hayes.pa@XEROX.COM (01/30/88)
Look, it doesnt really MATTER, but since you raise the subject you ought to get it right. At the time Newton did his research he wasnt a `nobody'. He was a famous and respected professor of mathematics, and had been internationally noted since his teens, having been a remarkable prodigy ( his professor of mathematics resigned to give his chair to Newton because he considered him so superior in ability ). At the time his work was published ( in the form of `Principia' ) he was a senior member of the Royal Society and had been famous for many years. Far from having a hard time propogating his ideas, Newton was careless about writing them down and only did so when urged and nagged by his friends, such as Sir Christopher Wren and a couple of other nobodies, and when he thought there was a danger that Descartes might get some of the credit. His work was an immediate sellout all over the Western civilised world, went through many editions, making a fortune for his publisher, and instantly became the accepted perspective on understanding cosmology and mechanics. Sermons were preached about his ideas in St. Pauls cathedral within weeks of them appearing. Speeches were made at meetings of the Royal Society about what an incredible breakthrough this all was, the King gave Newton a medal, and so on. The only comparable fuss in our time is probably that made over Einstein when the eclipse observations of the transit of Mercury confirmed general relativity. I am sure there are examples which make Levys point about new ideas having a hard time ( how about haloid-process copying ? ) but Newton isnt one of them.