amounts of coin. The later Ming dynasty tried to replace coins with paper currency altogether, leading to currency depreciation, economy inflation and the eventual withdrawal of paper money in China. It wasn’t until 1661 that Sweden became the first European country to issue bank notes.
The Gold Standard
In 1816, England set the precedence to link the value of bank notes to gold reserves. While this offered stability and assurances, it meant that the amount of bank notes in circulation were limited to the size of the reserves. This created a vulnerability to economic fluctuations and during the depression of the 1930s, countries began to move away from the gold standard towards fiat money – a system where the value of currency is determined by a government decree and allows its value to far exceed its actual worth.
Digital Currency
Since the transfer of electronic money became popular through services such as Western Union, the idea of a digital currency has become more popular in modern times, challenging the concept of banks and currency in its traditional sense. In 2009, a cryptocurrency known as bitcoin was launched, a concept of currency not controlled by a political or corporate authority. With the rise in cryptocurrencies, bionic payments, central bank digital currency (CBDC) and digital technology, it may well be that we move towards becoming a cashless society in the very near future.
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the most prestigious of all the international Olympiads and is aimed at secondary school students to help them develop academic excellence, foster cultural exchange and nurture a passion for mathematics.
Competition History
Mathematics competitions began between schools in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the 19th century. The first International Mathematical Olympiad event was held in 1959 in Romania, with seven soviet countries participating. At first, the competitions were very small but over the decades, more countries began to participate from around the world. Gradually, the event has grown to welcome over 100 participating countries, each taking turns to host the event annually. The intensive competition takes place over two days and involves teams of contestants solving three questions during a 4.5 hour exam. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the winning teams.
Cultural And Educational Impact
The International Mathematical Olympiad is much more than a competition. It acts as a platform to showcase exceptional mathematical talent from around the world. It fosters collaboration and cultural exchange within students, allowing them to share ideas and learning. It also challenges and stimulates the growth of its participants, developing their confidence and abilities within the field of mathematics while encouraging them to pursue careers within STEM subjects.
Notable IMO Participants
Some of the contestants of the programme have not only achieved excellent results but have also gone on to make valuable contributions in the field of mathematics. Terence Tao is perhaps one of the best-known IMO members who received gold medals at the young ages of 13 and 14. He was later awarded the Fields Medal, a prestigious award in mathematics and is now a professor at the University of California. Ciprian Manolescu achieved the remarkable feat of completing three flawless papers at the IMO and is recognised for his work in Floer homology. Lisa Sauermann is a German mathematician who was one of the competitions top female scoring participants. Her studies focus on discrete mathematics, particularly in the areas of combinatorics and graph principles.
Competition Challenges
Training for the International Mathematical Olympiad is a rigorous process. New mathematical talents are identified and nurtured through regional and national competitions before being put forward for an intensive series of training camps that cover high-level mathematical challenges.
This process can pose an issue for some countries, who do not have the infrastructure to train participants and therefore become underrepresented within the competition. There is also a gender imbalance of participants taking part in the competitions, with a lower percentage of female students taking part. Addressing these issues will help to enhance the collaborative and diverse nature of the event for all participants.
How The Pomodoro Technique Can Help You
In a recent article, I touched on the Pomodoro technique as a means of being productive when it comes to revision over the Easter break. But, such a fleeting mention doesn’t do justice to just how useful it can be.
The What
The Pomodoro Technique is a strategy aimed at helping people who struggle to focus for long periods and have a short attention span. If you get easily distracted, the Pomodoro is definitely for you. Developed in the 1980s by a University student who struggled to focus on his studies and assignments, the Pomodoro Technique is a strategy for doing work in short stretches. Twenty-five minutes of focus broken up by five-minute breaks, with a longer break of 15-30 minutes after every fourth stretch. It’s a technique that’s applicable beyond revision and can be applied to how you work, manage tasks, and helps you completely remove procrastination as a problem—which is an issue many of us deal with, especially when it comes to those things we just don’t want to do. By breaking tasks down into smaller, more manageable chunks to deal with systematically, that mountain in front of you is reduced to a series of steps. It makes you more efficient, mitigates distraction and ultimately makes you much more accountable to yourself.
