DOCSLIB.ORG

Academic Lineage of the Earthquakes Group at Uvic “If I Have Seen Further It Is by Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” – Sir Isaac Newton

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Academic Lineage of the Earthquakes Group at Uvic “If I Have Seen Further It Is by Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” – Sir Isaac Newton Academic lineage of the Earthquakes group at UVic “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” – Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton, FRS University of Cambridge, 1686 Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge Laid the foundations for classical mechanics, optics, and calculus. Defined laws for motion and universal gravity. Published ‘ Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ in 1687. Validated the heliocentric model of the Solar System and explained the trajectories of comets, the tides, and the precession of the equinoxes. Predicted that the Earth is an oblate spheroid. Was first to realize that colour is the result of objects interacting with light rather than objects generating the colour themselves. Made the first theoretical calculation of the speed of sound. Formulated the relationship between shear strain rate and shear stress in viscous fluids. Built the first reflecting telescope. Generalised the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, and developed a method for approximating the roots of a function. Roger Cotes, FRS University of Cambridge, 1706 Plumian Professor of Astronomy, Cambridge Developed the Newton-Cotes formula of quadrature. Proofread Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’. Introduced Euler’s formula: ix = ln (cos x + i sin x). Robert Smith, FRS University of Cambridge, 1715 Plumian Professor of Astronomy, Cambridge Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Mathematician and music theorist. Walter Taylor University of Cambridge, 1723 Regius Professor of Greek, Cambridge Mathematician. Stephen Whisson University of Cambridge, 1742 Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. Thomas Postlethwaite University of Cambridge, 1756 Master of Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. Thomas Jones University of Cambridge, 1782 Head Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge Mathematician. Adam Sedgwick, FRS University of Cambridge, 1811 Woodwardian Professor of Geology, Cambridge Proposed and named the Cambrian and Devonian periods. Developed the stratigraphic classification system for the Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous. Worked on metamorphism and concretion, and first to distinguish stratification, jointing, and cleavage. Academic advisor of Charles Darwin. William Hopkins, FRS University of Cambridge, 1830 Tutor, Cambridge Mathematician and geologist. Developed the discipline of physical geology. Established that melting point increases with pressure. Wrote on the motion of glaciers and the transport of glacial erratics. A prodigious private tutor, pupils included Stokes, Maxwell & Kelvin. Edward J Routh, FRS UCL, 1853; University of Cambridge, 1857 Fellow, Cambridge Defined the modern mathematical approach to classical mechanics. Responsible for several ideas critical to the development of modern control systems theory. John W Strutt, FRS (Lord Rayleigh) University of Cambridge, 1868 Cavendish Prof. of Experimental Physics, Cambridge Discovered the element argon (Ar). Described the phenomenon of light scattering now known as Rayleigh Scattering, and hence helped explain why the sky is blue. Measured the dimensions of a molecule experimentally. Helped to define black body radiation. Predicted the existence of the surface waves known as Rayleigh waves. Proposed the duplex theory of human sound localization. First to describe dynamic soaring in seabirds. As head of the Cavendish Laboratory, he opened classes to women and introduced afternoon tea to stimulate researcher’s communication. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904. Sir Joseph J. Thomson, FRS University of Cambridge, 1883 Cavendish Prof. of Experimental Physics, Cambridge First to identify the electron. Built the first mass spectrometer. Discovered the first evidence for stable isotopes. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 (eight of his academic advisees also won Nobel Prizes). Ernest Rutherford, FRS University of Cambridge, 1897 Professor of Physics, McGill, Manchester, Cambridge The ‘father of nuclear physics’, he discovered the nucleus, was first to split the atom, and discovered and named the proton. Outlined the concept of radioactive half-lifes. Proved that radioactivity involved the transmutation of one element to another and dierentiated α- and β-decay. The element rutherfordium (Rf) is named after him. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. Patrick M. S. Blackett, FRS University of Cambridge, 1921 Prof. of Physics, Birkbeck, Manchester, Imperial College Designed cloud chambers to image high energy particles (cosmic rays). Confirmed the existence of positrons and researched anti-matter. Later pioneered the study of rock magnetism and provided early paleomagnetic evidence in support of continental drift. