Back to Harvey Project
Meeting Notes - Nov 26th, 2008
• Harvey’s Education
• Operating theatre
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Maybe animated wood cut
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Pull up into 3D SketchUp
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Navigate around the theatre
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Actual architectural model
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Foam core/corregated plastic/modelling products
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Papier mache
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Diorama
*People as push-buttons
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Photo cut out with dissection
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Moving manicans
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Motion sensors that talk (British accent)
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Videos inside them
• Put together 3D model with screen
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Put character/action figure onto one spot and something happens on the screen
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Human figure
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Monies
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Maybe broken circuit thing
• X-marks the spot...
• Magnet on the base of the figure
• Runs to ardiuino
• Something happens on the screen
• Operating table(laying down)
*Learn about the operating table
• Viewers
*Learn about them
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Anatomist
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Demonstrators
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Outsiders
• What does it look like?
• Have couple stories that are 3D (kind of like cross-section)
• And picture of rest of theatre in the back
• On screen (flat monitor)
• Text
• Pictures
• Appear as visual, not really audio
• The model
* Make it out of ‘look like stone’ stuff
For next week
• How much of each material
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Money, costs, where to buy it
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Foam: 1-inch thick, thin stuff: $19.99 for 20"x30" sheet - buy white and sponge paint?
• Story board
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Imagine someone shows up at your exhibit
• What happens
• Show them picking model
• Putting down, and pressing buttons
• Video shows clip
• What kind of info is portrayed
• Big smiles
Feedback, 14 Jan 2009 Meeting
-Need for less text, keeping in mind the attention span of the audience. Maybe using the newspaper trick—the title and first sentence explain all the important information.
-Physical concerns: how does the black dot trigger the screen? What happens when you lift the person off the dot?
-Need for an instructions page at beginning, should be limited to one screen, and include lots of pictures.
Feedback, 28 Jan 2009 Meeting
-Working with foam core—problem making curves, possibility of using white corrugated board as it may be easier to construct curves.
-Wood coloured mac tack for deatiling, vs. printing picture
-Look on flickr for pictures of the architecture of the theater.
-Heather to ask about bulk products.
-Figurine—someone needs to be assigned to this task. Making it out of clay type material, possibly using cookie cutout shape.
-Need to make sure the cardboard template is built in a way that will allow it to be taken apart—eg. masking tape.
-Possibility of moving a programming/hardware person to the group, in the mean time Heather is working on this aspect.
Research: Student Life at Cambridge and Padua, posted by Sophie
1)French, Roger. William Harvey's Natural Philosophy. Cambridge: 1994.
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Padua - degrees recognized in London, either directly by College of Physicians or by incorporation at uni's
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Most famous school of med
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Padua:
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Ruled by Venetian Republic
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'studia' - student university - ruled by undergrads - controlled profs employment. Elected own leader, 'rector'.
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Cambridge: magisterial - ruled by masters
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Padua: not as much emphasis on theology.
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Secular feel encouraged by Venetian civil authorities - Venice very cosmopolitan - invited Jews and Protestants early on
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Large German population, since had good trading links with Venice
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Exams: explaining Aristotle's logic, questions on Galen.
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Fabricius - Harvey's teacher - started 'Aristotle Project' - towards 'an account of the structure of the whole animal' - finding out how organs worked together, not just each of their uses
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Both unis had large amount of 'disputations' - like debates or thesis defenses - subject posted a week beforehand.
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Harvey: spent only 2 yrs at Padua instead of normal 3 - but had spent extra time at Cambridge
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At Cambridge: Harvey was on Parker Scholarship, specifically for those wanting to study medecine
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Many students in England left even before getting a BA - more like having a private tutor, could study differently than the prescribed syllabus
2)Keele, Kenneth D. William Harvey: The Man, the Physician, and the Scientist. London: Nelson, 1965.
