Knowing it ALL

I took my daughter Stacy to the Adler Planetarium
in Chicago last summer. She loves the stars and
sky and I enjoy seeing all the historical artifacts
used to observe the heavens in the past. I
happened upon the most interesting piece during
our last visit. I read the history of it. Saw drawings
of what it looked like. And then began to try and
find one for myself.

It's called an Armillary Sphere.

It looks sort of like a globe, but it's not. It's
circular, but open all the way through. It has bands
of metal that circle the outside and notched
markings on the arch and base that support it. This
is to show the movement of the stars across space.
Inside the sphere are smaller spheres that encircle
each other with markings to represent a moon and
sun that rotate around the interior. In the very
center, held there by a spindle running from top to
bottom is one more sphere. It is the focal point of
the entire artifact as everything rotates and evolves
around it. It clearly is the most important sphere. It
represents the earth.

The armillary sphere was used in the 1600's by all
the brilliant university teachers, philosophers and
clergy of the day to explain how the world operated.
They taught, by their observation and the
observations of their fellow scientists from the past
1000 years, that the earth was the center of the
universe. They could clearly see that with their
crude and rudimentary instruments. Anyone could
see that the sun rises and falls on us! That the
stars and galaxies revolve around us. That anyone
with half a brain will realize that what we see and
experience is truly fact. Right?

For over 300 years the armillary sphere was used
to teach that the earth was the center of our vast
universe. Respected men of the day all believed
it to be true. Greek poets and philosophers going
back to Aristotle and Ptolemy asserted this truth
about the cosmos. Why test them? Aristotle, after
all, was the greatest teacher of all time, so what
sane person would question him? The Armillary
Sphere was the artistic expression of that fact.
Now, should anyone refute these tried and true
observations - wooah to them. Copernicus was put
to death for suggesting another explanation for the
world and Galileo was dissed by the church and put
under house arrest for the last 10 years of his life
for supporting the notion that maybe it was we who
did the revolving and not the sun.

And lets not forget the witch hunts of early Colonial
life where you were proved to be a witch through
careful observation. By the understanding of the
"experts" of that day, if a suspected witch was
thrown into a lake and floated, then she must be
made of wood. Wood burns and so do witches
therefore she must be a witch and burned at the
stake. Of course, unfortunately, you were proven
innocent of this atrocity by sinking in the water and
drowning. Since rocks do not float and you did not
float, you must be a rock and not a witch!
Congratulations oh brilliant one!

It's surprising what people will do for what they
believe to be true. Rightly AND Wrongly.

There is only one problem with the armillary sphere.
For all its beauty and artistic bends and curves
trying to fulfill what it was design to explain - IT'S
WRONG. It's wrong. Men of reputation and respect
were wrong. Did they intend to be wrong? No, they
were sincere. Were their observations fabricated?
No, just incomplete. Did they mislead everyone
they taught into believing something that wasn't
completely true? Yes, but not with vile intent. It's
just that they believed and formed their opinions on
only what they could see at that time. Had they had
the privilege to use the magnificent telescopes and
satellites of today - even go so far as to travel in
space - they would have formed a more accurate
and complete understanding of how the world
actually worked. They just didn't have the tools.
They went as far as they could go for their time.

I was looking for an armillary sphere of my own and
was given one by a friend one Christmas. I have it
sitting on my library table and see it many times
during the day. For all its beauty and historical
significance, it means only one thing to me. It is my
daily reminder that I don't know everything I THINK
I know.

I make my observations of people, listen to
something they say, see their movements and
actions and base a judgment on those
observations. Sometimes I am hurt by a errant
gesture or scolded with a harsh word and leap to
the conclusion that they are a nasty person,
someone to be shunned and avoided. I may see a
warm smile and feel the pat on my back which
brings me to the correct and truthful conclusion
that this person is my friend and someone I can
trust -right? I did not see the hidden agenda, the
real object of their outward gesture of camaraderie
which was to extract a confidence or maneuver me
to their point of view. I could just be a naive fish
waiting for someone to set the hook and reel me in.

I don't have the complete picture with just my
observation. I cannot base my response on only
what I see or hear during a specific time. I may not
have the right "tools" to discern and understand. I
may not have a clue as to why someone may be the
way they are until I explore further. I have to see
things from a different view, a different perspective
than my present state. I may have to climb a ladder
or ride in a spaceship to get the proper perspective-
to find out the truth. But how often do I take the
opinions of others, even people I highly respect,
rather than find out for myself. How often do I base
my judgment on such limited information without
getting to the core? They too are only working from
a limited view. Could they be wrong? For all their
genius and love of truth, might they be teaching me
something that isn't exactly correct?

It's happened before.