Blog #5: Newton Reading

Quote: "Newton was always an inward and secretive man, and for the most part, kept his monumental discoveries to himself. He had no itch to publish, and most of his great works had to be dragged out of him by the cajolery and persistence of his friends."

This quote really stood out to me because for one, I never really knew that this was the type of person that Newton was. Secondly, it just goes to show that people who are loud and "flashy" about their work and new discoveries are not the only ones that get recognized and appreciated for their work. However, with the motivation and help of his friends, Newton was able to come out of his shell and finally publish his work. I believe that that was probably one of the best things that he could've done, because it led to more opportunities.

Question: In the reading, there were a lot of emphasis put on the large amount of Newton's discoveries, from calculus to the colors of the rainbow and light in general. So, the question that came to mind, was what motivated Newton to want to study and discover math material that is so difficult and complex? I mean, I know he liked studying math as a a whole, but usually people start to gain interest about certain things through different situations, and I'm curious to know what those situations are.

Comment: Overall, I think that the reading was interesting. As a youth of today, I rarely take the time to learn a little bit about the people who have brought about the different types of math that I learn about and use today. So it was nice to gain more information about that.