Quote:
On 2002-04-16 12:44, The Bad Astronomer wrote:
Folks:
The list below contains the errors and typos that I know about in the book. A lot of those have already been talked about on this board, and some I found on my own.
If you know of any more, please add them to this thread.
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You would do well to consider linguistic history in your discussion of the "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" ON PP. 31 - 33. Long ago, the word "dark" referred to anything unseen. Astronomers of the time called the unseen side of the moon the "dark side of the moon." They did not imagine that the dark side was never in sunlight.
This usage of the word "dark" survived into the 19th century when people in England spoke of "darkest Africa." They did not imagine that any part of Africa never received sunlight. The reference was to the part of Africa about which Europeans knew almost nothing. It was hidden, unseen, "dark."
The usage lives today in the jargon of live theater. If a play is presented every night of the week except Monday, then the theater is said to be "dark on Monday."
To be sure, the change in the meaning of the word "dark" has led to a pervasive piece of bad astronomy in modern times. However, your discussion of this piece of bad astronomy would benefit greatly from an acknowledgement of its source.
Kip Fisher