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BBC2 9pm tonight Isaac newton

Vince1963

By Vince1963
in The Astro Lounge

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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Hi Guy's just an heads up for those who maybe unaware that BBC2 tonight (Friday), there is a biography about Isaac Newton's life..Well worth a watch to the greatest astronomer that ever lived IMHO... :smiley:

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Astro Imp

Astro Imp

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Been looking forward to this all week, and yes Man or Astroman he was the greatest genius of all time. Made important discoveries in optics, started a whole new branch of Maths, (although our continental friends would give the credit for that to Leibnitz), introduced the Newtownian telescope that many of us still use to-day and explained the motion of celestial bodies which ultimately provided the calculations for space travel.

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kirkster501

kirkster501

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Apparently he wasn't much fun at parties though!

Indeed, differential calculus not the most engaging of subjects to digest whilst eyeing up the girls you'd agree? Never known a girl be impressed with my dy/dx discussion personally :)

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JamesF

JamesF

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Indeed, differential calculus not the most engaging of subjects to digest whilst eyeing up the girls you'd agree? Never known a girl be impressed with my dy/dx discussion personally :)

Perhaps you just go to the wrong sort of parties :)

Irritatingly I missed the programme. Watched Helen Czerski's programme on bubbles though which was interesting if a bit disjointed. Impressed that she "did her own stunts" for the bit about diving ("high" diving, rather than scuba). She's quite the "action physicist".

James

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Vince1963

Vince1963

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It was a good program. He really had it in for Robert Hooke after Hooke's previous snub!

Yeah but wasn't that Robert Hooke a Git!.. Dismissing Newtons paper on light & colour, I think if i'd have been him i would have smacked him on the beak end lol.. I think Hooke was so inflated with his own self importance and arrogance and saw Newton as threat (and rightly so as we discovered). I just wonder what advancements would have been made if he had approved and recognised Newton for the genius in which he was. This at the time would have been damaging to him in some degree, It certainly didn't help Newton in the emotional sense or the fact that he didn't want to publish any papers for awhile. Poor old Newton he must have been a torchared soul.. :embarrassed:

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nameunknown

nameunknown

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mmm .. slight hint that Isasc "batted for the other side", and lots of stuff about his young and glam productive years, then a quick skip over his longer years at the mint etc. I always though that what Newton needed was a couple of mates to take him down to the pubs in Cambridge, fill him with beer, and get him into trouble with a couple of Goth chicks who were seriously into differential calculus..

P

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DaveS

DaveS

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:grin:

I've got it on the recorder so I'll have a look later. His "Standing on the shoulders of giants" quote was apparently not the modesty people (Generally) think but a slight aimed at Hooke's (Lack of )stature.

The bad blood between Hooke and Newton held back science on both sides. In fact Newton's position as President of the RS scuppered a lot of Hooke's work.

TBH I already knew about Newton's dabbling in the occult (Mainly through my own interests).

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Kropster

Kropster

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Was it a repeat? I have the feeling it sounds very familiar.

That bubble programme was interesting too... though nothing on bubble fusion.

As for 'her own stunts'.. yes, the high board diving was impressive. Why so talented?!

I know Newton invented the reflecting telescope, but I think that was more an exercise in Physics than to particularly furhter the field of Astronomy.

He is surely known as a Physicist, not an Astronomer... and a Party Pooper!

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kirkster501

kirkster501

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...what Newton needed was a couple of mates to take him down to the pubs in Cambridge, fill him with beer, and get him into trouble with a couple of Goth chicks who were seriously into differential calculus..

P

..a bit like my undergrad days in Cambridge you mean? :)

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JamesF

JamesF

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:grin:

I've got it on the recorder so I'll have a look later. His "Standing on the shoulders of giants" quote was apparently not the modesty people (Generally) think but a slight aimed at Hooke's (Lack of )stature.

The bad blood between Hooke and Newton held back science on both sides. In fact Newton's position as President of the RS scuppered a lot of Hooke's work.

TBH I already knew about Newton's dabbling in the occult (Mainly through my own interests).

I've heard it said that Newton's "standing on the shoulders of giants" quote was a deliberate jibe at Hooke (ie. "not on yours, shortarse"), but also that such an interpretation isn't what he meant at all. It does seem clear that Newton was something of a social misfit, but given Hooke's interests I'd not be at all surprised to find out that he wasn't exactly first on the guest list for society parties either. With hindsight their attitudes might both look foolish now, but perhaps emnity drive them to achieve things they wouldn't otherwise have done purely in an attempt to outdo each other. Regardless, it must have been an amazing time to be a scientist. Perhaps truly the last time it was possible to know everything that was known about anything.

James

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J_M_Franklin

J_M_Franklin

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Interesting way to present the life of a historical figure, clearly Newton was a "oddball" and a social misfit, but with all due respect, the majority of very successful scientists fit this bill to one extent or another, it is that overwhelming driving force that gives them the confidence in their own abilities that sets them apart from others, that allows them to use their talents to achieve such heights, so it is no wonder.

I was a little disappointed at the sideways insinuation that he may have been Homosexual, firstly, it's totally irrelevant and secondly, without evidence it is just a sneer. What would be more interesting would be a full analysis of whether he may have suffered from autism, he invented and perfected a whole new branch of mathematics from scratch with no apparent instigating force involved, definitely a case of a reaction without an action!

Clearly from a theoretical physics point of view Newton was a pure Genius, no-one can doubt that, but to state he was the greatest scientist that ever lived is ridiculous, we have a wealth of scientific Geneii that have followed in his footsteps, such as Dirac, Maxwell, Tesla and Faraday to name but a few, all did and achieved amazing things that made the world what it is today in ways that Newton could never have imagined and in fact the work he did had little relevance to theirs with the exception that without calculus they may not have got the answers they did, so mathematically he is a God in that respect, but we should always be careful not to elevate anyone too far, things should always be kept firmly in perspective.

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