Scientific Disciplines
In 1563, della Porta published De Furtivis Literarum Notis, a work about cryptography. In it he described the first known digraphic substitution cipher. Charles J. Mendelsohn commented:
He was, in my opinion, the outstanding cryptographer of the Renaissance. Some unknown who worked in a hidden room behind closed doors may possibly have surpassed him in general grasp of the subject, but among those whose work can be studied he towers like a giant.
In 1586 della Porta published a work on physiognomy, De humana physiognomonia libri IIII (1586).This influenced the Swiss 18th century pastor Johann Kaspar Lavater. Della Porta wrote extensively on a wide spectrum of subjects throughout his life – for instance, an agricultural encyclopædia entitled Villa, as well as works on meteorology, optics, and astronomy.
In later life, della Porta collected rare specimens and grew exotic plants. His work Phytognomonica lists plants according to their geographical location. In Phytognomonica the first observation of fungal spores is recorded, making him a pioneer of mycology.
His private museum was visited by travellers and was one the earliest examples of natural history museums. It inspired the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher to begin a similar, even more renowned, collection in Rome.
Read more about this topic: Giambattista Della Porta
Famous quotes containing the word scientific:
“The scientific spirit is of more value than its products, and irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)