The How
The Pomodoro Technique is designed to get work done while preventing the chance of overwhelm or the temptation of distraction. It works best with a bit of preparation and with a timer beside you (that timer should not be your phone, we’re here to remove distractions not add them). To prepare, make a list of the tasks or a single large task broken down into smaller ones. Assemble everything you need and remove anything you don’t. What you’re going to do is flip your perspective from sitting down for the long haul and instead stack a series of small wins through short bursts of focused work with breaks in between.
Once you’re ready, the process is fairly straightforward:
STEP ONE: Choose the task.
STEP TWO: Set your timer and work ONLY on that singular task.
STEP THREE: Once the timer goes off take a five-minute break. Stretch your legs, grab a drink, or check your phone.
STEP FOUR: Repeat steps one to three FOUR times.
STEP FIVE: Take a longer break of between fifteen and thirty minutes. Have some lunch, walk the dog or meditate.
Keep working through the steps like a cycle as you progress through your to-do list, and you’ll soon find yourself racing through it. It may seem deceptively simple, but that’s why it works. The idea behind this method is that the timer instills a sense of urgency. Instead of sitting back with the whole day ahead of you, finding ways to put off the work, time is turned against you. The breaks are there to help you catch your breath and not burn out.
If a task overruns, simply pick it up on the next interval, while if you have tasks that you know won’t take long at all, group them. If you have a sudden revelation of something that needs doing, simply make a note and add it to the list to do later, don’t ruin your momentum by diving into that task immediately. And of course, there are always moments of unavoidable interruption. Whether it’s a knock at the door or being informed of an important phone call, it’s not the end of the world. Simply take that break there, and then start fresh with a new interval from there.
What if you finish that task before the timer is up? Don’t call it early, use your remaining time to brush up further on whatever that task is. Research it more or go over what you’ve done; you’re focused on that particular topic at that moment so it’s important to keep that focus.
Things To Note
This technique isn’t going to change your life and solve all your problems, but it can be a huge help if used properly. With that in mind, it’s important to note that it doesn’t apply to everything and has its limitations. Long-form writing isn’t always the best for this. To really get into the flow of a piece, you do need longer to get the thoughts out of your head, so save the Pomodoro technique for research, editing and planning. Timing-wise, while the windows are relatively short, as you adjust to the technique it’s important to consider lengthening the windows of focused work. As your attention span and working mind adjust to it, you’ll likely find that the short windows begin to hinder more than help and longer stints will be more beneficial. Indeed, with that in mind, you might just come to a point where one day, you may not need it.
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Exam Questions On The Horizon
It might only be March, and May may seem so far away, but two things are worth mentioning: it’s never too early to be exam-ready, and time moves faster than you think it does.
So while you’re stepping up your revision, one of the best and most effective approaches is getting stuck into past exam papers. You’ll have a lot of the fundamentals of whichever subject you’re tackling in your memory already, but these questions will test how you apply what you know. It’s not just about information retention, but how you can use it alongside your problem-solving skills to reach an answer. Don’t think of them as tests but as puzzles.
The Anatomy Of An Exam Question
First of all, let’s pull apart these questions, and typically how they’re put together and the big clues they contain that will tell you what kind of response examiners are looking for (unfortunately, it won’t outright tell you the answer, just how to structure it).
The Prompt: This is the stem, the important part of the question amongst all the jargon and other information you’re given. It’s here that you’ll find the core information and the context for the question. It’s also where the imperative verbs will be that will tell you how to answer it.
