Talk:Isaac Newton

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

One question about Newton is his attitude to the Royal Society. He did run it for a while, but he also despised it for a long while before that, apparently. Not sure if this is relevant to the bio you want here.

Isaac's remark -- the "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" was a barb at Hooke; I wonder if Hooke] responded other than questioning his study of prism.

The Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed was also attacked by Isaac.

Voltaire in the 12th of his Philosophic Letters (gossip and commentary from his time in England) has interesting comments about Francis Bacon and the theory of gravity. Bacon is cited as having developed the concept of attraction between all things, including celestial action such as moon on the earth or ocean, and that the attraction might decrease with distance that could be tested on mountains or in mines. Intriguing since Bacon preceded Hooke and Newton and his works would have been known to them. Unfortunately, Voltaire does not cite which work of Bacon contains this.

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Thanks for the Aspergers Syndrome link -- however it could be any one of many such related behaviors or pyschological traumas that forged Newton's personality. Remember he was able to socialize to some degree. - Sparky 09:33, 2004 Jun 26 (PDT)