A Thought for Today-678: Paulo Coelho

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion - Paulo Coelho

Facts and Figures-80: Galileo and His contribution to Modern Science

Galileo Galilei is The Father of Modern Astronomy. His contribution to observational astronomy was immense.  He was one of the greatest scientists of all time, notable for his use of the scientific method in finding out how the universe works.  He was born in Pisa, Italy, on February 15th 1564, the son of a musician. He was a promising, intelligent student  at the University of Pisa.

Initially he studied medicine.  However, his obsession with pendulums, a need to know how they worked and what forces caused them to swing with such regular precision, led him away from medicine. This study led to his first major discovery, that the period of a pendulum does not depend upon the arc of the swing.  This discovery fuelled further study, including the development of a pendulum clock.

He studied physics and mathematics of the Ancient Greeks, taking in Aristotle and Euclid. But he questioned Aristotle’s approach to falling objects. Aristotle believed that the speed of descent of a falling object increased with weight, a finding that Galileo felt did not match reality and one that he set out to test. He set up a series of experiments determining at what rate balls of different weight rolled down an incline, determining the position of the balls after a set time and noting that the rate was not related to the weight of the ball. In his text, De Motis, (On Motion), he announced his discoveries to the world.

In 1592, Galileo became a professor of mathematics at the University of Padua, where he made further contributions to mathematics, correctly calculating the optimum placement of oars in galleys by treating the oars as levers. He also designed other mechanical devices, a fascination that he pursued throughout his life. Alongside a pump that only required one horse to operate and shift huge volumes of water, Galileo made his telescope, in 1609. With this, he studied the moon and discovered that Jupiter had moons, as well as verifying the phases of Venus and observing a supernova. With all this information, he showed that the universe was not perfect, building upon the findings of Brahe and Kepler.  He also showed that the Copernican system was largely correct, in that the earth was merely a planet that revolved around the sun

Galileo Galilei was one of the most influential scientists of modern times, not just because of his use of the telescope and quantification of gravity, his contribution to the scientific method laid the foundations of modern science, giving direction to scientific research and moving it away from metaphysics.

Garnered from many sources in the Internet.

Grateful thanks to all of them.

Self-Improvement-149: SUCCESS

See your goal
Understand the obstacles
Create a positive mental picture
Clear your mind of self-doubt
Embrace the challenge
Stay on track
Show the world you can do it!

A Thought for Today-677: Dr A P J Abdul Kalm

All birds find shelter during a rain. But the eagle avoids rain by flying above the clouds. Problems are common, but ATTITUDE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE - Dr A P J Abdul Kalam

Facts and Figures-79: Ptolemy, Father of Geology

Ptolemy is called the Father of Geology.

Self-Improvement-148: Mary Tyler Moore

Take chances.
Make mistakes.
That is how you grow.
Pain nourishes your courage.
You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

Mary Tyler Moore

A Thought for Today-676: Thomas J. Watson

A man is known by the company he keeps. A company is known by the men it keeps - Thomas J. Watson

Facts and Figures-78: Tamil Nadu - Population

Population-wise, Tamil Nadu occupies the 7th place in India.

Self-Improvement-147: Kindness, Compassion and Love

Use your voice for kindness,
your ears for compassion,
your hands for charity,
your mind for truth,
and your heart for LOVE.

- Unknown

A Thought for Today-675: Unknown

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations – Unknown

Facts and Figures-77: Herodotus, The Father of History

Herodotus, The Father of History

Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (c. 484–c. 425 BC), a contemporary of Socrates. He is widely referred to as "The Father of History" (first conferred by Cicero); he was the first historian known to have broken from Homeric tradition to treat historical subjects as a method of investigation—specifically, by collecting his materials systematically and critically, and then arranging them into a historiographic narrative. The Histories is the only work which he is known to have produced, a record of his "inquiry" on the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Some of his stories were fanciful and others inaccurate; yet he states that he was reporting only what he was told; a sizable portion of the information he provided was later confirmed by historians and archaeologists. Despite Herodotus' historical significance, little is known of his personal life and academic history.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.

Grateful thanks to Wikipedia.

Self-Improvement-146: The Bravest, The Strongest and The Happiest

The first to apologize is THE BRAVEST.
The first to forgive is THE STRONGEST.
And the first to forget is THE HAPPIEST.

Courtesy: Top10HomeRemedies

A Thought for Today-674: Zig Ziglar

You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success and endowed with the seeds of greatness – Zig Ziglar

A Thought for Today-673: An Inspired Approach

Step out into the world and explore your potential. You will never know what is waiting for you if you don’t go where you have not been – An Inspired Approach

Self-Improvement-145: Mary Tyler Moore

Take chances.
Make mistakes.
That is how you grow.
Pain nourishes your courage.
You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

A Thought for Today-672: Stephen Covey

Trust is equal parts character and competence. You can look at any leadership failure, and it is always a failure of one or the other - Stephen Covey

A Thought for Today-671: Cell Phones

Cell phones bring you closer to the person far from you. But take you away from the ones sitting next to you - Unknown

A Thought for Today-670: Desire, Decision and Determination

A desire changes nothing. A decision changes something. But a determination changes everything - Unknown

Self-Improvement-144: FOR STRESS-FREE LIFE

1. Accept your Fears
2. Find Happiness in Daily Life
3. Be Grateful
4. Exercise Regularly
5. Be Patient
6. Manage Your Time
7. Never Whine
8. Spend Time with Happy People
9. Respect Others

A Thought for Today-669: Zig Ziglar

If you have learnt from defeat, you have not really lost - Zig Ziglar