> The "mechanics" that Newtonian theory (and its predecessors, Galilean mechanics and Kepler's model of the solar system) replaced were indeed replaced--nobody

> The "mechanics" that Newtonian theory (and its predecessors, Galilean mechanics and Kepler's model of the solar system) replaced were indeed replaced--nobody uses Aristotelian physics or Ptolemaic cosmology any more, not even as approximations. But that does not always happen. Yeah, about that... A not-insignificant number of people would have a hard time explaining why the moon has phases, let alone be able to do something like explain the sidereal day.