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3 Random Tidbits

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H3-Medieval
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Medieval by Mike Prestwood. 
Stories from 500 to 1500 CE. 
The rise of belief systems. 
New looks at the middle ages and the rise of organized religions.

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H3-Medieval.

3 random tidbits in about 5 minutes.

A H3-Medieval Quote.

Subject: Cultural Transmission.

“We are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants.”

  • Bernard of Chartres.
  • circa 1130 CE.
Transcendental intelligence is the capacity to transmit ideas beyond individual minds and lifespans, allowing knowledge itself to accumulate across generations.

So, to put it simply.

This speaks to the power of cultural transmission. While animals teach their young, humans alone possess the transcendental intelligence to record, describe, and write down ideas. This ability allows knowledge to endure across generations, transcending time and space, building on past wisdom to shape our future.

Now, the details…

Bernard of Chartres, a 12th-century French philosopher, coined the phrase “We are dwarfs on the shoulders of giants.” Recorded by John of Salisbury in 1159, it emphasizes the importance of building upon the discoveries and knowledge of those who came before us, allowing us to see further and achieve greater understanding.

This adage encapsulates the essence of human progress achieved through transcendental intelligence (TI). TI is our more advanced cultural transmission abilities to describe, record, and share ideas through language and writing. It allows for the accumulation of wisdom, innovation, and progress that transcends the mind. This unique form of human cultural transmission enables us to build upon the knowledge and discoveries of previous generations.

Unlike animals bound to instinctual learning, humans possess transcendental intelligence which allows us to stand on the intellectual shoulders of our predecessors. Through recorded ideas, we transcend the limitations of individual lifespans. This intellectual heritage is the cornerstone of civilization, enabling us to solve complex problems and explore the universe’s mysteries.

 


That H3-Medieval Quote, 

was first published on TST 2 years ago.

By the way, the flashcard inspired by it is this.

Front: What type of cultural transmission records, preserves, and transmits ideas beyond individual minds and lifespans?
Back: Transcendental Intelligence (TI)

 

A H3-Medieval Story.

From History:
Subject: Copernicus.

Nicolas Copernicus

born 1473
Lived 1473 to 1543, aged 70.
Nicolaus Copernicus lived quietly, worked carefully, and changed the universe without ever seeing the revolution he began.

In simple terms.

Copernicus was not a public rebel or celebrity thinker. He was a cautious scholar who spent decades refining an idea he feared releasing. By placing the Sun at the center, he didn’t just revise astronomy—he modeled a new way of thinking: slow, mathematical, and willing to let evidence outrank tradition.

Now, the details…

Nicolaus Copernicus was born in 1473 in Toruń, in what is now Poland. He was born on Wednesday, February 19, 1473. Trained in law, medicine, mathematics, and astronomy, he spent most of his life working as a church canon—an administrator, not a professional scientist. Astronomy was his private passion, pursued quietly alongside his official duties.

Over decades, Copernicus wrestled with a problem inherited from antiquity: the messy complexity of planetary motion in the Earth-centered universe. The more he worked, the clearer it became that placing the Sun at the center simplified everything. Yet he hesitated. Publishing such an idea challenged centuries of accepted thought, and Copernicus was cautious by nature.

Near the end of his life, encouraged by younger scholars, he finally allowed his work to be published. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium appeared in 1543—the year of his death. He died on Monday, May 24, 1543 in Frombork, a cathedral town in Warmia, Poland, where he had lived and worked for many years as a church canon. Copernicus never witnessed the storm his idea would unleash, but his quiet insistence on mathematical coherence reshaped how humanity understands its place in the cosmos.

 


That H3-Medieval Story, 

was first published on TST 2 months ago.

By the way, the flashcard inspired by it is this.

Front: What describes clinging to a belief despite contrary evidence?
Back: Belief perseverance

 

The end. Refresh for another set.

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