17 May

Born in 1610 – Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher.

Above: A large inhabited tree, c. 1653

Also, born in 1909, American physicist and academic Julius Sumner Miller:

My view is this: We teach nothing. We do not teach physics nor do we teach students…What is the same thing: No one is taught anything! Here lies the folly of this business. We try to teach somebody nothing. This is a sorry endeavour for no one can be taught a thing.

What we do, if we are successful, is to stir interest in the matter at hand, awaken enthusiasm for it, arouse a curiosity, kindle a feeling, fire up the imagination.