Interesting.
I'm really enjoying this thread. Thanks for the original post, Doug.
If I read Doug's post carefully, what he seems to be implying (to me) is that (perhaps) he feels a little 'duped' because the 'common man's' belief, that Galileo first invented the telescope, is not quite so, once one digs into the details.
How often does this turn out to be the case, eh ?
Humans create a story/mystique around some historical incident, embellish it, kick it around in the media of the day, (and subsequently), and all of a sudden, it becomes 'truth' or 'fact'. (And frequently starts arguments).
Frequently, the more knowledge we gather about the reality surrounding events, the more bizarre the 'common man' view becomes to those who have looked in more detail. Astronomy (and Galileo) is all about observation, and looking into the details of the actual 'live' phenomena.
I think its great that we all share this passion for seeing things as they really are, rather than believing the stories we hear.
Great stuff.
Cheers & Rgds