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1948. Sir Edward C. Bullard, FRS University of Cambridge, 1932 Professor of Geodesy and Geophysics, Cambridge A founder of marine geophysics and pioneer of reflection seismology. Made key advances in measurement of gravity and heat-flow, and first to demonstrate high heat-flow at mid-ocean ridges. Fitted the continental shelves of Pangaea. Developed the geodynamo theory and helped establish K-Ar dating. Dan McKenzie, FRS University of Cambridge, 1966 Professor of Geophysics, Cambridge Developed the mathematical theory of plate tectonics on a sphere. Developed models for mantle convection, partial melting, and sedimentary basin formation. Important contributions on tectonics of Venus and Mars. Won the 2002 Craaford Prize (the ‘Nobel Prize of the geosciences’). James A. Jackson, FRS University of Cambridge, 1980 Professor of Geophysics, Cambridge Key work on lithospheric rheology, continental tectonics, normal faulting, and seismicity of the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. Edwin Nissen University of Oxford, 2009 Associate Professor, University of Victoria Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Geophysics Léa Pousse-Beltran U. Grenoble Alpes, 2016 Postdoctoral Researcher Élyse Gaudreau University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Fengzhou Tan University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Haipeng Luo University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Israporn Sethanant University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Guy Salomon University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Taizi Huang University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Siyu Wang University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate Theron Finley University of Victoria Ph.D. candidate.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cultural Gap: an International Physicist’S Experience
    Bridging the Socio- Cultural Gap: An International Physicist’s Experience J. Pedro Ochoa Berkeley Lab APS March Meeting: Experiences and Issues of Young Physicist’s on the International Arena Dallas, TX – March 2011 1 Wednesday, July 20, 2011 Let’s start with an example… Some quick facts about the academic career of Isaac Newton, arguably the best physicist of all times: Born in Lincolnshire Educated at King’s School, Grantham Attended Trinity College in Cambridge His advisors were Isaac Barrow and Benjamin Pulleyn He was appointed the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge Mentored notable students such as Roger Cotes and William Whiston. Died in Kensington at age 67 2 Wednesday, July 20, 2011 Let’s start with an example… Some quick facts about the academic career of Isaac Newton, arguably the best physicist of all times: England Born in Lincolnshire Educated at King’s School, Grantham Attended Trinity College in Cambridge His advisors were Isaac Barrow and Benjamin Pulleyn He was appointed the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge Mentored notable students such as Roger Cotes and William Whiston. Died in Kensington at age 67 2 Wednesday, July 20, 2011 Let’s start with an example… Some quick facts about the academic career of Isaac Newton, arguably the best physicist of all times: England Born in Lincolnshire England Educated at King’s School, Grantham Attended Trinity College in Cambridge His advisors were Isaac Barrow and Benjamin Pulleyn He was appointed the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Theology and Natural History in Darwin’S Time: Design
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ETD - Electronic Theses & Dissertations NATURAL THEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY IN DARWIN’S TIME: DESIGN, DIRECTION, SUPERINTENEDENCE AND UNIFORMITY IN BRITISH THOUGHT, 1818-1876 By Boyd Barnes Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion May, 2008 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor James Hudnut-Beumler Professor Dale A. Johnson Professor Eugene A. TeSelle Professor Richard F. Haglund Professor James P. Byrd William Buckland “The evidences afforded by the sister sciences exhibit indeed the most admirable proofs of design originally exerted at the Creation: but many who admit these proofs still doubt the continued superintendence of that intelligence, maintaining that the system of the Universe is carried on by the force of the laws originally impressed upon matter…. Such an opinion … nowhere meets with a more direct and palpable refutation, than is afforded by the subserviency of the present structure of the earth’s surface to final causes; for that structure is evidently the result of many and violent convulsions subsequent to its original formation. When therefore we perceive that the secondary causes producing these convulsions have operated at successive epochs, not blindly and at random, but with a direction to beneficial ends, we see at once the proofs of an overruling Intelligence continuing to superintend, direct, modify, and control the operation of the agents, which he originally ordained.” – The Very Reverend William Buckland (1784-1856), DD, FRS, Reader in Geology and Canon of Christ Church at the University of Oxford, President of the Geological Society of London, President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Dean of Westminster.
