Our world is not stationary. It is a place of constant motion.
One of the basic qualities found in all living creatures is the ability to move and grow.
As the pinnacle of all God's creations, the human race was never intended to remain in one place.
No, we were made to move and learn. We were created to grow and change. The universe around us
also moves in continuous ways. It follows laws and patterns organized by God.
We have the amazing opportunity to discover these laws and the nature of creation as we observe,
study, and seek for greater understanding. For thousands of years, curious people have considered
the path of the moon through the sky. We have examined the dance of the winds and the tides.
We've observed the characteristics of living and non-living things. Over the years, we have learned
more and more about this world and how things move. And yet, there is still so much to discover.
Many great men and women contributed to our current knowledge of the world around us,
but one man, in particular, made significant contributions to our understanding of the
principle of motion. His name is Isaac Newton. Born in England nearly 400 years ago, Isaac came
into the world on Christmas Day. He was a tiny, sickly baby and was not expected to live long.
Although he survived, his life would not be an easy one. His father had passed away
a few months before his birth, and when his mother remarried he was said to be raised by
his grandparents. Isaac was a quiet child but he loved to read books and observe his surroundings.
He was fascinated by how things worked. Despite the difficulties he faced as a child,
Isaac Newton would grow up to become a famous physicist, astronomer, and
mathematician. When Isaac was only 23 years old, the Bubonic Plague, also called the Black Death,
spread quickly through Europe. During nearly two years of quarantine, he stayed at his
family farm in Lincolnshire and devoted himself to study, meditation, observation, and reading.
The solitude of these years, though difficult, brought such significant progress in his studies
that Newton called his time in quarantine Annus Mirabilis or The Miraculous Year.
Three discoveries of special significance were made during this time.
First, he developed the law of gravity. When he observed an apple falling from a tree,
it occurred to him that some force which he later named gravity must be acting on the apple to cause
its fall. This revelation would lead to the eventual publication of the Laws of Motion.
Second, he developed calculus, a method of mathematics that would allow him to calculate
the change of motion. This type of math is still widely taught in schools today. And third,
by observing light breaking into a rainbow of separate colors when shined through a prism,
he made a huge step in understanding how light and color are connected. How did Isaac Newton discover
so many amazing things? He found joy in observing the natural world. From this close observation, he
would then ask himself questions, always striving to understand exactly what was happening around
him. Next, he would read and study the findings of others. Through this painstaking process,
he found answers to many of his questions. However, he was not one to seek glory or fame
and he knew that the wisdom and hard work of others were the basis of his progress.
He is known for saying "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." We too
can stand on the shoulders of giants by studying and learning about the world in which we live
by taking time to carefully observe the intricacies of our world, study the scientific
work of others, and ask questions about what we see. We can uncover and understand great things.
Isaac Newton observed an apple falling from a tree
and unearthed the concept of gravity. What will you one day discover?