Stories of beautiful minds

Looking back can deepen our understanding of whose shoulders we stand on but it is equally important to celebrate those who are in our midst today

The apple that helped Isaac Newton formulate the theory of universal gravitation, and the bathtub that catalysed Archimedes’ insights into the physical law of buoyancy, are staple fare in the classrooms of science teachers trying to keep students awake and interested. Whether the apple fell on Newton’s head or the ground, and whether Archimedes was naked or wrapped in a towel when he ran out to proclaim his discovery, changes depending on the storyteller. The teachers that I have known like to embellish to hold their audience captive.

I enjoyed these stories as a child, and I remember them even now