I think we ought to celebrate one of humanity's greatest ever scientists and thinkers, who built the foundations of science on which our modern world is based and was a part of Britain's contribution to civilisation, Sir Isaac Newton. A good day for a celebration would be his birthday - 25 December.
Read a few biographies about him. I do not think I would have enjoyed his company very much. He was a misnanthrope, paranoid and extremely vain. Some doubts about his claims on the reflecting telescope (I think) over whether he stole Hook's idea. It's generally considered that both he and Liebeniz came to the idea of the Calculus independently but yet when Liebeniz entered into correspondence with him on the subject he was totally intransigent insisting it was solely he who discovered it (yet its Liebeniz's notations we use today). His quote about "standing on the shoulders of giants" may well have been a barbed sarcastic reference towards Hook his arch enemy, who was small in stature. Its reported he was responsible for the punitive and draconian methods used to solve the problem of coin clipping. After all that I cannot deny he was the very greatest scientist ever to date and I still find it hard to comprehend his brilliance. Who else would have come up with the calculus as an aside to solve the problems he was working on about the motion of the planets and stars. I doth my cap to him John
how about some isaac newton quotes.. "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy"………..
True but he lived at a time when science was emerging from what existed before when the nature of matter was not understood.
He was an MP for (exactly) a year. There is no proof he fiddled his expenses, albeit it seems he only made one debating contribution - he asked for a drafty window to be closed. I wonder if a survey of todays schoolchildren would see him recognised or known.
Isaac - Jewish; Jesus - Jewish...................is there a connection? Not really, Jesus wasn't born on 25th December (apparently - in case he sues)