Imperative Verbs: pay attention to these, because they are the indicator of just how to go about it. ‘Describe’, ‘compare’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘justify’ will all demand different answers. ‘Describe’ simply wants you to explain, while ‘compare’ will want you to look at the differences between two sets of data/sources. ‘Evaluate’ is likely going to want to you point out the flaws and the strengths of a source and decide on its reliability, and ‘justify’ will be wanting you to back up your answer using evidence from the text. These are just a few examples, so be sure to make a note of all the different ones you run into when looking at past papers, you may just notice a trend.
Supplementary Materials: these will be your data sets/graphs/images/sources depending on the exam you’re taking. It’s important to take the time to give them a good read-through. Your impulse will be to do so quickly and the temptation will be there to skim. Don’t. You’ll run the risk of misreading the information and that can derail your entire answer.
Mark Allocation: Have a glance at the marks available for the question. While not applicable to all exams (those that require longer-form responses) these can be a good indicator of just how much time and effort is required. If there are only a couple of marks at stake and you’re scratching your head at the way to answer it, chances are you’re overthinking it.
Planning Makes Perfect
Be sure to spend a few minutes before writing your answer to plan out what you’re going to say. Jot down some key arguments and examples, and highlight anything you think could be relevant. Prioritise the points you think best fit the answer, and then write. Taking the time here will help focus your writing and stop you from meandering from your point. Plus, should you run out of time, that plan will point out where your answer is going. It may not have much of a bearing on your marks, but you can’t rule out the marker not taking it into account.
Timing
Spending too much time on one question has the consequence of leaving you considerably less time for any subsequent ones. If you’re struggling with a question, the next one you may find much easier—how you’ll kick yourself if you waste time on a lost cause when you could maximise your marks elsewhere on the paper! Two partially answered questions will net you more marks than one good one and one terrible one, bear that in mind.
Using your time wisely is very important, and while it’s understandable that exam situations can cause a bit of stress, and once you get momentum in a question you can lose track of that clock; discipline with your timing is one of the most valuable assets to have in an exam.
Cross Your ‘T’s, Dot Your ‘I’s
Keep in mind to leave yourself five minutes at the end to give your answers one last read-through to catch any errant spellings and missing punctuation. The amount of marks dropped for not adhering to the fundamentals of writing keeps teachers up at night, and you wouldn’t want to lose out on a grade because you misplaced too many commas.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Do Any Of These
Panic! Of course, that’s easier said than done, but keeping your cool will help you save precious time. You can help mitigate your angst by practicing exam papers under timed conditions. It won’t solve everything, but at least it will give you one less thing to be worried about.
Waffle! Keep in mind the points above, and don’t jump straight in to writing your answer, and you’ll do well to avoid this. Long answers that dance around the point don’t score as well as concise ones that are half the length.
Dwell on it. Coming out of the exam wondering what could have been and talking to your friends comparing answers is a great way to bring your mood down. Once time is up, there is nothing else you can do. Take a break, do something to take your mind off it—then on to the next one!
There’s plenty of time between now and the exam, so use it wisely. Just remember, whatever may come results day, if you can get to the end of May and tell yourself that you tried your very best, what else could you do? Nobody can ask more of you than that.
You’ve got this, good luck.
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Improving What You Own
Your reading list probably asks you for newest editions of novels and textbooks. If you own some older editions of these texts already, you might think; ‘why do I need to rebuy something I already own?’ It can be an annoying question, particularly for your parent or legal guardian. After all, it’s their money! Due to cost-of-living pressures, many parents are now spending less on books for their kids. If you have an older sibling, it’s even possible your parents were planning on passing their books down to you. Unfortunately, it’s a plan that’s unlikely to succeed. So, why do you need to purchase the newest editions of books that you may already own? Well, we’ve tried to provide a few different answers to that question for you below.
Presentation for Curriculum Requirements
Over the years, the curriculums have changed. Studying is a lot more learner-friendly than it used to be. Let’s use English literature as an example. Textbooks for the subject would often present quite rigorous, factual questions, very much looking for answers that were distinctly ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. However, things began to change in the mid-1990s.
