Harvesting Ideas with Isaac Newton
It’s harvest time, and apples are everywhere! They bring us wonderful things: pie, donuts, cider, the law of gravity… at least, Isaac Newton and apples did. Isaac was born in 1642. When he was 24, he saw an apple fall from a tree (legend says it hit him on the head). This event set the wheels in motion for him to consider the pull between objects of different masses and of “gravity extending to the orb of the moon.”
I feel like I could get pretty creative with apples. I could turn them into smiley faces or make a good sauce out of them. Isaac shows us something revolutionary with apples, and I wonder if we could learn about more than gravity from him.
If I have been able to see further, it is only because I stood on the shoulders of giants. – Isaac Newton
The thing that stood out to me in this story, and considering his famed quote, is this: he was intentional. He may have had dessert in mind when he visited the apple tree, but he was also a student of nature and those who went before him. He was on the lookout for answers.
You don’t have to be a scientist to be inventive in your thinking. But to move forward in your area of creative expertise, you will be able to see farther if you “stand on the shoulders” of the “giants” in your field. If you’re interested in writing, read the work of great writers. If you’re interested in science, read the work of great scientists.
But don’t stop there.
As you go about your day, let yourself see the world through your lens. No one else thinks exactly like you, and no one else can bring the exact same thing to the table that you can. Even two apple pies will be made with different apples that carry a slightly unique flavor. Here’s to the unexpected moments that change the world.
Until next time,
Invent your story
