is cultural bias. The third, Idol of the Marketplace, the error is semantics. Finally, the Idol of the Theatre, with the error being allegiance to dogma. Bacon wrote to Pope Clement IV in 1266, writing what looks remarkably similar to a grant proposal that a mathematician or scientist might make today. His proposal was for an encyclopaedia of all the sciences worked on by a team of collaborators, coordinated by a body in the Church. Pope Clement IV, however, not being accustomed to receive proposals of this nature, misunderstood what Bacon was proposing, believing rather that Bacon's proposed encyclopaedia of science already existed. He asked to see it and Bacon, who could not disobey the Pope, rapidly composed the Opus maius (Great Work), the Opus minus (Smaller Work) and the Opus tertium (Third Work). This remarkable achievement was carried out in secret since Bacon's superiors were violently opposed to what he was doing. Bacon was aiming to show the Pope that sciences had a rightful role in the university curriculum. He wrote down in Opus maius an astounding collection of ideas, for example he gives a proposal for a telescope:- For we can so shape transparent bodies, and arrange them in such a way with respect to our sight and objects of vision, that the rays will be reflected and bent in any direction we desire, and under any angle we wish, we may see the object near or at a distance ... So we might also cause the Sun, Moon and stars in appearance to descend here below... In 1268 Pope Clement IV died and Bacon's chances of seeing his great project come to fruition vanished. About this time however Bacon embarked on another great project himself, starting to write the Communia naturalium (General Principles of Natural Philosophy) and the Communia mathematica (General Principles of Mathematical Science). Only parts were ever published, probably most was never written, but again there were some remarkable insights on astronomy and cal...
