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Sir Isaac Newton (25 Dec 1642 - 20 Mar 1727) English physicist and mathematician who made seminal discoveries in several areas of science, and was the leading scientist of his era. Short biography of Sir Isaac Newton >>

Isaac Newton - Playing on the Seashore

Did Newton Really Say It?

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“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

— Isaac Newton

Said to have been uttered a“ little before he died.”

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Isaac Newton
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You may have seen this quote, attributed to Isaac Newton, but how sure is it that he actually said it? It does not appear in his writings. In fact, it seems it did not appear in print until a collection by Rev. Joseph Spence (1699-1768), Anecdotes, Observations and Characters, of Books and Men.1 There, it is purported to have been uttered by Newton “a little before he died” (1727), and was contributed by Andrew Michael Ramsey (1686-1743, known in France as Chevalier de Ramsay). However, note that the entry for Ramsay in the Dictionary of National Biography records he was in France at the time, only returning to England in 1730, which is after Newton's death. Thus it remains unclear how Ramsay came to know of the anecdote. 

Whatever the truth may be concerning a private conversation, it is, of course, lost in time. However, it remains an engaging description of Newton, as he regarded himself as only on the shore of a great ocean of truth. That insight certainly remains valid, for he could never have envisioned the atomic structure of matter, quantum theory and discoveries of the universe made by giant telescopes, space probes, and so much more.

When quoted in physicist David Brewster's biography of 1855, Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton,2 there was no discussion of the origin of the words. Brewster was born in 1781, more than a half-century after Newton died, so he could have no first-hand knowledge, and could barely have known many people still living that met Newton, so even second-hand information would have been difficult to come by. However Brewster did provide a commentary: “What a lesson to the vanity and presumption of philosophers; to those, especially, who have never even found the smoother pebble or the prettier shell! What a preparation for the latest enquiries, and the last views, of the decaying spirit,—for those inspired doctrines which alone can throw a light over the dark ocean of undiscovered truth!”

Spence similarly footnoted the entry in his book, “This interesting anecdote of our great philosopher's modest opinion of himself and his discoveries, is only another proof of his consummate wisdom. It will recall to the memory of the poetical reader the following beautiful passage from the Paradise Regained of our great poet.” There followed an excerpt from John Milton's work, published in 1671,  in which line 330 refers to children gathering pebbles:4

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Byron also makes direct reference to the metaphor in his “Don Juan”, when he wrote:5

There is a self-deprecating paraphrase by the astronomer John Herschel, who followed in Newton’s footsteps as Master of the Mint. He alluded to the Newton anecdote, when he explained, in 1826, why he did not seek Newton’s Lucasian Chair at Cambridge. Herschel wrote it was because he felt himself better suited “to loiter on the shores of the ocean of science and pick up such shells and pebbles as take my fancy for the pleasure of arranging them and seeing them look pretty.”3

There is an oft-told story of Newton being inspired by watching an apple fall. Another tells of Diamond, a dog that knocked over a candle on Newton's desk, and burned up a substantial manuscript. Those myths live on. Perhaps the “playing with pebbles” sentiment was also manufactured, no doubt in reverence to the passing of the genius. But, who knows?

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Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)

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