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Cambridge: first 3 of Harvey's 6 yrs: still in medieval trivium (logic, rhetoric, poetry) and quadrivium (arithmetic, music, astronomy, geometry) - subjects useful to medecine - and all subservient to theology
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Cambridge: sent med students to Padua, Paris, Montpellier, Verona
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Dr. Caius, founder of Harvey's college at Cambridge, had special permission from Eliz I to dissect two criminals annually
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Cambridge: Day started at 5 am, Chapel, then lectures until 10am, stop for a break of broth, meat and bread. Then study until 9:30 - no time for amusement or relaxation
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At Padua: Harvey elected to executive as Councillor of the English - each nation elected one
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Vesalius: came to Padua in 1530s to do human dissection
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Had temporary anatomical theatre until one built for Fabricius in 1595. Held 300 students, who stood in narrow spaces between balustrade and wall. Students held extra candelabras.
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Padua: usually degree came from Pope. For Jews and Prots: Venetian Republic allowed an elected Palatine Count to bestow degrees.
3)Keynes, Geoffrey. The Life of William Harvey. Oxford: Clarendon, 1966. *Good info re: operating theatre, dimensions etc
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Padua: busier than Cambridge, little extracurricular activities
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Medical year: 18 Oct - 15 Aug. Whole human body dissected twice a year (only??)
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Rival gangs from different nations got into fights a lot - Harvey himself carried a dagger, maybe just for self-defence
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Harvey also studied at Italian hospitals
4) Grendler, Paul F. The Universities of the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore: John Hopkins, 2002.
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Students spent 80-100 ducats annually in the city of Padua
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In Italy, dissections/autopsies done for teaching purposes since end of 13th c. Italians, unlike Northern Europeans, rarely disagreed with the practice.
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Families would even ask for them to be done for dead relatives - to find out cause of death
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By Harvey's time, though, dissections done at Paris and in German states
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Dissection in Italy: done in winter (because of cold), one man and one woman done together.
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Bodies were of criminals, especially foreigners (those not from the town or surrounding areas)
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Civil authorities would schedule criminal executions to go along with Vesalius' teaching schedule
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Males much easier to obtain - women not executed as much, usually witchcraft
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More bodies came from charitable hospitals, where foreigners would die without friends or family
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Students would grave-rob also
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Fabricius: position of 'Surgery and Anatomy'
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Foreign students relied on letters of credit to pay the bills
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Could live together 4 or 5 in a house, and would hire a servant to cook/clean
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Could also board with families or professors, which could include private learning
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Padua also had student residences
**Woolfson, Jonathan. Padua and the Tudors: English Students in Italy, 1485-1603. Toronto: U of T Press, 1998.
Maybe you guys will find this one helpful, feel free to check it out.
Jenna's Notes
Human Dissection- where bodies came from
1) Adler, Robert E. Medical First: From Hippocrates to the Human Genome. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
- "As a medical student, Vesalius became a ringleader, luring his fellow students to raid the boneyards and gallows of Paris for skeletons to study and bodies to dissect. To satisfy what Vesalius described as his burning desire for human bodies to study, he and his friends braved the feral dogs and gruesome stench of the mound of Monfaucon, just outside the northern wall of Paris, where the bodies of executed criminals were hung from beams until they disintegrated." (56)
- Harvey – "He went on to study at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he first encountered anatomy – each year the bodies of two executed criminals were dissected there." (70)
- "After learning what he could by dissecting dead animals, he began to observe and experiment on the beating hearts of animals while they were still alive. He was not able to learn much from warm-blooded animals such as sheep, deer, or pigs; their hearts beat too quickly except in the moments just before death. He was tempted to give up, but then hit upon the idea of studying cold-blooded animals such as snakes, eels, and squid. Their hearts beat far more slowly, allowing him to make sense of how they worked." (72)
2) French, Robert K. Dissection and Vivisection in the European Renaissance. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 1999.
