My father was the most rational and the most dispassionate of men. Simon Newcomb More Quotes by Simon Newcomb More Quotes From Simon Newcomb Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible. Simon Newcomb machinesairplanespace Whenever a total eclipse of the sun was visible in an accessible region parties were sent out to observe it. Simon Newcomb eclipse-of-the-sunregionsparty The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery and known forms of force, can be united in a practical machine by which men shall fly along distances through the air, seems to the writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration to be. Simon Newcomb futureairplanedistance Quite likely the twentieth century is destined to see the natural forces which will enable us to fly from continent to continent with a speed far exceeding that of a bird. Simon Newcomb airplanespeedbird One of the most beautiful hypotheses ever propounded in physics is ... the Dynamical Theory of Gases Simon Newcomb physicsbeautifulscience As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of prosperity. Simon Newcomb memorial-dayadversitynew-year What we now call school training, the pursuit of fixed studies at stated hours under the constant guidance of a teacher, I could scarcely be said to have enjoyed. Simon Newcomb trainingteacherschool If my impressions are correct, our educational planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best of the men who go through it to much the same standard. Simon Newcomb cuttingeducationscience I had not yet gotten into the world of light. But I felt as one who, standing outside, could knock against the wall and hear an answering knock from within. Simon Newcomb walllightworld When about fifteen I once made a great scandal by taking out my knife in prayer meeting and assaulting a young man who, while I was kneeling down during the prayer, stood above me and squeezed my neck. Simon Newcomb knivesprayermen The result was that, if it happened to clear off after a cloudy evening, I frequently arose from my bed at any hour of the night or morning and walked two miles to the observatory to make some observation included in the programme. Simon Newcomb morningnighttwo I finally reached the conclusion that mathematics was the study I was best fitted to follow, though I did not clearly see in what way I should turn the subject to account. Simon Newcomb mathematicsstudyway A few years later the Naval Academy was founded at Annapolis, and a similar course was pursued to provide it with a corps of instructors. Simon Newcomb annapolisnavalyears My first undertaking in the way of scientific experiment was in the field of economics and psychology. Simon Newcomb psychologyfieldsway So far as the economic condition of society and the general mode of living and thinking were concerned, I might claim to have lived in the time of the American Revolution. Simon Newcomb revolutionmightthinking Ten decimal places of π are sufficient to give the circumference of the earth to a fraction of an inch, and thirty decimal places would give the circumference of the visible universe to a quantity imperceptible to the most powerful microscope. Simon Newcomb powerfulearthgiving Construction of an aerial vehicle which can carry even a single man . . . requires the discovery of some new metal or force. Even with such a discovery, we could not expect one to do more than carry its owner. Simon Newcomb flightdiscoverymen Until I was four years old I lived in the house of my paternal grandfather, about two miles from the pretty little village of Wallace, at the mouth of the river of that name. Simon Newcomb namestwoyears The time was not yet ripe for the growth of mathematical science among us, and any development that might have taken place in that direction was rudely stopped by the civil war. Simon Newcomb rudetakenwar The reports of the eclipse parties not only described the scientific observations in great detail, but also the travels and experiences, and were sometimes marked by a piquancy not common in official documents. Simon Newcomb swagpartysea
