[math-fun] Isaac Newton quote (?)
I could've sworn that Isaac Newton, when asked how he got his solutions to math and physics problems, replied "By thinking upon them constantly", but I've tried entering this sentence (and semantically-equivalent variants) into Google, and I haven't been able to find it. Does anyone know the quote I'm mis-remembering? I should say I've done my due diligence (five minutes with a search engine) before daring to bother you all. Jim
I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait 'till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light. Reply upon being asked how he made his discoveries, as quoted in "Biographia Britannica: Or the Lives of the Most Eminent Persons who Have Flourished in Great Britain from the Earliest Ages Down to the Present Times, Volume 5", by W. Innys, (1760), p. 3241. https://goo.gl/yM8dNG On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 12:05 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
I could've sworn that Isaac Newton, when asked how he got his solutions to math and physics problems, replied "By thinking upon them constantly", but I've tried entering this sentence (and semantically-equivalent variants) into Google, and I haven't been able to find it.
Does anyone know the quote I'm mis-remembering?
I should say I've done my due diligence (five minutes with a search engine) before daring to bother you all.
Jim _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://www.math.ucr.edu/~mike http://reperiendi.wordpress.com
Thanks! Now I believe it. Jim On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 2:56 PM, Mike Stay <metaweta@gmail.com> wrote:
I keep the subject constantly before me, and wait 'till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.
Reply upon being asked how he made his discoveries, as quoted in "Biographia Britannica: Or the Lives of the Most Eminent Persons who Have Flourished in Great Britain from the Earliest Ages Down to the Present Times, Volume 5", by W. Innys, (1760), p. 3241.
On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 12:05 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
I could've sworn that Isaac Newton, when asked how he got his solutions to math and physics problems, replied "By thinking upon them constantly", but I've tried entering this sentence (and semantically-equivalent variants) into Google, and I haven't been able to find it.
Does anyone know the quote I'm mis-remembering?
I should say I've done my due diligence (five minutes with a search engine) before daring to bother you all.
Jim _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
-- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://www.math.ucr.edu/~mike http://reperiendi.wordpress.com
_______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
Not actually an answer to the question, but interesting read. Despite the title, Newton's quotes and 'quotes' are discussed also: https://aeon.co/essays/why-do-we-love-to-quote-and-misquote-albert-einstein On Tue, Mar 20, 2018 at 1:05 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
I could've sworn that Isaac Newton, when asked how he got his solutions to math and physics problems, replied "By thinking upon them constantly", but I've tried entering this sentence (and semantically-equivalent variants) into Google, and I haven't been able to find it.
Does anyone know the quote I'm mis-remembering?
I should say I've done my due diligence (five minutes with a search engine) before daring to bother you all.
Jim _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun
participants (3)
-
James Propp -
Mike Stay -
Paul Reiners