- "In the absence of human vivisection, the anatomists readily turned to vivisecting animals for more morphological studies when humans material was in short supply. But both actions rested on the assumption that animals were in some respects an adequate substitute for the human body, than in a significant sense animals and men did belong in the same group: man was an animal." (122)
- "Here it becomes clear that the opponents of human dissection objected primarily that it was an impious activity. They expressed, that is, the normal feelings of most cultures about leaving the bodies of the dead untouched, referred to at the beginning of this book. They count it pious, says Drylander, to bury the dead, or what in later terms would be known as giving the dead a 'decent Christian burial.' " (139)
- "Others attacked the practice of human dissection on more direct grounds. Dead bodies, they said, were vile things about to be given to the worms, yet the anatomists handled them with curiosity. Drylander is driven to the argument about the benefit that will accrue to medicine and men by dissection; he refers to the papal decrees permitting dissection and refers to an anatomicum negotium, an arrangement by which the anatomists can dissect the human body without blame – indeed, with honour – from religious authority." (139)
- "When he came to explain the structure and action of the heart, Harvey wanted to be well prepared. The heart was an organ of considerable interest to the audience, because Aristotle had said that it was the most important organ of the body. The conflicting views of Galen and the consequent disputations in the universities also attracted interest to the heart. It was natural that he should have prepared himself by doing some vivisections on animals. The heart was the only organ in the body to move in a completely involuntary war and had been long known to continue beating for a while in the vivisected animal." (233)
3) Persaud, T.V.N. A History of Anatomy: The Post-Vesalian Era. Springfield, Ill: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1997.
- "… on the very first page he [Harvey] recommended, like Aristotle did in his History of Animals, that studying the viscera of animals would help in understanding the human anatomy." (56)
- "In England, the Act of Parliament in 1540, which united the Corporation of Barber-Surgeons and the Surgeons, authorized the masters of the new guild to receive each year the bodies of four 'felons' condemned and put to death 'for their further and better knowledge, instruction, insight, learning and experience in the science and faculty of surgery.' In 1565, the president of the College of Physicians received a similar privilege from Queen Elizabeth I to receive up to four bodies for dissection from persons executed in London or within a vicinity of 16 miles." (55)
- "The modest allocation of bodies for dissection proved to be woefully inadequate for the increasing number of apprentices and students who participated in these practical anatomy teaching sessions. Legally, it was not possibly to secure more bodies." (254)
- "The dissection itself was perceived both by the criminal and the public as a final punishment to be inflicted on the corpse of the executed criminal." (254)
- "There are many accounts of anatomists, students, and the professional body snatchers, who have disturbed the sanctity of the grave and removed the corpse for dissection in the anatomy schools. Indeed, the survival of the private schools, and the teaching of practical anatomy, depended on this illegal source of supply from the resurrectionists." (257)
- "The grave robbers often operated in gangs which rivaled each other; the anatomy schools could not have functioned without them. The price the resurrectionists demanded for bodies kept on increasing from a few shillings to several pounds. The school had to pay them also a retainer fee." (260)
Text Panels - to be edited
The Student
William Harvey began his university studies at Cambridge in England. Medical students first learned the seven standard medieval subjects: logic, poetry, rhetoric, arithmetic, music, astronomy and geometry with theology as a unifying theme. Cambridge students often awoke at 5 am and had a full day of going to Chapel, hearing lectures and studying. Medical students were often send abroad to finish their studies, and the University of Padua in Italy was among the best medical schools, specifically due to their anatomical dissections.
Sixteenth century students had many of the same concerns as modern students. Many were far from home, and depended on letters of credit to support themselves. Residences were occasionally available, but students often lived together in rented housing and would hire a maid to cook and clean. Some students even boarded with professors, through which they could gain private lessons. As for extracurricular activities, Harvey was voted Councillor of the English in Padua, meaning he represented the English students on the school board. Padua had a more secular feel than Cambridge and had a varied student population. This could cause problems, however, and often fights would break out between students from different countries. Harvey himself carried a dagger with him, perhaps only for self-defence.
The Body
In order to effectively study the human body, scientists, medical students and teachers needed specimens to study. In many places, such as England and Italy, recently hanged criminals were donated to universities. However, depending on the country, only two to four bodies were given each year. Vesalius, and others like him, resorted to illegally stealing bodies from boneyards and the gallows. Harvey studied humans when he could, but when the supply ran short he began to dissect animals. Cold-blooded animals were better to study, according to Harvey, because their hearts beat slower and longer after death.
