Newton And Observation

"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent." - Sir Isaac Newton

Who said it

Sir Isaac Newton, an English scientist, physicist, mathematician and philosopher, is one of the most influential persons in science and mathematics due to his numerous discoveries and contributions that has changed and shaped the way that we view our world. Newton is credited with the laws of mechanics, such as the three laws of motion and the laws of gravitation. Newton is also credited, together with Leibnitz, with the development of calculus. Through these achievements, Newton has made a place for himself among the greatest thinkers and scholars the world has ever seen.

What it means

Though one can say that Newton is merely being humble in this quote, but for scientists and researchers, this offers a valuable insight. New discoveries most of the time is not due to some special talent or intuition; it’s more about looking at phenomena and events closely and observing the essential details about them. Aside from that, there’s also a need to look at the world as if for the first time, where each detail is new and fresh. And another point made by Newton is that observation by itself is a talent; that is, when you properly see things as they are without much presupposition of bias. Where instead of having the phenomena conform to the facts, a proper observer should make the facts be consistent with the phenomena.