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Re: What makes science powerful?



Hugh Haskell wrote:
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders
of Giants."
That phrase has a nice resonance to it, but that is not at all
what Newton intended when he wrote it. It is part of a letter
that Newton wrote to Hooke, under duress, when the leaders of
the Royal Society decided that the feud between the two was
damaging the Society. The single sentence is taken out of
context. When the context is included one realizes that it is,
rather than a compliment, a condescending reference to Hooke's
short stature, and the rest of the paragraph damns Hooke with
faint praise.

AFAIK, this particular interpretation of "what Newton intended" is a
recent development and not widely held at this time. Considering that
scholars have had three centuries to read and interpret the Newton-Hooke
correspondence, I believe it is prudent to continue to accept the
traditional interpretation until a mainstream consensus for change
develops. That would be a "scientific" approach to this issue, yes?

Thanks for the reading suggestion. I'll try to find "Skeptic".

Best wishes,

Larry

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Larry Cartwright Retired Physics Teacher
<exit60@cablespeed.com> Charlotte MI 48813 USA
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