*Above notes have more info on Italian dissections
The Anatomist
While at Padua, Harvey studied under Fabricius Aquapendant. Like many anatomists of his day, Fabricius was heavily influenced by Galenic theory. Although Galen’s theories about the anatomical structure of the body had been discredited as early as 1543 with the publication of the book ‘De Humani Coporis Fabrica’ by Fabricius’ own instructor Andres Vesalius, anatomists were still reluctant to abandon Galenic theories regarding the physiology of the body. It is possible that Fabricius could have discovered the circulatory system had Galenic theory not been so influential in his work.
Construction Photos
Check them out at the Concept Board Page!
Reading Week Plans
Heather - work on processing
Jenna - write intro for SmartBoard
Sophie - work on layouts for screen, images etc
Meaghan - look over/edit text
Ruthann - master ardunio button, help edit?
'Edited' Text
Meaghan: Here is what I came up with. The only text that I substantially changed was "The Student" only because it was much larger than the other two. I tried to keep them to about 100 words... was this right?
Also, where are we with the headline discussion? I thought of maybe an interesting quote (a Harvey contemporary would be great), so I just pulled this from Jenna's research above for "The Body" text. I tried a more newspaper headline for "The Anatomist". Just playing with it here, let me know your thoughts.
Finally, I've uploaded the OpenOffice document with track changes on so you can see my process here. Hopefully this is helpful, please let me know...
The Student
William Harvey began his medical studies at Cambridge University where theology was strongly emphasized [acted as an underlying theme throughout medical classes]. When nearing completion, medical students were sent abroad to finish their studies. Due to its encouragement of anatomical dissections the Italian University of Padua was one of the best medical schools available at the time.
*ruthann: These sentences stand well on their own, but don't seem to really be connected. Why is it important to know that theology was emphasized? Was this in the medical school, or at Cambridge in general? Should it be made clear as well that Harvey chose Padua? Also, what's the info in the square brackets all about?
Perhaps this:
William Harvey began his medical studies at Cambridge University, where theology was strongly emphasized. It was customary for students to be sent abroad to complete their medical studies. Due to its encouragement of anatomical dissections, Harvey chose the University of Padua, Italy, which was considered one of the best medical schools available.
Sixteenth century students had many of the same concerns as modern students: many were far from home, money was often short in supply, and living accommodations were frequently less than adequate. [NOTE: NOT SURE IF I CHANGED THE MEANING HERE, JUST WANTED IT SHORTER...?]Nonetheless, many students were involved in extracurricular activities. Harvey was voted Councillor of the English in Padua, which meant that he represented the English students on the school board; a very prestigious position
*ruthann: There's a few too many 'many's in the above section... also the last sentence is a tad awkward.
Perhaps:
Sixteenth century students had many of the same concerns as modern students: they were far from home, money was short in supply, and living accomodations were often less than adequate. Nonetheless, many students were involved in extracurricular activities. Harvey, for example, held the prestigious position of Concillor of the English in Padua, which meant that he represented the English students on the school board.
The Body
"The modest allocation of bodies for dissection proved to be woefully inadequate for the increasing number of apprentices and students who participated in these practical anatomy teaching sessions. Legally, it was not possibly to secure more bodies." [From Persaud, T.V.N. A History of Anatomy: The Post-Vesalian Era. Springfield, Ill: Charles C. Thomas Publisher (1997), 254. NOTE: CHECK SPELLING OF “possibly”???
In order to effectively study the human body, scientists, medical students, and teachers needed specimens to study. In many places, such as England and Italy, recently hanged criminals were donated to universities. However, depending on the country, very few bodies were donated each year, usually only between two and four. Andreas Vesalius, and others like him, resorted to illegally stealing bodies from bone yards and the gallows.
*ruthann: From my understanding, there weren't really 'scientists' in the 16th century - Harvey was a part of the scientific revolution that allowed the modern conception of science and scientists to develop... The first sentence also has the word 'study' twice. I also question 'bone yards' should that be grave yards? Just curious... I've left it as is.
Perhaps:
In order to effectively examine the human body, medical students, teachers, and men of science, needed specimens to study. In many likes, such as England and Italy, the recently hanged criminals were donated to the universities for study. However, depending on the country, generally only two to four bodies were donated each year. Andreas Vesalius, and others like him, resorted to illegally stealing bodies from bone yards and the gallows.
Harvey also studied humans when he could, but when the supply ran short he began to dissect animals. Cold-blooded animals were better to study, according to Harvey, because their hearts beat slower and longer after death.
