Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution
Biographies are usually written about a person because of their accomplishments in their life and how they are a good influence to other people – and Newton certainly had many accomplishments that have personally influenced me to pursue a scientific career later on in my life, as well as having many connections to other great figures, morals, events, etc. The book “Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution” is a biography about Isaac Newton and his life; as well as his scientific discoveries he has accomplished. The author, Gale E. Christianson, has a unique writing style about Newton by setting an ‘atmosphere’ of Newton’s life, and inputting glossarial definitions beside the words of important quotes reflecting on Newton, both of which helps make the reader grasp and comprehend more about the details of this great man’s life.
Newton’s childhood experiences had a major impact in his life. During his childhood, Newton was keen on building various objects out of wood. For example, he made sundials and clocks, all by learning about the position of the sun and a basic knowledge of the mechanisms on clocks. With inductive reasoning, one can assume that he already was interested in science by wanting to make these objects. In addition to that, he was also keen on reading. His reading might have helped further flourish his curious mind. A good point is that many other intellectual figures throughout history have also loved reading, which I find is a good correlation to help encourage more people to read and become just as well known as these people, like Newton.
Another significant part in his childhood was when he fought with a person who was ranked above him. Noticing that the child ranked above him fought with him because he was the second last person in the school’s academic rankings, Newton decided to actually try in school, and managed to get to the top of the academic standings. This is surprising, since another important figure in science, Albert Einstein, also had bad marks in school. Both Newton and Einstein are prominent scientists, and both did badly in school. My guess is that they have probably understood everything they were taught in school, which made them not try and gain bad marks.
The other significant event that holds importance is when Newton revolutionized our understanding of light optics (the science of light). Newton was the first one to discover that white light was made out of all of the colors of the rainbow. However, this new discovery would not be applauded by many since very few went to Newton’s lectures about light. On the other hand, due to Newton’s inventive mind and his many years of research on the nature of light, Newton made the first reflective telescope. This event in his life is a good example of how you can use the knowledge you have gained from science and use it to make practical things in life. For example, by observing and noticing that matter is made out of electrons and those electrons can flow freely throughout conductive substances, humankind has made advanced electronics, ranging from tv’s, cell phones, and computers – all from the knowledge of electrons and atoms. By making the reflective telescope, Newton had many people flocking to his lectures about light optics. This event is also a good piece of evidence as to how Newton revolutionized science and how he influenced people to aspire with a scientific mind – like me. In addition to that, this “never giving up” image of Newton during this event can also be reflected as a moral to never give up, as you will be rewarded soon enough; just like how Newton was rewarded by the praise of many individuals after.
The events of Newton’s life have certainly entertained me, but the style of the author’s writing furthered my enjoyment of the book and of Isaac Newton. Christianson’s writing style helps readers understand more about Isaac Newton. When difficult terms are used (such as a quote from Newton himself with difficult words), there are simpler definitions of the difficult word in brackets beside it. For example, on page 51, Christianson wrote a simpler term of paradoxical to define that term from a direct quote from Newton: “It may seem a paradoxical [strange] assertion, yet it is the necessary consequence of some experiments which I have made concerning the nature of light.” This is a very good practice that Christianson is doing since it helps readers (such as myself) know what Newton meant from his quotes.
The other good writing style in which the author of this biography used was the detailed description of the time period or day, which helps sets the reader into the right ‘atmosphere’ of how Isaac Newton’s life was during that time. It was as if he was describing the setting or the place Newton was at, and that helped me as a reader because I could visualize the events that had happened in Newton’s life. We can see how the author used this style on the first page in chapter one: “At little before ten o’clock the drum roll began, first distant and then ever louder as the thousands that were gathering to see a king die wound their way through the choked streets of London to the palace of Whitehall. It was January 30, 1649. The weather was exceedingly cold, the sky gray with scattered patches of sunshine, the frost so sharp that great chunks of ice floating in the river Thames clogged the arches of London Bridge.” In this paragraph, the author used a heaping amount of description about the time, about the number of people being there, the place, and even the weather – all to help make the reader feel like they were in that time frame.
Isaac Newton was a phenomenal person that I have read about in Christianson’s biography – with many accomplishments and influenced me to pursue my life with a scientific mind. Newton had many great significant events which played throughout his life which also could be connected with other great figures, morals, events, etc. With the great writing styles of Christianson, which include his beneficial “mini-glossary” his description of the ‘atmosphere’, along with Newton’s life, I enjoyed the biography and will continue to read it, hoping there will be more good influences Newton will teach me.
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