mathematical precision

Music and Science

Here it is appropriate to mention an aspect of Galileo’s scientific work that became very prominent somewhat later. This is the importance of precise measurement, already evident in La Bilancetta. It was probably in 1588-89 that Galileo began to reflect on the nature of measurement and its vital role in science. Now it’s one thing to prove proportionality mathematically- as that bodies of the same specific weight have their weights proportional to their volumes- and it is another thing to verify this in fact.