    [Show full text]
  • William Smith Abstracts
    William Smith 1769-1839 Acknowledgements This meeting is a part of a number of events that mark the Bicentennial of the first map published by William Smith. We gratefully acknowledge the support of ARUP for making this meeting possible. Sponsor: CONTENTS Inside Cover Sponsors Acknowledgement Event Programme Page 1 Speaker Abstracts Page 37 Poster Abstracts Page 47 Speaker Biographies Page 57 Burlington House Fire Safety Information Page 58 Ground Floor Plan of the Geological Society, Burlington House William Smith Meeting 2015 200 Years of Smith’s Map 23-24 April 2015 PROGRAMME SPEAKER ABSTRACTS William Smith Meeting 23 April 2015 DAY ONE 1 William Smith's (1769-1839) Searches for a Money-earning Career Hugh Torrens Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK email: [email protected] This lecture will concentrate on Smith's, highly complex, early 'career paths'. His first employment was as a land surveyor (1). Then in 1793 he became both, canal surveyor (2), and engineer, (3) to the Somerset Coal Canal (SCC). These had guaranteed him a regular, and known, income. But this suddenly changed, when he was successively dismissed, first as surveyor, then as engineer, in 1799. He now had to find some other means of supporting himself, and the geological revelations, which he knew were so important, that he had uncovered in Somerset. In the mid-1790s, he had done some land drainage and irrigation work (4), for the chairman of the SCC, and immediately after his dismissals, was able to generate an adequate living from such work around Bath, during a period of very high rainfall.
    [Show full text]
  • Newton.Indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 14:45 | Pag
    omslag Newton.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 14:45 | Pag. 1 e Dutch Republic proved ‘A new light on several to be extremely receptive to major gures involved in the groundbreaking ideas of Newton Isaac Newton (–). the reception of Newton’s Dutch scholars such as Willem work.’ and the Netherlands Jacob ’s Gravesande and Petrus Prof. Bert Theunissen, Newton the Netherlands and van Musschenbroek played a Utrecht University crucial role in the adaption and How Isaac Newton was Fashioned dissemination of Newton’s work, ‘is book provides an in the Dutch Republic not only in the Netherlands important contribution to but also in the rest of Europe. EDITED BY ERIC JORINK In the course of the eighteenth the study of the European AND AD MAAS century, Newton’s ideas (in Enlightenment with new dierent guises and interpre- insights in the circulation tations) became a veritable hype in Dutch society. In Newton of knowledge.’ and the Netherlands Newton’s Prof. Frans van Lunteren, sudden success is analyzed in Leiden University great depth and put into a new perspective. Ad Maas is curator at the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, the Netherlands. Eric Jorink is researcher at the Huygens Institute for Netherlands History (Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences). / www.lup.nl LUP Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag. 1 Newton and the Netherlands Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag. 2 Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag.
