When Isaac Newton discovered the theory of gravity, which is very simple, yet fundamental in its premise: The product of two masses and some scale factor divided by the square of the distance between them gives the force of said masses in Newtons. Am I right to assume Newton only knew of Algebra and Calculus on a high school level, perhaps calculus III, when he made this discovery? Had Newton lived today then would he be as prolific in his discoveries? Is a great mind always great or was he simply in the right era at the right time for his discoveries?
There are lot of scientists advancing branches of mathematics and physics in these times, yet none of them are regarded as geniuses in respect to Newton or Einstein. Most people haven't heard of their names because their work, albeit complex, is only conjecture and incredibly obscure relative to the theory of Gravity, which has been proven many times in many ways. So given that we know of gravity through Newton and Einstein, in what field will the next prolific genius be in? What will his work consist of? Will the general public be able to comprehend his work as we can intuitively understand Newton's and some of Einstein's or will only those with expertise, PhDs, Masters, be able to understand it?
Newton's work is irreducibly simple, yet overwhelming complex. It's simple because the formula is so elegant and understandable to many people outside of academia. Yet, it's complex because only a genius could make the observations Newton did at the times he lived. But then Einstein came along and added an extra dimension to Newton's discovery, which effectively made any subsequent work inaccessible to the general public, like the emergence of Quantum Physics. To understand the mathematics of discovery we have today, you will need a college degree and a lot of experience behind you.
When will our discoveries stop? Like I said, what is the next big discovery waiting to happen in Science and will we all be able to understand it like we can Newton's work.? Or to put it another way, what will someone have to discover to be up there with Newton and Einstein, remembered from generation to the next?
There are lot of scientists advancing branches of mathematics and physics in these times, yet none of them are regarded as geniuses in respect to Newton or Einstein. Most people haven't heard of their names because their work, albeit complex, is only conjecture and incredibly obscure relative to the theory of Gravity, which has been proven many times in many ways. So given that we know of gravity through Newton and Einstein, in what field will the next prolific genius be in? What will his work consist of? Will the general public be able to comprehend his work as we can intuitively understand Newton's and some of Einstein's or will only those with expertise, PhDs, Masters, be able to understand it?
Newton's work is irreducibly simple, yet overwhelming complex. It's simple because the formula is so elegant and understandable to many people outside of academia. Yet, it's complex because only a genius could make the observations Newton did at the times he lived. But then Einstein came along and added an extra dimension to Newton's discovery, which effectively made any subsequent work inaccessible to the general public, like the emergence of Quantum Physics. To understand the mathematics of discovery we have today, you will need a college degree and a lot of experience behind you.
When will our discoveries stop? Like I said, what is the next big discovery waiting to happen in Science and will we all be able to understand it like we can Newton's work.? Or to put it another way, what will someone have to discover to be up there with Newton and Einstein, remembered from generation to the next?
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