Did Sir Isaac Newton ever claim that his mind in 1666 was "remarkably fit for invention"?
score:31
Accepted answer
I believe the authors are paraphrasing a fairly well-known extract from a draft of a letter from Newton to Pierre Des Maizeaux, written in 1718. The extract in full reads as follows:
In the beginning of the year 1665 1 found the method of approximating series and the rule for reducing any dignity [power] of any binomial into such a series. The same year in May I found the method of tangents of Gregory and Slusius, and in November had the direct method of fluxions and the next year [1666] in January had the theory of colours and in May following I had entrance into the inverse method of fluxions. And the same year I began to think of gravity extending to the orb of the moon ... All this was in the two plague years of 1665 and 1666, for in those days I was in the prime of my age for invention and minded Mathematics and Philosophy more than at any time since.
(my emphasis)
- [Quoted in A. Rupert Hall, Philosophers at War: The Quarrel Between Newton and Leibnitz, Cambridge University Press, 1980, p11]
The original draft of the letter is held in the collection of Cambridge University Library.
It has been digitised and is available to view under the reference MS Add.3968.29: 420-437 from their online collection.
More post
- 📝 Did ancient Romans anticipate the fall of Rome?
- 📝 How did Carthage Lose the First Punic War to Rome?
- 📝 In WW2, did Germany ever mine Uranium from Czechoslovakia?
- 📝 Why did science flourish in Germany after the First World War?
- 📝 Did Nazi Party members fight on the front lines?
- 📝 Why didn't the Persians make and use ballistas and other kinds of artillery?
- 📝 Why was Anne of Austria so called?
- 📝 Identify male uniform 1860-80 north Central Europe single breast trouser boot round cap
- 📝 Why were women monarchs allowed to rule in patriarchal societies?
- 📝 Manufacturing plans of historic industrial or military goods
- 📝 Diminishing powers of the Roman Catholic church in international matters
- 📝 In Canada, is it true that when Mormons first arrived (1887) they weren't allowed to settle within 50km of Lethbridge?
- 📝 Why are the capitals of central Asian countries right against the borders?
- 📝 How young of a child could do significant labor?
- 📝 Did the Germans "mix up" Army Groups A and B during Fall Blau?
- 📝 What was the Julian Calendar aligned to?
- 📝 Can anyone tell me if this is legit WW2 Nazi ring?
- 📝 How realistic are the number of battle deaths in the Anabasis?
- 📝 Medal of Honor for retreating before an enemy?
- 📝 How was Napoleon's military funded just a decade after the French Revolution ostensibly because of bankruptcy/mismanagement of funds?
- 📝 What's the Ancient Egyptian phrase/word for “Royal Road of Life”? And how would it have been spelt?
- 📝 Did war chariots ever actually have blades on the wheel hubs?
- 📝 Why is there less public attention on the firebombing of Japan compared to its atomic bombing?
- 📝 Was the Kingdom of Nri truly pacifistic?
- 📝 Is there a relationship between the Pelasgians and Sea Peoples?
- 📝 Why did Mongolia split in two when they declared independence?
- 📝 What factors contributed to the rise of national monarchies in the high middle ages?
- 📝 How did the development of unbreakable and asymmetric encryption change warfare?
- 📝 How was the vast Khazar fortress of Sarkel destroyed?
- 📝 Why did Syria intervene in favour of the Maronites during the Lebanese Civil War?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Did Sir Isaac Newton ever claim that his mind in 1666 was "remarkably fit for invention"?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 How did Isaac Newton support himself in the period of self-study that he conducted at 23?(after he received his B.A.)
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 Did the Russian Empire have a claim to Sweden? Was there ever a time where they could have pursued it?
- 📝 Why did Robert E. Lee say that George McClellan was the best general he ever faced?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to corroborate the claim that Rudolf Höss was physically abused by the Allies after his capture?
- 📝 Did Gorbachev say that his intention was to destroy Communism?
- 📝 Did this "sledge rigged like a sloop" vehicle ever exist, or was it an invention of Jules Verne?
- 📝 What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
- 📝 How did people realize that America was a different continent?
- 📝 Did Truman really believe that Hiroshima was a military base?
- 📝 Did the Tamil People discover that the earth was round 2000 years ago?
- 📝 Before European influence circa 1600, did any Chinese believe the Earth was spherical, and did they ever try to measure it?
- 📝 Did any ancient polytheistic religion hold that theirs was the only pantheon?
- 📝 Was Nazi science that involved human experimentation ever actually used for anything?
- 📝 If Bill Clinton was impeached, why did he finish his second term?
- 📝 What was the largest land area that Germany has ever controlled?
- 📝 Did Goebbels realize that his wife used to know Arlozorov?
- 📝 Did Mussolini know that Hitler was going to attack Poland?
- 📝 Was there ever a single train that ran straight from San Francisco to New York City, or any that ran truly from coast to coast?
- 📝 Did JFK really say "Hitler is one of the greatest men…one of the most significant figures that ever lived"?
- 📝 Did Marcus Aurelius ever deliberate about his son's succession?
- 📝 Was it widely known during his reign that Kaiser Wilhelm II had a deformed arm?
- 📝 When did we figure out that Venus was too hot for humans?
- 📝 Did Theodore Roosevelt ever say the "things that will destroy America" quote?
- 📝 How did people ensure that renaissance Papal election bribery was honored?
- 📝 What was the first instance of native Americans using gunpowder weapons in battle and did they ever make their own powder?
- 📝 When did Lincoln claim that "Vicksburg is the key" to winning the civil war?
- 📝 Did Jim Morrison ever comment on his father's career choice or role in the Vietnam war?
