Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton audiobook cover - Learn the truth behind the legend

Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton

Learn the truth behind the legend

James Gleick

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Categories:
Biography & Memoir

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Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton
Early Life & Education+
The Plague Years & Discoveries+
Academic Career & Conflicts+
Later Roles & Rivalries+
Legacy & Secrets+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
What did Newton's family originally envision for his future before his schoolmaster intervened?
  • A. A career as an apothecary
  • B. A life tending sheep on the family farm
  • C. A prestigious professorship at Cambridge
  • D. A position in the local clergy
Question 2 of 8
How did Galileo’s theories, which fascinated the young Newton, change the traditional understanding of 'motion'?
  • A. They argued that motion was an illusion created by the rotation of the Earth.
  • B. They expanded the definition of motion to include any physical change, such as a rotting apple.
  • C. They restricted the concept of motion strictly to movement through physical space.
  • D. They proved that motion could only occur when a visible force was continuously applied.
Question 3 of 8
How did the 1664 bubonic plague outbreak impact Isaac Newton's scientific career?
  • A. It forced him to abandon his studies permanently and take up farming.
  • B. It prompted him to invent the reflecting telescope to study the stars while quarantined.
  • C. It led to a period of intense, isolated experimentation at home where he developed his theories on optics and motion.
  • D. It inspired him to study medicine and pivot his focus toward discovering a cure for the disease.
Question 4 of 8
What was the ultimate result of Robert Hooke's harsh criticism of Newton's early papers on light and color?
  • A. Newton abandoned the study of optics entirely to focus on the mathematics of gravity.
  • B. Newton was pressured to produce rigorous mathematical proofs to back up his theories.
  • C. Newton was temporarily expelled from the Royal Society until Edmond Halley intervened.
  • D. Newton conceded that his theory of white light being composed of many colors was incorrect.
Question 5 of 8
What crucial role did the astronomer Edmond Halley play in Isaac Newton's life?
  • A. He co-authored the three fundamental laws of motion with Newton.
  • B. He defended Newton's claim to the invention of calculus against Leibniz.
  • C. He provided the financial backing to publish Newton's groundbreaking book, Principia Mathematica.
  • D. He helped Newton secure the position of Master of the Royal Mint.
Question 6 of 8
Why was Newton considered a logical choice to become the Master of the Royal Mint?
  • A. His background in alchemy gave him unique insights into the purification of gold and silver.
  • B. His strict religious beliefs made him highly trusted by the British monarchy.
  • C. His fame as a scientist served as a powerful deterrent to potential counterfeiters.
  • D. His mathematical expertise was highly valuable for managing correct figures, data, and a functioning currency.
Question 7 of 8
What was the core source of the bitter rivalry between Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz?
  • A. A dispute over who first invented the reflecting telescope.
  • B. A disagreement over who was the true inventor of calculus.
  • C. A clash regarding the shape of the Earth and its gravitational pull.
  • D. A competition to succeed Robert Hooke as the head of the Royal Society.
Question 8 of 8
What surprising secret about Newton was revealed in the 1930s when volumes of his old research were discovered?
  • A. He had secretly collaborated with Leibniz on mathematical theories.
  • B. He had spent his entire life practicing alchemy and studying the occult.
  • C. He had falsified the data in his famous Principia Mathematica.
  • D. He had actually been the one to introduce the 'falling apple' myth to the press.

Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton — Full Chapter Overview

Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton Summary & Overview

Narrated by Cathleen McCarron

Music by Federico Coderoni  

Isaac Newton (2003) takes readers on an insightful tour of the life and mind of one of history’s greatest thinkers. It’s more than a plain account of Newton’s life and accomplishments. Instead, we get a revealing glimpse of his habits, obsessions and eccentricities. It all makes for a revealing and rewarding biography.

Who Should Listen to Bedtime Biography: Isaac Newton?

  • Students of history
  • People interested in learning how the modern world was shaped
  • Scientists curious about the mythology behind their interests

About the Author: James Gleick

James Gleick has written to great acclaim on the history of science and the impact of technology. His writing has garnered him the PEN/EO Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books. His books have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. His previous books include The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood (2012) and Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (1992).

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