Bestselling author Dava Sobel shares insights from her most recent subject as part of the President’s Distinguished Speakers Series

Clark, Brian E.

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Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger3-28-2012Advice from the 16th Century: What CopernicusCan Teach Us TodayBrian E. ClarkRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationClark, Brian E., "Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today" (2012). Featured News Story. 20.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/205/9/2018 Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/advice-16th-century-what-copernicus-can-teach-us-today 1/3Home News News Archive Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us TodayAdvice from the 16th Century: WhatCopernicus Can Teach Us TodayBestselling author Dava Sobel shares insights from her mostrecent subject as part of the President’s Distinguished SpeakersSeriesMarch 28, 2012 Brian E. ClarkIt’s no stretch to draw a parallel between the story of writer Dava Sobel and that of her most recent subject, Renaissanceastronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.Having developed his paradigm-shi ing theory that the sun –not the earth, as widely believed – was in fact the center ofthe universe at an early age, Copernicus held back on sharing his epiphany until late in life, plagued by a fear that hiscontemporaries would laugh.Early in her own 40-year career as a science journalist, Sobel devised a plan to tell the story of the circumstances thatpushed Copernicus to publish shortly before his death in 1543 in the form of a dramatic play. But immersed in a line ofwork in which “making things up was frowned upon,” she lacked the courage to use  ctional dialogue as hermechanism of choice.Some 30 years later, Sobel willed herself to write the play, which many revisions later formed the basis for her 2011bestseller, “A More Perfect Heaven.” On Tuesday evening, the author shared that story as part of the President’sDistinguished Speakers Series at Roger Williams University.“We all think today, ‘Everybody knows the earth goes around the sun, of course,’” Sobel said. “But Copernicus was theperson who turned the universe inside out. And that ability to see the world a di erent way, at the time he saw it thatway, is a stunning achievement.”5/9/2018 Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/advice-16th-century-what-copernicus-can-teach-us-today 2/3Since Sobel published her  rst book, “Longitude,” in 1995, she, too, has been lauded for her ability to relate theintricacies of science and history in a style that captivates mainstream readers. She followed up with “Galileo’sDaughter” in 1999 and subsequently, “The Planets” in 2005.More than her own talents, Sobel credits her passion for science and her focus on  nding new stories to tell and newways to tell them as the biggest factors in her far-reaching career.“Just being interested is your passport to extraordinary resources,” Sobel said. “Call up a world expert and if you arereally interested in what that person does, you might get hours of that person’s time, willingly. Your interest canwelcome you to places you never thought you’d be.”The Distinguished Speakers presentation followed a full day on campus for Sobel, who conducted a series of masterclasses with communications students studying feature writing and digital journalism, among other topics. She sharedinsights on everything from the haphazardness of her own career trajectory to her disdain for Twitter to embracing thefeedback and criticism that  nds its way to all writers.And, of course, pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone – just like Copernicus, centuries ago.“Copernicus is o en blamed for taking us out of the center – that he somehow made the earth and humanity somehowless important ,” Sobel said. “But the center was really not the best place to be; it was a sinkhole of change and deathand decay. Now we know that we’re not even made of the stu  that constitutes most of the universe. So is that theultimate diminishment? Or does it make us really special for being rare?"It’s all in the way you look at it, isn’t it?”Share This: REQUEST INFO  VISIT CAMPUS  APPLY  MAKE A GIFT5/9/2018 Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/advice-16th-century-what-copernicus-can-teach-us-today 3/3Map & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryNewsEventsAthleticsrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.  GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWUOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144

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Advice from the 16th Century: What Copernicus Can Teach Us Today

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