BBC2 9pm tonight Isaac newton

[starman1969]

Made him out to be a bit of a nutter, but then, aren't all geniuses nutters?

[Macavity]

I was surprised they didn't mention his dispute with Leibnitz? I lost a bit more sympathy with him, over the course of the program. He seemed to be eminently "functional" when it suited him? At least sufficiently so, to become an MP...

Commonly held he never made much of a contribution to parliament?

Allegedly speaking only once... to ask for the window to be closed.

[DaveS]

Back then a lot of dodgy characters entered parliament, but I'll not say more.

I too am a little surprised they didn't touch on whether he had Asbergers, more relevant, I would say, than whether or not he was gay.

Either way, we still use Newtonian mechanics today for sending spacecraft round the solar system. We won't need to use the more complete Einsteinian version until we start firing off relativistic starships. And by then we may be on yet another iteration!

[Druid]

Neil Stephenson did a really good job of fictionalising the whole Newton / Leibniz thing in his fairly recent (huge, he is now immune to editors it seems) series of historical novels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle

[PeteC]

At least the programme wasn't the usual hero worship and gave some insight into what a nasty piece of work Newton was. Greatest mathematician maybe, but greatest scientist? Don't think so. My vote for Britain's greatest scientist goes to Robert Hooke, the first professional scientist. Not quite the cartoon character they made him out to be in the programme. Newton did his best to write Hooke out of history but at least there are a few science historians around now flying the flag for Hooke.

Good programme in general though. Next Friday's about Wedgewood should be worth watching.

[Vince1963]

I only liked Hooke in that Disney film :grin: :grin:

[bomberbaz]

very enlightening and rather disturbing at times, but in the end it was apparent that he, like many other men who get power are as corruptible as power will allow.

Dont know enough about Hooke to pass comment but the draconian and extreme methods allegedly used by Newton to write him out of history haven't done his own historic standing any good.

That said, he was still a man of great genius However I can't decide in my own mind who has given the greatest contribution to science that they may have the honour of greatest mind/scientist ever.

There are other great historic and even more recent minds who have all made discoveries/theories etc that have left a huge mark in the scientific history books. Hawking, Einstein Da Vinci, Archimedes I could go on. Depends in what context you are assessing the "greatest mind/scientist".

Great viewing though and I too liked the characterisation of the biography, quite disturbing at times as well as amusing.

[Kropster]

Newton's law of universal gravitation was without doubt the greatest leap forward in science....ever. Add to that his corpuscle theory of light (photons!) and his invention of calculus.. then nobody comes close.

[nameunknown]

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

Can't quite imagine Isaac on the "King Street Run", but in the sixth or seventh pub, hearing a discussion of "specific gravity", he might give up and say to the notional pair of Goths: "Hic, be you darksome, black-clad ladies now admitted (hic) to study Natural Science, it seemeth most unnatural, and why speakest thou of (hic) broken promises and broken arches, phaetons and false hangings, Tilneys and trap-doors. Come back to my rooms above the great gate at Trinity, and I shall show you (hic) marvels,.....and I have a playful kitten."

At this point history diverges from ours. While Hooke and Leibniz are remembered for some law or other about the extension of ones wig and the invention of the OXO cube, Newton goes on to be the most famous poet of the 17th century and invents "Optics" (as used to serve drinks).

P

[J_M_Franklin]

Made him out to be a bit of a nutter, but then, aren't all geniuses nutters?

So people keep telling me...woof woof

[bomberbaz]

Can't quite imagine Isaac on the "King Street Run", but in the sixth or seventh pub, hearing a discussion of "specific gravity", he might give up and say to the notional pair of Goths: "Hic, be you darksome, black-clad ladies now admitted (hic) to study Natural Science, it seemeth most unnatural, and why speakest thou of (hic) broken promises and broken arches, phaetons and false hangings, Tilneys and trap-doors. Come back to my rooms above the great gate at Trinity, and I shall show you (hic) marvels,.....and I have a playful kitten."

At this point history diverges from ours. While Hooke and Leibniz are remembered for some law or other about the extension of ones wig and the invention of the OXO cube, Newton goes on to be the most famous poet of the 17th century and invents "Optics" (as used to serve drinks).

P

lmao at OXO cubes. Quality