QQC 5

Quotes: "There, in 2 years of rustic solitude--from age 22 to 24--his creative genius burst forth in a flood of discoveries unmatched in the history of human thought: the binomial series for negative and fractional exponents; differential and integral calculus; universal gravitation as the key to the mechanism of the solar system; and the resolution of sunlight into the visual spectrum by means of a prism, with its implications for understanding the colors of the rainbow and the nature of light in general."

"Newton was always an inward and secretive man, and for the most part kept his monumental discoveries to himself."

"'As for the phenomena of colours...I conceive myself to have discovered the surest explanation, but I refrain from publishing books for fear that disputes and controversies may be raised against me by ignoramuses.'"

"In his scientific efforts Newton somewhat resembled a live volcano, with long periods of quiescence punctuated from time to time by massive eruptions of almost superhuman activity."

"One's attention flags; the problem repeatedly slips away and repeatedly has to be dragged back by an effort of will."

Questions: Why wouldn't Newton want to share his ideas, even if they would be fought by "ignoramuses"? What caused newton to be such a secretive and enigmatic man? Was this just a side-effect of his genius? How did Newton hone his genius? When did he first discover his knack for mathematics and science?

Comments: Like most stereotypical geniuses, Newton seems to be very disorganized. His notes were sometimes lost and he even dismissed one of the greatest discoveries he ever made as mere drivel. I don't really understand some of the things he wrote about in his letters, not because the writing is difficult but because the situation doesn't make sense to me.It's crazy that he was appointed the position of professor of a class that the previous professor resigned from just to give Newton the spot. In my eyes newton is the scientific embodiment of a Renaissance man, although he gave off an insane air. Even some of his friends feared for his sanity, something i can't blame them for. All in all, Newton is just a strange individual.