[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton%27s_occult_studie...
When people look back on us 300 years from today, they'll likely find many cases of geniuses working on things that seem naive or misguided in retrospect.
Many scientists spend a portion of their time in oddball or fruitless pursuits and sometimes it takes them over, particularly as they get older.
Linus Pauling and Vitamin C is one thing that comes to mind.
There was some scientist whose name I can't remember, was asked how he could be occupied by crazy ideas or obsessions and he said that these ideas came to him in exactly the same way as his deep scientific insights.
https://nypost.com/2020/03/24/new-york-hospitals-treating-co...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996765/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3937164/
Just because someone looks silly to their contemporaries doesn't mean they're wrong. Look at Semmelweis. He figured out germs well before Pasteur. Doctors didn't accept it because they didn't like the implications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
Sagan says it best. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/85171-one-of-the-saddest-le...
The way British write confuses many people. "Newton is the greatest of the greatest", "Shakespeare is the mos prolific writer that ever lived", ""... British writers love hyperbole. The fact that the writing style aligns with national pride helps to create a positive feedback of "grandiose writing".
That does not mean that there is ill intent. The target consumers of the writing are the British readers themselves, and almost all societies have a good self esteem. The fact that globally we communicate in English has tip the balance towards sharing American and British views of the world over the rest and created an over hype of some charismatic national myths.
I've really not heard anything similar about newton though.
Don't confuse those very few who surf their own hyperbole with the average brit (I'm one).
I see your point. And, as any generalization, my point does not apply to all British citizens.
But, that grandiose talking is not uncommon (funny thou):
https://www.reddit.com/r/INGLIN/comments/1p76kk/good_to_see_...
What is much harder to argue against is his influence on the English language. Shakespeare introduced, into everyday use, a monumental staggering number of words, phrases, idioms, metaphors, and ideas. And that’s just the text of his work. His influence on the institution of theatre and its role in the development of actors is equally staggering.
The comparison with Newton (and his influences on mathematics and physics) is apt.
I'm one of them, but after one of my English teachers decided to bring us to see one of his other plays as a treat (Much Ado about Nothing), I can't help but think it's because schools are obsessed with the bad plays. I've never gone out of my way to read/see other plays, but that one was actually entertaining and I think if it was used instead of Romeo and Juliet & etc, less people would dislike Shakespeare.
I remember the teacher pointing out the cheap sexual innuendos in there (IIRC 'on the prick of noon' was one). In retrospect I find it hypocritical, she only drew our attention to it because it was shakespeare, and she seemed to laud it because it was shakespeare. In any other contexts she'd have dismissed it, but this was shakespeare! So saddo nob jokes ok.
A few years ago I tried to watch titus andronicus (this one, with Famous Actor https://www.amazon.co.uk/Titus-Blu-ray-Import/dp/B00HGGUO70/). I probably rewound[1] every section of speech at least once, and had the subtitles on, to try to understand. Christ what an effort, and for what.
[1] Thank you VLC for your easy 10 second jumping keys, one of mymost used controls ever.
(but glad MAAN worked for you)
Cutting edge science today would have been called alchemy historically. Artificial intelligence, gene editing, etc. Fortunately scientists have a pretty good reputation now, where alchemists of the past had to research and convene in secret.
I like your comparison between alchemy and AI. Even modern neural nets would fit alchemical concepts pretty well - "we flattened a rock, put lightning inside it, and made it speak to us with a human voice!"