From Alchemy to Atoms

We are back! After a long hiatus, new episodes of the show will be dropping regularly. For the first time, we will spend an entire episode focused on a single person. Our subject will be the Greco-Roman physician known to history as Galen. Galen is known as the father of systematic because of his numerous contributions to medical history. During his fascinating life, he spent time learning his craft in a healing temple, treated the wounds of gladiators following combat, helping combat the world's first smallpox outbreak, and serve as personal physician to three Roman emperors. He would also produce more books that perhaps anyone in antiquity, with some scholars estimating that he may have written as many as 500 books totaling as many at 10 million words.So please take a listen and learn about a truly interesting man who was considered the model for the practice of medicine for over 1,000 years.Thanks for listening! I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, corrections, ideas, etc., please email me at thatbiodoc@gmail.com.

In this episode, we continue learning about the Hellenistic Age in which Greek thinkers made many important advances in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. Part 2 features the stories of Eratosthenes, Apollonius of Perga, and Hipparchus. These three men contributed significantly to our understanding of the world and universe that surrounds us, including measuring the circumference of the Earth using shadows and laying the groundwork for modern trigonometry. Thanks for listening! I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, corrections, ideas, etc., please email me at thatbiodoc@gmail.com.

On the last episode, we discussed the ideas of the pre-Socratic philosophers. Their ideas and metaphysical concepts had a large influence on the next generation of philosophers, including the man considered to be the founder of western philosophy, Socrates. Socrates's work and his personal approach to philosophy forever changed the world and the altered the thinking of all those who followed him. Among Socrates's followers was another of the great Greek philosophers, Plato. Plato incorporated many of Socrates's ideas, along with those of numerous pre-Socratic philosophers, into his own philosophical framework, which was taught to his students at an Athenian school known as the Academy. Among Plato's students was a man named Aristotle whose ideas would revolutionize the way people investigated the natural world, the universe, and their own existence. His ideas were so powerful and important that they were essential to the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment that occurred almost 2,000 years after his death. So please, listen in while we continue learning about the origin story of the modern scientific method.P.S.: I know I said I'd be releasing episodes every other Friday and it's only been one week. But the first episode has such a good reception, I couldn't wait to get the second one out. Enjoy!Thanks for listening! I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, corrections, ideas, etc., please email me at thatbiodoc@gmail.com.