This just in... After some savvy investigation, I am reporting on new information that has been discovered. The head trauma thought to have been suffered by Sir Isaac Newton may have been erroneously reported by others. Information has come to light from sources close to Newton himself. "The celebrated apple tree, the fall of one of the apples which is said to have turned the attention of Newton to the subject of gravity, was destroyed by wind about four years ago; buy Mr. Turnor has preserved it in the form of a chair. The anecdote of the falling apple is mentioned by Dr. Stukely nor by Mr. Conduitt, and, as I did not feel at liberty to use it". Stukely and Conduitt were friends of Newton with whom he shared the genesis of his discoveries. Mr. Conduitt was later married to Sir Newton's half-niece, Catherine Barton. In yet another work by Brewster, Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, he states: "The apple is said to have fallen from the tree at Woolsthorpe, and suggested to Newton the idea of gravity. Neither Pemberton nor Whiston, who received from Newton himself the History of his first Ideas of Gravity, records the story of the falling apple. It was mentioned, however, to Voltaire by Catherine Barton, Newton's niece, and to Mr. Green by Martin Folkes, the President of the Royal Society". Voltaire, a friend of Mrs. Barton-Conduitt, took the tale to new heights. He appropriated the legend and invested it with religious tradition by associating Newton's fallen apple with the apple of the book of Genesis which Eve plucked from the Tree of Knowledge. Voltaire philosophized that Newton's apple "inverts, transcends, and reverses the consequences of the apple that 'fell' in the Garden of Eden". Brewster and Conduitt believe that an apple may have fallen and Newton may have seen it and observed that the power of gravity was not limited to a certain distance. But, in no way should the apple be blamed for any head trauma to Sir Newton himself. [1] [2] Sir Newton could not be reached for comment. -- Reported by Julie Johnston, Webb City Junior High [1] McKie, D., & deBeer, G.R. (1951). Newton's Apple. The Royal Society. Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 46-54. [2] Epstein, J.L. (1979). Voltaire's Myth of Newton. Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association. Vol. 14, Oct. 1979, pp. 27-33. |