RebE> Rambam Hilchas Kiddush Hachodesh (17, 24)
T his seems to be in a wrong thread ..
thanks, he says astronomy and geometry. He also says that Chochmei Israel bnei Yassahar knew this also but we lost their writings and that it is not so much that we trust “scientists” but that we judge their argument by the merit of their proofs, not their identities.
And this may be a good reason for people to study math and other hard sciences before they get to philosophy and any serious Jewish studies. It is a simple kal vehomer that one’s ability to see true argument in hard sciences is higher as there is usually an answer in the back of the book. Without it, and with “positive learning” popular today, everyone becomes convinced of his own thinking abilities because he always comes to the right conclusion (according to his own judgment or the judgment of his teachers). If you once struggle to prove a geometry theorem that a Greek guy using two instruments in the sand near Athens could, you’ll be humbler claiming that you understand hidden ways of Hashem.