Prof. Willard Miller
Beauty, and especially symmetry, are important motivators in the development of scientific theories. Surely what is mathematically beautiful and elegant ought to be true, and what is true ought to be beautiful! Much of the history of the rise of modern science concerns the power of a few beautiful mathematical ideas to explain observed physical phenomena. Such is not always the case, however. Sometimes enforcement of preconceived notions of beauty and symmetry in science actually impede understanding and progress. We will review the development of celestial mechanics over the past two and a half millennia as a case study and learn some rocket science along the way.
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