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Based on my reading of Jim Gleick's biography Isaac Newton and my background as a theoretical physicist, I believe your comment is essentially accurate. In part
by mhartl 16y ago
Based on my reading of Jim Gleick's biography Isaac Newton and my background as a theoretical physicist, I believe your comment is essentially accurate. In particular, Newton's desire to connect calculus with Euclidean geometry is certainly correct. As you note, the Principia eschews calculus in favor of geometric arguments: Newton used calculus for his private calculations and then translated the results into more conventional geometry to meet his audience's expectations. I'm not sure about the religious aspect, but Newton was privately a heretic (he believed in a unitary god—an awkward belief for a professor at Trinity College), so he definitely knew how to placate the religious authorities. Finally, the Leibniz anecdote is new to me, but it sounds plausible.
In any case, I don't think your comment should have been killed.
- nitrogen 16y agoI believe your comment is essentially accurate. I can't take credit for the comment. It was posted by HN user korch. I only wanted to know if it was correct.