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The Outlier: Isaac Newton Isaac Newton is an outlier; he was unusually successful, but not in

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The Outlier: Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton is an outlier; he was unusually successful, but not in the way the average person thinks. Most people think that success is measured by wealth, but Isaac Newton wasn’t rich. He is an outlier because of everything he did for our understanding of science, math, and the world. He unlocked the mystery of the rainbow that no one has been able to solve for years! He developed the concept of gravity, and thanks to that, people know why they stay on the ground, why they aren’t just floating off into space, and why objects fall. Isaac Newton even developed the “Three Laws of Motion”, which 8th graders study in science. He grew up in a family with no background in science, yet through countless hours of …show more content…

Newton was born in January 4, 1643. He had the ideal birthdate for a scientist, because he would be just the right age during the peak of the scientific revolution. “But there was a particular, narrow nine-year window that was just perfect for seeing the potential that the future held” (Gladwell 63). What Malcolm Gladwell is trying to say is that there is a perfect time to be born for something, like how early birth date months were perfect for Canadian Hockey, there is a perfect birthdate for the scientific revolution too. Newton would be in college when the scientific revolution kicked in. He would be able to read the works of modern scientists and philosophers, like Johannes Keplar and Nicholas Copernicus, and unlock secrets about science that future scientists have yet to discover. Another advantage was how Newton’s uncle played a big role in Newton’s arrival to Cambridge’s Trinity College. His uncle was a graduate of Trinity College and was able to recommend Newton to Trinity College. He persuaded Newton’s mother to allow Newton to go to Trinity College, where he soon enrolled in a program similar to a work study. He waited tables and took care of rooms. It was just Newton’s luck that he was born on the perfect birth date that was ideal for a blossoming scientist in the 17th century, and also how Newton’s uncle was able to apply Newton for college just when the Scientific Revolution was kicking in with all it’s got. We think of

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