    [Show full text]
  • References Geological Society, London, Memoirs
    Geological Society, London, Memoirs References Geological Society, London, Memoirs 2002; v. 25; p. 297-319 doi:10.1144/GSL.MEM.2002.025.01.23 Email alerting click here to receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article service Permission click here to seek permission to re-use all or part of this article request Subscribe click here to subscribe to Geological Society, London, Memoirs or the Lyell Collection Notes Downloaded by on 3 November 2010 © 2002 Geological Society of London References ABBATE, E., BORTOLOTTI, V. & PASSERINI, P. 1970. Olistostromes and olis- ARCHER, J. B, 1980. Patrick Ganly: geologist. Irish Naturalists' Journal, 20, toliths. Sedimentary Geology, 4, 521-557. 142-148. ADAMS, J. 1995. Mines of the Lake District Fells. Dalesman, Skipton (lst ARTER. G. & FAGIN, S. W. 1993. The Fieetwood Dyke and the Tynwald edn, 1988). fault zone, Block 113/27, East Irish Sea Basin. In: PARKER, J. R. (ed.), AGASSIZ, L. 1840. Etudes sur les Glaciers. Jent & Gassmann, Neuch~tel. Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe: Proceedings of the 4th Con- AGASSIZ, L. 1840-1841. On glaciers, and the evidence of their once having ference held at the Barbican Centre, London 29 March-1 April 1992. existed in Scotland, Ireland and England. Proceedings of the Geo- Geological Society, London, 2, 835--843. logical Society, 3(2), 327-332. ARTHURTON, R. S. & WADGE A. J. 1981. Geology of the Country Around AKHURST, M. C., BARNES, R. P., CHADWICK, R. A., MILLWARD, D., Penrith: Memoir for 1:50 000 Geological Sheet 24. Institute of Geo- NORTON, M. G., MADDOCK, R.
    [Show full text]
  • Maty's Biography of Abraham De Moivre, Translated
    Statistical Science 2007, Vol. 22, No. 1, 109–136 DOI: 10.1214/088342306000000268 c Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2007 Maty’s Biography of Abraham De Moivre, Translated, Annotated and Augmented David R. Bellhouse and Christian Genest Abstract. November 27, 2004, marked the 250th anniversary of the death of Abraham De Moivre, best known in statistical circles for his famous large-sample approximation to the binomial distribution, whose generalization is now referred to as the Central Limit Theorem. De Moivre was one of the great pioneers of classical probability the- ory. He also made seminal contributions in analytic geometry, complex analysis and the theory of annuities. The first biography of De Moivre, on which almost all subsequent ones have since relied, was written in French by Matthew Maty. It was published in 1755 in the Journal britannique. The authors provide here, for the first time, a complete translation into English of Maty’s biography of De Moivre. New mate- rial, much of it taken from modern sources, is given in footnotes, along with numerous annotations designed to provide additional clarity to Maty’s biography for contemporary readers. INTRODUCTION ´emigr´es that both of them are known to have fre- Matthew Maty (1718–1776) was born of Huguenot quented. In the weeks prior to De Moivre’s death, parentage in the city of Utrecht, in Holland. He stud- Maty began to interview him in order to write his ied medicine and philosophy at the University of biography. De Moivre died shortly after giving his Leiden before immigrating to England in 1740. Af- reminiscences up to the late 1680s and Maty com- ter a decade in London, he edited for six years the pleted the task using only his own knowledge of the Journal britannique, a French-language publication man and De Moivre’s published work.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter of the History of Geology Group of the Geological Society
    HOGG Newsletter of the History of Geology Group of The Geological Society Number 68 February 2020 Front cover WILLIAM AUGUSTUS EDMOND USSHER (1849‒1920), the centenary of whose death is remembered this year. Born in County Galway, Ireland in 1849, Ussher joined the Geological Survey of Great Britain (now British Geological Survey) in 1868 and spent his whole career (retiring in 1909) as a field and mapping surveyor. He is best known for his work in the south-west of England (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset), particularly his work on the Devonian, Carboniferous and Triassic strata. In 1894, he was awarded the Geological Society’s Murchison Medal. Many Survey maps and memoirs bear his name as does the Ussher Society founded in 1962 as a focus for geological research in south-west England. Originally published under the title Proceedings of the Ussher Society, its journal was renamed Geoscience in South-West England in 1998. Sources Anon. 1920. Obituary of Mr W. A. E. Ussher. Nature, 105, 144. Anon [R. D. Oldham] 1921. Obituary Proceedings of the Geological Society in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 77, lxxiii‒lxxiv. British Geological Survey. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/archives/pioneers/pioneers.cfc?method=search &currentTab=tab_U Burt, E. 2013. W. A. E. Ussher: an insight into his life and character. Geoscience in South-West England, 13, 165‒171. Dineley, D. L. 1974. W. A. E. Ussher: his work in the south-west. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, 3, 189‒201. House, M. R. 1978. W. A. E. Ussher: his ancestral background. Proceedings of the Ussher Society, 4, 115‒118.
