#priceless

A [..] story tells of a delegation of sailors who went to the tribunal of the Inquisition in the seventeenth century, when the Catholic Church had forbidden the use of Galileo’s astronomy as an affront to the Bible’s account of creation. The sailors sheepishly confessed that Galileo’s theory had both simplified their journeys and made their maps more accurate. They hoped that the Inquisitors would exempt mariners from the church’s proscription against it. The Tribunal considered the problem, consulted with the bishops, and sent an emissary to the Pope. Finally, they conceded. They said, “OK, if the theory works, use it. But don’t believe it”.