Some of the textbooks for English literature test pupils quite differently today. Now, schoolkids and home learners alike are tested on more interpretative questions, ones where your reading of the text is more important. You’re allowed to argue your points, and so long as they’re well-structured, well-written, and well-reasoned points, they’re generally marked favourably. It might seem tempting to get an older textbook for a more affordable price, but you’ll also be subjecting yourself to a different mode of learning when it comes to English literature. One that’s incompatible with modern curriculums! That difference likely extends to several other subjects as well.
The Condition of the Book
You might agree that, generally, many people don’t treat their books very well. Instead of arranging them neatly on a shelf at home, some of these books might live in bags or under furniture for months at a time, folded and creased. Others might doodle in their books, spill drinks on the pages, or even playfully use them as weapons against friends. They can also be rudely vandalised for a laugh. So, publishers quite understandably think that passing these texts down and around isn’t always a good idea. Older editions are bound to carry a few ‘battle scars’.
So, if your reading lists ask you for a new edition of a text, it possibly means the person curating it may be trying to evade some of these common issues. It’s not a guarantee – new editions of a text are typically released every 3-4 years with most publishers. Still, the newest edition of a text is harder to buy or borrow second-hand. It all means your learning is less likely to be interrupted, and you can enjoy the reading precisely as intended.
Author Changes
Many authors publish their books and insist the first copy is the final copy. They can get quite touchy about it, believing their integrity and reputation as a writer is on the line.
Others take a more relaxed approach when it comes to making changes. It’s still quite rare they do so, but it does happen! For example, Stephen King rewrote the ending of his 1978 novel, ‘The Stand’, revising the ending once in 1990, and then again for the 2020 TV miniseries adaptation. You’re unlikely to read a Stephen King text for study before university, but the larger point here is that even high-calibre authors do make changes, sometimes. The changes aren’t typically small, either. They can be so large that they fundamentally alter the message and mood of a text. So, in buying the newest edition, you can be sure that you’re grappling with the most relevant copy of a fiction.
Textbooks Can be Wrong
It’s easy to think of study as memorising bulletproof facts. Empirical information is presented to you with great authority, and your learning is rightly taken quite seriously. However, it’s not just authors that might like to change things around. It’s also true that so-called ‘factual’ textbooks can be wrong. After all, even long held scientific understandings about the age of the universe can later be questioned or even outright disproved. The knowledge of the human race is pretty ‘far off’ sometimes, and that’s okay.
This doesn’t mean everything you’re reading is redundant. However, it does mean that buying the latest edition of a text means that you’re more likely to engage with information that is accurate, up-to-date, and has been revised and amended as many times as possible. It also teaches you a valuable a lesson, too; that the learning journey never ends. Professional scientists and scholars are always experimenting and updating their knowledge, presenting incorrect answers to eventually find the correct ones. Equipped with that understanding, you may approach your own learning more comfortably and confidently. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes!
Bonus Material
Newest editions of a text often come with bonus material to make a purchase more enticing for consumers. Some of these add-ons can benefit you during your home learning. You’ll likely know what an appendix is. It’s a section of nonessential writing at the end of an academic text. It’s bonus material, featuring anything from quick notes to scanned letters and maps. Sometimes these are updated for newer editions of books and provide unique insights into the text you’re reading. However, appendices in older editions are not always reprinted for newest editions. It may vary on a text-by-text basis!
Newer editions of a text may also feature better quality, brand-new, and more frequent illustrations, graphs, and other visual spectacles too. It may seem like a small thing, but these additions can break up an overwhelming wall of text and make it more engaging to engage with as a result.
So, there you have it. In reading the points above, we hope you’ve come to understand that newest editions of books bring you, as the reader, ‘closer’ to the text. You can more easily understand and relate to what’s written and the people who wrote it, which should benefit you greatly on your learning journey!
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Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy, physics, and mathematics. He is often referred to as the “father of modern science” and is widely considered to be one of the most influential scientists in history. His work was instrumental in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Here are some of Galileo’s greatest achievements and interesting facts.
