Sunday, December 25, 2011

December 25

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the most remarkable people in recorded history.




Sir Isaac Newton

At the age 25, he published the Principia, which laid out the laws of force, motion, and gravity. He went on to invent calculus, showed that light is made up of a spectrum of colors, and made significant advances in optics. Although others would likely have discovered these at some point, it’s truly remarkable that one incredible intellect did so much.

Therefore, Sir Isaac, in honor of your 369th birthday, I dedicate this. Without you, it couldn't have been written. And I imagine it would be even better if all the exoplanets were known when it was.


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10 comments:

  1. History DocDecember 25, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Merry Newtonmas, everyone.

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  2. ERPDecember 25, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    Brilliant. Both him and the song.

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  3. ClaireDecember 25, 2011 at 12:34 PM

    I really need to get an apple ornament for our tree. Merry Newtonmas!

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  4. bobbieDecember 25, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    Perfectly appropo!!!

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  5. A Doc 2 BeDecember 25, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    Always look on the bright side of life!

    Python = awesomeness :)

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  6. cliffintokyoDecember 26, 2011 at 3:53 AM

    Thought you were going to do a satirical post about the *lost* da Vinci painting for a moment there!

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  7. LydiaDecember 26, 2011 at 4:32 AM

    ah, one of my favourite songs! :)

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  8. Mrs ADecember 27, 2011 at 12:34 AM

    So that's who i have to blame for inventing calculus, damn drove me nuts in school, thanks Isaac, I could have passed and got a decent job, but noooo, damn calculus..

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  9. AnonymousDecember 27, 2011 at 9:19 AM

    Mrs. A. It's worse, thankfully we threw out Newton's notation for calculus and kept Leibniz's (who invented it at roughly the same time, but didn't have the political pull to get credit).

    Thanks Newton, for writing so clearly that I can figure out the Principa with my lousy latin.

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2012 at 7:23 PM

    You neglected to mention that Newton also invented the cat flap.

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So wadda you think?