Newton for Ladies (1737) – Newtonianism vs. Cartesianism

20 pointsposted 5 months ago
by bgilroy26
(whipplelib.hps.cam.ac.uk)

14 Comments

srean

5 months ago

Cartesianism may be highly injurious to the ladies' dog.

Quip aside, the history of science of that period just overwhelms me. What a time ! Galileo, DesCartes, Barrow, Leibnitz, Huygens, Newton, Halley, Hooke.

geye1234

5 months ago

I recommend "The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science" by E.A. Burtt if you're interested in that period. It discusses both the science, and the different philosophies of physics that were informing and perhaps influencing them. The book is a hundred years old but very readable.

srean

5 months ago

Thanks for the reference.

OJFord

5 months ago

Progress today seems typically more industrial, but I'm sure you could likewise look back in the future and say Good heavens! Musk, Bezos, Altman, Jobs, Ive, Knuth (or extend the period for Turing, von Neumann, Brooks bros.)!

The 'Great Man' fallacy no doubt applies as well to Galileo et al. as it would more obviously be someone's objection to my contemporary list.

amelius

5 months ago

You named some people who don't belong in the same sentence.

OJFord

5 months ago

My first sentence explained the shift. My last sentence anticipated your complaint.

AfterHIA

5 months ago

If you compare our predecessor Turing to people like Musk or Bezos ever again I'll have you chemically castrated.

OJFord

5 months ago

I started by saying progress today seems more industrial (vs. academic) - if you fall down the same trap of naming a single figurehead, then yeah, that is people like Musk & Bezos. I too have more respect for Turing.

AfterHIA

5 months ago

I know mate I was just razzin' you. Rave on.

srean

5 months ago

Turing, Shannon, Neumann definitely but Musk et al ? really ?

I consider their contribution to the body of human knowledge or humanity to be of quite dubious merit. Very smart and successful businessman for sure, very good at enriching themselves, but that's about it. At best they can be compared to Rockefeller, Edison, that too at best.

On the other hand one can argue that a lot of our material welfare (as a product of science and engineering) is a direct consequence of Newton's accomplishments. Of course he did not start the fire all by himself.