Greatest Achievements
One of Galileo’s greatest achievements was his use of the telescope to observe the night sky. He was the first person to observe the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the rings of Saturn. Of Jupiter’s moons, he also determined the four largest, and they are now known as the Galilean moons. He was also the first to observe sunspots and to measure the speed of light. He confirmed that the Earth revolved around the sun, a revolutionary idea at the time. He also confirmed the heliocentric theory of Nicolaus Copernicus and observed the phases of Venus, the four moons of Jupiter, and the mountains and craters on the moon.
Galileo Is Relevant In The History Of Multiple Subjects
Galileo was also a renowned mathematician. He developed the modern scientific method and made significant contributions to the fields of geometry, mechanics, and kinematics. He is credited with the invention of the pendulum clock, which revolutionised timekeeping, and that of the thermometer and the compass. He also formulated the law of falling bodies, which states that all objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
Galileo also wrote extensively on the topics of religion and philosophy. He was an advocate for heliocentrism, the idea that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. This was a radical idea at the time and put him at odds with the Catholic Church, which believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe.
In further addition to his scientific and philosophical contributions, Galileo was an accomplished musician. He composed numerous pieces of music, including several sonatas and a cantata. Yet another credited invention is the lute, a stringed instrument similar to the modern guitar.
Prosecution And Progress
Galileo’s life and work were not without controversy. As mentioned previously, he clashed with the Catholic Church over his belief in the heliocentric system, which resulted in him being found guilty of heresy and placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. In modern times, Galileo is seen as a symbol of scientific progress and courage in the face of opposition. His contributions to science helped shape our understanding of the universe, and his legacy is still celebrated today.
Galileo Galilei was a remarkable scientist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy, physics, and mathematics. His discoveries revolutionised the way we think about the universe and laid the foundation for modern science. He will forever be remembered as one of the greatest scientists of all time.
Exams are, finally, over; revision notes are packed away, shredded, passed on to your sibling, or thrown on the BBQ; the endless balmy days of a British summer lie ahead of you. You can lounge in the sun, meet up with friends, and you don’t have to worry about setting an alarm. And then… and then… results day looms, that day in August* when you will open the envelope, or the message, and find out how well you have done. It’s nerve-wracking. It’s anxiety-inducing. It’s a day that some people would rather not have to deal with. But fear not. It’s not as bad as you think.
It is natural to feel concerned and worried ahead of receiving your exams results. In fact, it is healthy to feel a certain amount of anxiety about different life events. However, spending a lot of your waking hours, and maybe even being kept awake at night due to worrying, is not helpful. So if you are likely to suffer with anxiety in the run-up to your results day in August, the three top tips below might be of use.
What’s Done Is Done
Once you’ve finished your exams, you need to try and remember that there isn’t anything more you can do about results at that point. Some people forensically go back through their responses, they question their friends, they ask their tutors. In reality, it’s done. So, try and put your concerns on the shelf and move on to the next challenge, or relax.
Exams Results Are Not The End Of The World
Exams results days are important, yes, and can dictate what you do next – for example, A-Levels or university. However, if you are anxious about not doing as well as you would like, just remember: whatever results you receive, it will not mean the end of the world. Okay, so they may affect what you do next, albeit temporarily, but you can retake your exams, or maybe even your plans must change – and this might not be a bad thing. Try to rationalise the situation, it will make you feel better.
Enjoy Some “Me” Time
Feeling anxious about an upcoming event can be horrible. So, if you are affected by anxiety like this, try and build in some activities which can help to alleviate such feelings. You might take a walk in the fresh air, appreciate the environment around you. Maybe you get stuck into a good book, or go and kick a football around with your friends. Sitting around dwelling on a potential future situation is not healthy for you mentally or physically – and ‘escaping’ from this mindset in some way can be hugely beneficial.
So, if you start to feel anxious with exam results day looming, try to divert yourself. You’ll feel a whole lot better if you do.
