Good Science Always Has Political Ramifications (Scientific American)

[Lionel Mandrake]

5. a trend in the history of science

As a retired physicist with an amateurish interest in the history of science, I am not entirely comfortable with the 20th century history of the history of science. I'm all for nuance, but it seems to me that historians of science have tended to know more and more about history, and less and less about science, during the 20th century. The field is now dominated by externalist studies, usually by professors in history departments, which emphasize the interaction of science with other aspects of culture. No doubt this is important, but it neglects the internal development of science, which I regard as essential.

About stellar parallax: how is the statement that "since the 17th century could detect no stellar parallax, the Copernician system was no better than the Tychonian" a stereotype of the interaction between science and authority? In fact, the lack of early evidence for stellar parallax was a common argument against the Copernican system.