petrushkagoogol Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Charles Bronson was a popular cine artist well into his eighties.Newton was popular and enigmatic in-spite of being of a nervous disposition.Unstable individuals on account of certain parameters like advanced age or poor health are remarkably stable in the popularity stakes.Why this paradox ? :vava: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanctus Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Because to be popular you have to be either like the masses want (eg. pop-sgars, hollywood actors,...) or be different enough to make you interesting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exchemist Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 Charles Bronson was a popular cine artist well into his eighties.Newton was popular and enigmatic in-spite of being of a nervous disposition.Unstable individuals on account of certain parameters like advanced age or poor health are remarkably stable in the popularity stakes.Why this paradox ? :vava: I don't believe Newton can be said to have been popular. I doubt that more than 5% of the population was even aware of his existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 I don't believe Newton can be said to have been popular. ... Then why did you say it? :doh: ... Newton was popular and enigmatic in-spite of being of a nervous disposition. ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigD Posted January 19, 2017 Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 I don't believe Newton can be said to have been popular. I doubt that more than 5% of the population was even aware of his existence.It would be a work of serious scholarship, I think, to estimate how many people knew of a given 18th Century celebrity, but given that Newton was, in addition to a scientist and mathematician, a politician, with a couple of years in Parliament, and over 25 years as Master of the Mint and president of the Royal Society, my guess would be that his name and visage was about as well known in England ca 1725 as Albert Einstein’s was in the US ca 1960, well over 50% recognition. There was much less international communication in the 18th Century than now, though, so Newton’s fame among ordinary folk was, I think, limited mostly to England, and highest in London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.