    [Show full text]
  • Calculation and Controversy
    calculation and controversy The young Newton owed his greatest intellectual debt to the French mathematician and natural philosopher, René Descartes. He was influ- enced by both English and Continental commentators on Descartes’ work. Problems derived from the writings of the Oxford mathematician, John Wallis, also featured strongly in Newton’s development as a mathe- matician capable of handling infinite series and the complexities of calcula- tions involving curved lines. The ‘Waste Book’ that Newton used for much of his mathematical working in the 1660s demonstrates how quickly his talents surpassed those of most of his contemporaries. Nevertheless, the evolution of Newton’s thought was only possible through consideration of what his immediate predecessors had already achieved. Once Newton had become a public figure, however, he became increasingly concerned to ensure proper recognition for his own ideas. In the quarrels that resulted with mathematicians like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) or Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748), Newton supervised his disciples in the reconstruction of the historical record of his discoveries. One of those followers was William Jones, tutor to the future Earl of Macclesfield, who acquired or copied many letters and papers relating to Newton’s early career. These formed the heart of the Macclesfield Collection, which has recently been purchased by Cambridge University Library. 31 rené descartes, Geometria ed. and trans. frans van schooten 2 parts (Amsterdam, 1659–61) 4o: -2 4, a-3t4, g-3g4; π2, -2 4, a-f4 Trinity* * College, Cambridge,* shelfmark* nq 16/203 Newton acquired this book ‘a little before Christmas’ 1664, having read an earlier edition of Descartes’ Geometry by van Schooten earlier in the year.
    [Show full text]
  • Letters from Charles Lyell and Adam Sedgwick to H. B. Tristram
    LETTERS FROM CHARLES LYELL AND ADAM SEDGWICK TO H. B. TRISTRAM By S. I. TOMKEIEFF SOME years ago in Durham city, I bought a copy of the ninth edition of LyelPs Principles of Geology (1853).* At the back of the front cover it bore the ex libris of H. B. Tristram and an inscription stating that the book was presented to H. B. Tristram by the East Durham Book Hawking Society. Between the pages of this book I found three letters addressed to H. B. Tristram—two from Lyell and one from Sedgwick. These letters, as far as I know, have never been published. The name of Tristram does not occur in Life, letters and journals of Sir Charles Lyell,2 books on Lyell by T. G. Bonney3 and E. Bailey,4 and in Life and letters of Sedgwick.5 Thus the publication of these letters may be of historical interest. I have consulted Lord Lyell and his mother, Lady Lyell, who have no objection to the letters being published, but I failed to get in touch with the descendants of H. B. Tristram, or Sedgwick. The three letters contain no private matter and their publication can offend no one. The Reverend Henry Bower Tristram (182 2-1906), divine and naturalist, obtained his B.A. and M.A. at Oxford, in 1849 he became Rector at Castle Eden, Co. Durham, and in 1870 Canon of Durham Cathedral. In 1855-1857 he travelled in Algeria, the Sahara and later in Palestine and Egypt. In i860 he published a book, The Great Sahara.
