greaty respected Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), who claimed that heavy
Objects naturally fall faster than light obiects. This hypothesis was considered to be true
nearly 2000 years-mainly because nearly everyone who knew of Aristotle's
Conclusions had such great respect for him as a thinker* that they simply assumed he
Couldn t be wrong. Also, in Aristotle's time. air resistance was not recognized as an
Iuence on how quickly an obiect falls We've all seen that stones fall faster than leaves
Inuttering in the air. Without investigating further, we can easily accept false ideas.
Ganleo very carefully examined 。 Aristotle's hypothesis. Then he did something that -Q
10 caught on and changed science forever. He experimented. Galileo showed the falseness
of Aristotle's claim with a single experiment ー dropping heavy and light objects from
the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Legend tells us that the objects fell at equal speeds. (3) In the
SCientific spirit, one experiment that can be reproduced outweighs any authority,
regardless of reputation or the number of advocates*
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