*ruthann:
Perhaps:
Harvey also studied humans when he could, but when the supply ran short, he began to dissect animals. According to Harvey, cold-blooded animals were better to study, because their hearts beat more slowly and longer after death.
The Anatomist
The man of his times; a theory under wraps.
While at Padua, Harvey studied under Fabricius Aquapendant. Like many anatomists of his day, Fabricius was heavily influenced by Galenic theory which discussed the anatomical structure of the body. Although this theory had been largely discredited with the publication of the book ‘De Humani Coporis Fabrica’ in 1543 by Fabricius’ own instructor Andres Vesalius, anatomists were still reluctant to abandon Galenic theories regarding the physiology of the body. It is possible that Fabricius could have discovered the circulatory system had Galenic theory not been so influential in his work.
*ruthann: Is it Andreas or Andres Vesalius? It is Andreas in 'The Body' but Andres in 'The Anatomist.' I've changed it below to reflect 'The Body' section.
While at Padua, Harvey studied under Fabricius Aquapendant. Fabricius studied under Andreas Vesalius, and was heavily influenced by Galenic theory, which discussed the anatomical structure of the body. While Vesalius had largely discredited this theory, with the 1543 publication of 'De Humani Corpris Fabrica,' anatomists were still reluctant to abandon Galenic theories regarding the physiology of the body. It is possible that Fabricius could have himself discovered the circulatory system had the Galenic theory not been so influential in his work.
Examples of Slides
Here's what I've been playing with. I made them in Inkscape's .svg, then saved them as .pdf, then .jpg. So we have all three files.
Fonts and colours can be changed, of course. Currently The Body has pure white text, the others is a faint pink, I think. The Body was made using a bright red by Matthew in a different programme (props to him for cutting that skeleton out!), so I can't change it to another colour. I don't mind if they are all different, though.
Not sure why The Body is bigger than the others - will look into it.
Changed very little of the text, just for shortness and in the case of The Student, for clarity.
Design Comment
A note about colours... What are thoughts on the same colours? I know that here they are side by side, so it seems more obvious that they are different, I just can't seem to find a reason (artistic or otherwise) why they should be different. I don't mean to get hung up on details, but thought I'd put in my two sense. If we were to pick colours, I'd vote for the first one (The Student).
*ruthann: I agree on the colours - either they should all be the same shade of red/burgundy, or they should be something like red, blue, and green - either the same or dramatically different! (If we're voting, I also vote for the student!)
*Sophie: Okay, I've changed the background so The Student and The Anatomist are the same. As I mentioned earlier, I can't change the colour of The Body because MattyV made it in Photoshop - it's a jpg. But I think they match pretty closely - the bright red Inkscape had was too garish. I think these are fine, I like the idea of almost matching colours rather than being totally different.
Comments from February 25, 2009
Paul:
- Would like more interactivity – perhaps something visual (animation) or even audio – if the text were narrated
- Would like something a little more engaging – even something like power point where it moves the text in a visual way – simply a screen is boring and will loose people’s interest
Shelly
- inconsistent picture – too modern picture – would be better to have a historic picture of Cambridge
- even a picture of Padua would be great – got excited about this
- what should the operating theatre be showing? Shelly not clear on what it is that we’re providing – need to make it more obvious that the training at Padua contributed to how Harvey became Harvey … the idea that this was his actual training
- were there challenges that he faced in his early training? Does going to Padua make him smarter? Or a better physician?
- Can discuss how this training affected him later in life; did it help him deal with the controversies of later life?
- If message is that this environment shaped Harvey later, make it more clear as to how it impacted him – how did he learn from the body, the anatomist, or the student? Need to discuss more clearly the impact of each of the positions
- Need to make it more convincing that Padua was more influential than other places at the time – the actual dissections need to be highlighted – need to focus on the idea that Padua was a more secular area
- Use of lights and spot lights to follow the text
- Questions with flop down boxes – who would these people have been? (Could be in the introductory screen) – drop down or interactive boxes could have the quirky text that can’t fit in the actual slide
- How many students would there have been in the theatre for instance?
