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Essays from Our Physical World.
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The Impact of Newton in
the 21st Century
Forget Isaac Newton.
I’m the real genius. My old science teacher told me that Newton discovered
‘universal gravitation’ in 1666 while watching an apple fall from a tree
in his garden. But the truth is: I worked out gravity 332 years later
while bombing the floor with plastic Legos with my sister Toya. I
have just realized the gravity of my breakthrough and vice-versa.
Toya was given the Legos for Christmas.
I decided to show Toya
how much fun there was to be had from picking up each block and dropping
it from a great height (from our bed to the floor). To our mutual
surprise, the green one, the blue one, the yellow one and the black, white
and gray one, all being of equal shape, weight and made from the same material,
fell to the ground at the same speed.
Enter mom.
"Jean, what are you doing?”
she demanded as she surveyed the carnage.
"We’re, um, er, ah, experimenting,”
I lied.
"What do you mean we,”
she said, hands on hips.
"Toya and I,’’ I said.
"I’m, um, er, ah, showing her which block is drawn to the earth’s center
the quickest.”
"No you’re not,” mom
insisted. "You’re teaching Toya to throw her toys on the floor. When she
starts doing it by herself, I will blame you.”
Since Toya arrived in
May, my life doesn’t always seem fair.
For instance, when Toya
burps, mom applauds her; when I burp, I am reprimanded.
I am not bitter. But,
after all these sacrifices, I resent being blamed for Toya’s possible future
delinquency.
Looking back, I don’t
think mom meant to say she would blame me if Toya started throwing her
toys around. No, reading between the lines, I think she meant to say that
I deserved the credit if Toya were to follow in my footsteps and start
delving more deeply into universal gravitation.
Yes, that’s it.
Isaac Newton, son of
modest yeoman English farmers, really only discovered that apples fall
off trees when they become over ripe.
I figured out the rest. |