The Isaac Newton
V.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Case
Who doesn’t know Sir Isaac Newton? Gravity, the apple, sounds familiar right? While his counterpart in this story, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, might not be so well known but was a brilliant mind nevertheless in his own right.
Traveling back to the late 1600s, yes that long ago…
A sizzling rivalry between these two brilliant minds ignited a fierce battle for credit over the groundbreaking discovery of calculus, i.e. one of the most revolutionary concepts in all mathematics.
While in the past Leibniz had praised Newton’s genius, and so did Newton, but their admiration soon turned into a race for recognition.
Fearing that Leibniz had also uncovered the wonders of calculus, Newton devised a cunning plan. He encoded a mysterious Latin sentence in a letter addressed to Leibniz, hoping to claim priority. But, the enigmatic sequence baffled everyone, leaving its true significance shrouded in mystery.
As the dispute raged on, accusations flew, with Leibniz being accused of stealing Newton’s ideas. Both sides had passionate supporters, but Leibniz had the advantage as he had already shared his findings with the world.
This epic clash did not yield any clear winner, but a major loser with an unintended
consequence – it slowed the progress of British mathematics for years, depriving them of continental advances in calculus.
The Newton-Leibniz controversy till date stands as a timeless tale of rivalry, brilliance, and the quest for recognition. It reminds us that even the greatest minds can succumb to the allure of acclaim, leaving an indelible mark on history.
Contd……
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