Sorcerer, Isn't Intriguing Enough, His Suggestions That Sir Isaac

110224 NEWTON
If the title of Michael White’s book Isaac Newton, The Last
Sorcerer, isn’t intriguing enough, his suggestions that Sir Isaac
anticipated the battle between Einstein’s General Relativity and
quantum mechanics is positively jaw-dropping. Furthermore, it was
Newton’s interest in alchemy that influenced many of his ideas
about gravity.
Newton is, of course, famous for describing gravity as a
mathematical equation. According to legend, the idea came to him
while watching an apple fall from a tree. Gravitational force,
Newton said, is both proportional to the product of the masses of
two objects and inversely proportional to square of the distance
between them.
Maybe. Newton also invented the system of mathematics,
calculus that allowed us to describe gravity and the motions of
heavenly bodies.
It is all quite plainly written in Newton’s book The
Principia Mathematica. Well, plainly written if you know Latin
and can decipher calculus. The Principia is widely recognized as
a very difficult book to slog through but even so, it remains a
cornerstone of meticulous scientific endevour and is widely
recognized as having literally changed the world. However, Newton
didn’t want it to be widely read. White says that Newton never
intended The Principia to be accessible by every starry-eyed,
society dim-wit who hadn’t done the math, so to speak.

Furthermore, at that point in his life, Newton was deeply
protective of his work, almost to the point of paranoia.
An older and more seasoned Newton later wrote a series of
books meant for a wider audience. Optics was written in English
and avoided most of the complicated math. Presumably, Optics
found a wider audience and had greater influence on future
generations, White says.
Optics, as its title suggests represents Newton’s
exploration of light. These were discussions of some of Newton’s
early explorations – but not published until much later. Optics
contains ideas which were at the time considered controversial
and possibly heretical. They were also some of his most
astounding ideas.
For example, Newton suggested that light acts in some
respects like gravity. That objects act on it at a distance:
“Query 1. Do not bodies act upon light at a distance, and by
their action bend its rays; and is not this action....strongest
at the least distance?” (White, 289). Of course, it was this very
idea that catapulted Einstein to world-wide rock-star status
almost exactly 200 years later. Einstein’s General Relativity
argues that light rays passing near the sun would be bent by its
distortion of space-time: (Einstein’s bowling ball on fabric).
White describes Newton’s meteoric rise from shy socially-
awkward, young country gentleman to distinguished professor of
mathematics to the certain, authoritarian master of the British
mint and president of the British Royal Society of Sciences.

Newton was a gaunt, obsessive, haunted, ego-driven man. He could
also be petulent and ruthless in the mastering of his enemies.
Nevertheless, Newton contributed far more to our understanding of
our universe than the axiom that “an apple doesn’t fall far.”
Imaginative though, he was, Newton was also a disciplined,
meticulous thinker. He was also willing to pursue his ideas down
any avenue which they might take him. And he pursued them down
the road of alchemy. This is the sort of magician/scientist who
sought the philosopher’s stone, sought immortality, tried to turn
lead into gold, and all that. Whether or not Newton was
successful at those things is not completely clear (he did live
to see old age and was quite wealthy when he died, however, we
are pretty sure he failed to become immortal). Nevertheless, many
of his ideas, White argues, were heavily influenced by his years
standing over the alchemist’s crucible and furnace: “We shall see
that his fascination with alchemy was a major influence in the
development of his ideas about gravity” (White, 106).
“...It is also clear that he was interested in a synthesis
of all knowledge and was a devout seeker of some form of unified
theory of the principles of the universe” (IBID). If Newton had
one regret, White says, it was that he failed to find such a
unified theory of knowledge.
That’s alchemy, White suggests. It is about more than
extended life spans and unimaginable riches. Most alchemists,
White says, met their ends at regrettably young ages; the results
of laboratory mishaps or the dangerous chemicals they of exposed

themselves to. Alchemists often also died poor, having spent what
ever pences they might have on expensive chemicals or equipment.
White suggests that alchemy was an intellectual expression of the
quest for a universal truth; an unified theory of everything.
Newton, however, remains one of those enigmatic historical
figures we only encounter rarely. He possessed a mind and
ambition far and away superior to seemed to see and understand
things about the universe that most of us could only imagine.
Fortunately, we have White’s book to open a window into Newton’s
world.

Sorcerer, Isn't Intriguing Enough, His Suggestions That Sir Isaac

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sorcerer, Isn't Intriguing Enough, His Suggestions That Sir Isaac

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sorcerer, Isn't Intriguing Enough, His Suggestions That Sir Isaac

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

110224 NEWTON

If the title of Michael White’s book Isaac Newton, The Last

Sorcerer, isn’t intriguing enough, his suggestions that Sir Isaac

anticipated the battle between Einstein’s General Relativity and

quantum mechanics is positively jaw-dropping. Furthermore, it was

Newton’s interest in alchemy that influenced many of his ideas

Newton is, of course, famous for describing gravity as a

mathematical equation. According to legend, the idea came to him

while watching an apple fall from a tree. Gravitational force,

Newton said, is both proportional to the product of the masses of

two objects and inversely proportional to square of the distance

Maybe. Newton also invented the system of mathematics,

calculus that allowed us to describe gravity and the motions of

It is all quite plainly written in Newton’s book The

Principia Mathematica. Well, plainly written if you know Latin

and can decipher calculus. The Principia is widely recognized as

a very difficult book to slog through but even so, it remains a

cornerstone of meticulous scientific endevour and is widely

recognized as having literally changed the world. However, Newton

didn’t want it to be widely read. White says that Newton never

intended The Principia to be accessible by every starry-eyed,

society dim-wit who hadn’t done the math, so to speak.

protective of his work, almost to the point of paranoia.

An older and more seasoned Newton later wrote a series of

books meant for a wider audience. Optics was written in English

and avoided most of the complicated math. Presumably, Optics

found a wider audience and had greater influence on future

generations, White says.

Optics, as its title suggests represents Newton’s

exploration of light. These were discussions of some of Newton’s

early explorations – but not published until much later. Optics

contains ideas which were at the time considered controversial

and possibly heretical. They were also some of his most

For example, Newton suggested that light acts in some

respects like gravity. That objects act on it at a distance:

“Query 1. Do not bodies act upon light at a distance, and by

their action bend its rays; and is not this action....strongest

at the least distance?” (White, 289). Of course, it was this very

idea that catapulted Einstein to world-wide rock-star status

almost exactly 200 years later. Einstein’s General Relativity

distortion of space-time: (Einstein’s bowling ball on fabric).

White describes Newton’s meteoric rise from shy socially-

awkward, young country gentleman to distinguished professor of

mathematics to the certain, authoritarian master of the British

mint and president of the British Royal Society of Sciences.

also be petulent and ruthless in the mastering of his enemies.

Nevertheless, Newton contributed far more to our understanding of

Imaginative though, he was, Newton was also a disciplined,

meticulous thinker. He was also willing to pursue his ideas down

the road of alchemy. This is the sort of magician/scientist who

sought the philosopher’s stone, sought immortality, tried to turn

successful at those things is not completely clear (he did live

are pretty sure he failed to become immortal). Nevertheless, many

of his ideas, White argues, were heavily influenced by his years

that his fascination with alchemy was a major influence in the

development of his ideas about gravity” (White, 106).

“...It is also clear that he was interested in a synthesis

of all knowledge and was a devout seeker of some form of unified

theory of the principles of the universe” (IBID). If Newton had