Bryson Reading Chapter 5-6

Quote: "With the passage of time Kelvin would become more forthright in his assertions and less correct. He continually... were relatively, but inescapably, youthful."

Question: A little bit after this quote, it gave me the impression that Kelvin sort of in a way, gave up. Did he actually give up or did he just kind of made his studies short?

Comment: The quote I chose really stood out to me because it made a good point when it talked about the sun being able to burn for a few tens of millions of years continuously without exhausting its fuel is very interesting. I'm still a little puzzled on how is it possible that theres absolutely nothing in physics that could explain this. It got me to thinking that maybe since theres no oxygen, no oxygen, in space, maybe, just maybe, it fuels itself with the oxygen it has. Overall, this reading was really interesting because of how it explains what these people did to try and figure these things out and all the things they wrote down and kept record of it, and explains in depth in my opinion.

Bryson Readong Chapter 4

Question: When he created the new form of math, calculus, why didn't he share his findings, or the subject of mathematics?

Quote: "Set atop these odd and quirky traits, however, was the mind of... dates of the second coming of Christ and the end of the world."

Comment: The entire reading was very interesting, but what really stuck out to me was what he did to himself as a result of his insanity. Yet throughout all his insanely actions--sticking a bodkin in his eye and starin in to the sun--he was a genius. It also shocked me as to how he created a new form of a mathematical subject: Calculus. When I read the part about him being frustrated about the limitations that were put on mathematics he invented a new form. It's still a little unbelievable that he sat down and created calculus all by himself and kept it secret for 27 years. In this chapter, it also said that "he did work in optics that transformed... not to share the results for 3 decades." Anyone who did something that great and hides it for 30 years is a very secretive. Overall, I liked this chapter but this part of it really stood out because it isn't a normal thing for someone to stick things in their eye and stare in to the sun.