Could we have entered into the mind of Sir Isaac Newton, and have traced all the steps by which he produced his great works, we might see nothing very extraordinary in the process.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Newton, of course, was the inventor of differential calculus so his place in the tale is quite special.
I've always been amazed by Da Vinci, because he worked out science on his own. He would work by drawing things and writing down his ideas. Of course, he designed all sorts of flying machines way before you could actually build something like that.
I had the idea that it would be wonderful to be a physicist or a mathematician maybe 500 years ago around the time of Newton when there were really fundamental things just lying around to be discovered.
The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm.
From the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician.
There seems to be one quality of mind which seems to be of special and extreme advantage in leading him to make discoveries. It was the power of never letting exceptions go unnoticed.
Sir Isaac Newton gave the extraterrestrials their biggest shot in the arm when he embraced the infinite universe as the basis for his hugely influential system of physics. Even so, the aliens of the early modern period remained creatures of philosophy rather than science.
The fact that the great scientist believed in flying machines was the one thing that encouraged us to begin our studies.
Everything great in science and art is simple. What can be less complicated than the greatest discoveries of humanity - gravitation, the compass, the printing press, the steam engine, the electric telegraph?
I think Newton would be the greatest scientist who ever lived.