Jeff
- likes the idea that the screen will revert back to the introduction
- prefers the idea of a couple of slides – time it to see how long the reading takes and come up with an average time – will add some animation and motion – gives a little bit more interaction
- likes the idea of a cartoon – something more interactive or engaging
- first slide could be a view of what the person might see from the perspective of the student – would see the operating table
- could tie in with something going on today – mental images of the operating theatre – comparison of the ancient and the modern operating theatres – tie the common pool of knowledge together
- circle of LEDs to make it clear as to where they should go next – can then script the presentation for people to follow. Might make the programming a little easier – lights up the next spot (metal contact point in the middle)
Post-Presentation Discussion
*Sophie: I like the idea of having a few slides for each topic, that would change every 5 seconds or whatever. Actual moving text may look too Powerpointy, and I'm not sure if processing can work with powerpoint slides. I'll try to find some more pictures, we can just have one per slide, and we can break up the text into smaller chunks, starting with a very basic point-blank statement, ie "The dissected bodies were usually hanged criminals or grave-robbed.." Maybe 3 slides for each topic?
Also, we should try to come up with a definite thesis to which we can mold the text - the info's there, just needs to be more clear. Something like, "The environment and training at the influential Padua medical school contributed to Harvey's future medical discoveries..."
Here are some more slides, if any good picture ideas come to mind, send them my way!
Processing Code
PImage intro;
PImage stu1;
PImage stu2;
PImage stu3;
PImage anato1;
PImage anato2;
PImage anato3;
PImage body1;
PImage body2;
import processing.serial.*; //import serial library
Serial sPort; //create serial object
String Ard="0"; //variable to store read serial values
boolean read_data=true;//Used to track if need to read data or skip it since in the process of drawing
int drawing_counter=1; //counts current slide to be drawn
int delay_length=2500; //delay between slides
void setup(){
intro = loadImage("theintroduction.JPG");
stu1 = loadImage("thestudent1.JPG");
stu2 = loadImage("thestudent2.JPG");
stu3 = loadImage("thestudent3.JPG");
anato1 = loadImage("theanatomist1.JPG");
anato2 = loadImage("theanatomist2.JPG");
anato3 = loadImage("theanatomist3.JPG");
body1 = loadImage("thebody1.JPG");
body2 = loadImage("thebody2.JPG");
size (screen.width, screen.height);
String portName = "COM3";
sPort = new Serial(this, portName, 9600);
}
void draw() {
if ((sPort.available()>0)&&(read_data==true)){ //If bytes sent in serial read and store in Ard if we with to read new data
delay(100);
drawing_counter=1;//reset since done with this set of slides
Ard=sPort.readString();
Ard=Ard.substring(0,1); //read only first character sent, processing appends extra characters onto value from arduino
}
//add in delay if needed between slides of a particular button push
else if (read_data==false){
delay(delay_length);
}
//Itroduction
if (Ard.equals("0")){
image (intro, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height);
}
//Student
else if (Ard.equals("1")){
if (drawing_counter==1){
read_data=false;//stop reading from arduino
image(stu1, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height); // Load the image into the program
}
if (drawing_counter==2){
image (stu2, 0,0 , screen.width, screen.height);// Load the image into the program
}
if (drawing_counter==3){
image (stu3, 0,0 , screen.width, screen.height);
}
//reset
if (drawing_counter==4){
read_data=true;
}
drawing_counter=drawing_counter+1;
}
//Anatomist
else if (Ard.equals("2")){
if (drawing_counter==1){
read_data=false;//stop reading from arduino
image(anato1, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height); // Load the image into the program
}
if (drawing_counter==2){
image (anato2, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height);
}
if (drawing_counter==3){
image (anato3, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height);
}
//reset
if (drawing_counter==4){
read_data=true;
}
drawing_counter=drawing_counter+1;
}
//Body
else if (Ard.equals("3")){
if ((drawing_counter==1)){
read_data=false;//stop reading from arduino
image(body1, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height); // Load the image into the program
}
if (drawing_counter==2){
image (body2, 0,0, screen.width, screen.height);
}
//reset
if (drawing_counter==3){
read_data=true;
}
drawing_counter=drawing_counter+1;
}
sPort.clear();
}
