tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164603649660539619.post329700081583050362..comments2023-12-15T03:43:21.347-05:00Comments on Somewhat Abnormal: Newton Jumps the SharkRobert Oerterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09708981993708509662noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164603649660539619.post-36352671117892804002015-11-10T18:46:45.608-05:002015-11-10T18:46:45.608-05:00Newton was a genius, but a very flawed genius. He ...Newton was a genius, but a very flawed genius. He seems to have been obsessed with theology and alchemy as well as in engaging in bitter rivalries with many of his contemporaries: Hooke, Hyuugens, Flamsteed, Leibniz (the co-founder of calculus and the creator of much of the notation we use), etc. I'm surprised Newton didn't have the foresight conduct more practical experiments like Lavoisier to determine the composition of chemical 'substances' instead of wasting time and gray matter on rubbish.<br /><br />I suspect that Newton was, in the spirit of Renaissance Men, consumed by an obsession to understand as much about nature as humanly possible. I suspect that Newton was also a bit crazy (clinically crazy). He was fiercely suspicious and paranoid; perhaps bi-polar disorder or something to that effect. Great minds and their neuroses...(Sigh) Heisenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00227244109704426072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164603649660539619.post-36896176248939885922011-01-03T12:59:53.837-05:002011-01-03T12:59:53.837-05:00Apparently for Newton, alchemy was still a live op...Apparently for Newton, alchemy was still a live option for obtaining a deeper understanding of nature. And what we would call "real" chemistry was still in its birth throes. <br /><br />Exploring blind alleys is just part of the process of doing science, IMO. I think this example reinforces the point I made in a recent post about supernatural explanations: it's not that scientists have ruled them out, it's just that they simply don't work as well as naturalistic explanations. The fact that one of the greatest scientific minds of all time tried to employ a mystical, quasi-supernatural method of explanation, and failed, is a good illustration of that.Robert Oerterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09708981993708509662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164603649660539619.post-45390196562887204532011-01-03T08:22:10.409-05:002011-01-03T08:22:10.409-05:00It's too bad he went so far down this blind al...It's too bad he went so far down this blind alley, though he certainly wasn't/isn't the only great mind to do so. Perhaps, when you are so far ahead of your time, seeing so much farther than everyone else, you lose the ability to find the true path because there is so little known way out there, so you are left floundering around in the dark.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847300719449832136noreply@blogger.com