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WWB Takeaways
Post Medieval by Mike Prestwood.
Stories from 1500 to 1950.
The history of modern civilization.
New looks at the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the rise of science.
MODE:
~
5 minutes
of takeaways.
H4-Post Medieval.
10 random takeaways.
1.
Roger Williams was not a brief disturbance in New England history. His ideas endured, his relationships continued, and even those who opposed him had to keep reckoning with him. Some people lose the battle in their own time and still help shape the future.
2.
Quote:
- Charles Darwin.
- 1859.
Evolution is not about desire, nor is it a contest of strength, or intellect. It’s about reproductive success. The individuals, and species, that possess traits best suited for the current environment are more likely to survive, and to pass on those traits. Over millennia, these traits accumulate, leading to races, sub-species, and eventually separate species unable to interbreed.
3.
From History: 1610
In 1610 Galileo started the process of fixing centuries of incorrect mental models. In Sidereus Nuncius, observation began publicly challenging the old map of the cosmos. The world had not changed. Before then, most inherited the idea that the heavens were perfect, smooth, and fundamentally different from Earth. Then Galileo turned his telescope upward and saw a rough Moon, countless stars, and moons circling Jupiter.
4.
If you use the modern definition of separatist that includes intolerance of others, then Roger Williams was not a separatist. Furthermore, he supported all people living, and working together in the same community for the common good. Sometimes people forget the context of the time and conflate his desire to separate from the Church of England run by the government with the separatist movement based on races. I think some with a desire to promote white supremacy do this on purpose.
5.
From History: 1858
Lived from 1858 to 1947, aged 89.
Max Planck didn’t seek to overturn classical physics. He ran into its limits. By taking experimental results seriously and refusing to force certainty where it no longer fit, Planck revealed one of science’s deepest lessons: progress often begins when explanation must stop.
6.
Beyond banishment itself, something more human: even in a hard and divided political world, enemies were not always simple enemies. Winthrop opposed Williams, yet also warned him. History is often sharper, stranger, and more layered than our labels.
7.
Quote:
- Max Planck.
- circa 1900.
From History:
Planck didn’t advance physics by defending what he believed, but by surrendering it when the evidence refused to cooperate. His “act of despair” reminds us that truth doesn’t yield to confidence. It yields to honesty—especially at the moment when our most trusted explanations stop working.
8.
From History: 1842
When a source moves toward you, waves compress and frequency increases; when it moves away, waves stretch and frequency decreases. This applies to sound (changing pitch), and light (changing color, or redshift).
9.
Government should act like we all do on a ship. When on a ship out at sea, the captain is in charge and primarily concerned with a safe trip across the ocean. On any given ship will be a mix of religions, races, and worldviews. The captain must be concerned about safety and should allow all to practice whatever traditions they want so long as they don’t hurt others.
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(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Writing and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
(c) 2025-2026 TouchstoneTruth.
Writing and coding by Michael Alan Prestwood.