    [Show full text]
  • Graphical Evidence for the Solar Coronal Structure During the Maunder Minimum: Comparative Study of the Total Eclipse Drawings in 1706 and 1715
    J. Space Weather Space Clim. 2021, 11,1 Ó H. Hayakawa et al., Published by EDP Sciences 2021 https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2020035 Available online at: www.swsc-journal.org Topical Issue - Space climate: The past and future of solar activity RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS Graphical evidence for the solar coronal structure during the Maunder minimum: comparative study of the total eclipse drawings in 1706 and 1715 Hisashi Hayakawa1,2,3,4,*, Mike Lockwood5,*, Matthew J. Owens5, Mitsuru Sôma6, Bruno P. Besser7, and Lidia van Driel – Gesztelyi8,9,10 1 Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, 4648601 Nagoya, Japan 2 Institute for Advanced Researches, Nagoya University, 4648601 Nagoya, Japan 3 Science and Technology Facilities Council, RAL Space, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, OX11 0QX Didcot, UK 4 Nishina Centre, Riken, 3510198 Wako, Japan 5 Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, RG6 6BB Reading, UK 6 National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 1818588 Mitaka, Japan 7 Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 8042 Graz, Austria 8 Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, RH5 6NT Dorking, UK 9 LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 92195 Meudon, France 10 Konkoly Observatory, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1121 Budapest, Hungary Received 18 October 2019 / Accepted 29 June 2020 Abstract – We discuss the significant implications of three eye-witness drawings of the total solar eclipse on 1706 May 12 in comparison with two on 1715 May 3, for our understanding of space climate change. These events took place just after what has been termed the “deep Maunder Minimum” but fall within the “extended Maunder Minimum” being in an interval when the sunspot numbers start to recover.
    [Show full text]
  • Newton As Philosopher
    This page intentionally left blank NEWTON AS PHILOSOPHER Newton’s philosophical views are unique and uniquely difficult to categorize. In the course of a long career from the early 1670s until his death in 1727, he articulated profound responses to Cartesian natural philosophy and to the prevailing mechanical philosophy of his day. Newton as Philosopher presents Newton as an original and sophisti- cated contributor to natural philosophy, one who engaged with the principal ideas of his most important predecessor, René Descartes, and of his most influential critic, G. W. Leibniz. Unlike Descartes and Leibniz, Newton was systematic and philosophical without presenting a philosophical system, but, over the course of his life, he developed a novel picture of nature, our place within it, and its relation to the creator. This rich treatment of his philosophical ideas, the first in English for thirty years, will be of wide interest to historians of philosophy, science, and ideas. ANDREW JANIAK is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Duke University. He is editor of Newton: Philosophical Writings (2004). NEWTON AS PHILOSOPHER ANDREW JANIAK Duke University CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521862868 © Andrew Janiak 2008 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Newton on the Beach: the Information Order of Principia Mathematica
    Hist. Sci., xlvii (2009) NEWTON ON THE BEACH: THE INFORMATION ORDER OF PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA Simon Schaffer Cambridge University WHAT I MAY SEEM TO THE WORLD I know not what I may seem to the world, but as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.1 It is one of the most celebrated of Isaac Newton’s obiter dicta. Like many such, its provenance is hazy. The literary reference may well be to a passage from John Milton’s great redemptive poem Paradise regained (1671) where, in dialogue with Satan, Christ praises divine illumination above pagan learning: “who reads / Inces- santly, and to his reading brings not / A spirit and judgment equal or superior, / … Uncertain and unsettled still remains, / Deep verst in books, and shallow in himself, / Crude or intoxicate, collecting toys / And trifles for choice matters, worth a spunge, / As children gath’ring pebbles on the shore”.2 But the remark’s immediate relation with Newton is more ambiguous. The earliest version is found in a conversation of April 1730, three years after Newton’s death, between the gossipy man of letters Joseph Spence and the Jacobite, freemason and court tutor Andrew Ramsay. While chatting about Newton’s debt to ancient theology and his strange attitudes towards the doctrine of the Trinity, Ramsay quoted Newton’s phrase, adding it was “as great as all” of Principia mathematica.3 Never one to let a nice epigram slip, Ramsay then incorporated the expression in his 1732 Plan of education for a young prince, composed to help tutor the heirs of a noble French clan.
    [Show full text]