Re: rant on the morality of confidentiality (fwd)

[Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>]

Forwarded message:

> Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 00:01:22 -0800
> From: Blanc <blancw@cnw.com>
> Subject: Re: rant on the morality of confidentiality (fwd)

> " His deepest instincts were occult, esoteric, semantic - with profound
> shrinking from the world, a paralyzing fear of exposing his thoughts, his
> beliefs, his discoveries in all nakedness to the inspection and criticism
> of the world.  'Of the most fearful, cautious and suspicious temper that I
> ever knew', said Whiston,

> The too
> well-known conflicts and ignoble quarrels with Hooke, Flamsteed, Leibnitz
> are only too clear an evidence of this.

Would you or Keynes like to explain how such an aloof character could have
had so many 'well-known' conflicts without publishing and discussing his and
others work? How can somebody who supposedly never published have become so
well know? I guess he got somebody else to stand in for him in the various
discourses he partook of at the Royal Society meetings.

> He parted with and published nothing except under the
> extreme pressure of friends.

I would suggest a simple trip to the library and look at what is published
by Newton. If I get the chance I'll take a look and catalog some of the
anonymous publishing that are attributed to him. It may take a while, this
unfortunately can't reside very high on my list of priorities; sorry.

> Until the second phase of his life, he was a
> wrapt, consecrated solitary, pursuing his studies by intenese introspection
> with a mental endurance perhaps never equalled.

Would you or Keynes like to explain exactly how a government employee,
,as the Exchequer or as a Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics)
would remain solitary? I guess Newton went to the various mints (if memory
serves at the time there were 3) and did his other duties including
presenting cases in court related to theft and counterfeiting by proxy?

> There is the story of how he informed Halley of one of his most fundamental
> discoveries of planetary motion.  'Yes', replied Halley, 'but how do you
> know that?  Have you proved it?'  Newton was taken aback - 'Why, I've known
> it for years', he replied.  'If you'll give me a few days, I'll certainly
> find you a proof of it' - as in due course he did."

Yeah, Halley had just seen the comet and was trying to figure out it's
orbit. He approached many people on the issue and Newton was the only one
who could resolve the issue in England. Because of the long periodicity and
the fact that Halley didn't have 3 sightings he couldn't use the standard
orbit calculations. By using calculus, which Newton had invented and Halley
didn't know, it was possible to calculate an envelope of orbits. Haley then
researched records of sightings and determined that only one comet with a
75+ year orbit could be it. If Newton was so unknown from not publishing why
did Halley even care to ask Newton?

Halley was a pretty notable character in his own right. He was given a ship
to do the first magnetic map of the N. Atlantic, he called it 'Paramour
Pink' (Pink Lover). He and the prince of Russia would also push themselves
around London in a wheelbarrow drunk as skunks...



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