The Asymptotic Genius
Published by admin December 17th, 2006 in Newton, GeniusCharles wrote in http://cosmicvariance.com/2006/12/15/putting-your-money-where-your-beliefs-are/
I will take you up on your wager and bet on Sklansky on the math test. It be interesting to see how Newton tackled questions involving complex numbers, for example, where many of the basic results were established decades after his death.
I agree. Newton being a mathematician of genius is a myth. Anyone who believes that Newton is a mathematics god (say, a better mathematician than Huygens) should read Newton’s book known by his mythical latinized first name as Principia. You would see that all the mathematics in Principia is simple K-12 material presented in archaic language. Once you spend time to dig Newton’s intentional and masterful obscurantism you would see that there is nothing of genius in there.
No physicist ever read Newton’s book but they still tell us that it is the most brilliant scientific tome ever written.
And if you believe that Newton invented calculus just look at your favorite modern calculus book. It is the calculus of Leibniz. Calculus books teach Leibniz calculus but celebrate Newton simply because Newton had the better marketing and PR firm (the well-oiled British propaganda machine.)