QQC #4

Quote:It...his notes."

Question:Why was Newton so unorganized and never published his work?

Comment: This quote was funny to me because I liked when he described how unorganized Newton was. I thought it was interesting how he never bothered to tell anyone about his "calculations". If he would have published his works it would have made it easier for other people (during his time) to understand more about the universe and gravity.

QQC #4

Quote: "...thirteen mined souls, in London got together at the Freemasons Tavern at Long Acre. in Covent Garden, to form a dining club to be called the Geological Society....The price of the meal was set at a deliberately hefty fifteen shillings to discourage those whose qualifications were merely cerebral."

Question: Why would they try to discourage people for joining the Society?

Comment: What I didn't really understand was how come the society would discourage people, I mean what if there weren't everyone didn't qualify then they would have no members in the Society.

QQC #3 Bryson Reading 4

Quote: "Everywhere the dwindling party went it was met with the deepest suspicions from officials who found it difficult to believe that a group of French scientists would travel halfway around the world to measure the world."

Question: Why did they have to go to Peru just to measure the world? couldn't they have done it where they are from or somewhere closer to France?

Comment: The thing that got me about this quote was the fact that they even went to Peru. Everything went wrong with their group and it was crumbling, people getting killed and others running off with little girls. All of that happened just because they went halfway around the world to do something that they could have done close to home!

Bryson Reading #2

Quote: "Lowell was posthumously hailed everywhere as a genius of the first order, and Tombaugh was largely forgotten, except among planetary astronomers,who tend to revere him."

Question: Why did Lowell continue to get credit for research that he didn't finish?

Comment: I didn't understand the reason why Lowell, even though he died before he could finish his research on Pluto, continued to get credit and praise for a study that he didn't finish. Although Tombaugh continued Lowell's research and he eventually finished it. So how come he was forgotten and never given enough credit?

Bryson reading #1

Quote: "Atoms are so numerous and necessary that we easily overlook that they needn't actually exist at all. There is no law that requires the universe to fill itself with small particles of matter or to produce light and gravity and other physical properties on which our existence hinges."

Question: If they are so easily overlooked and sometimes seem pointless, why are there atoms?

Comment: I was curious when I saw this quote and I started thinking, if there is no law that says that atoms are required in everything (like ourselves or the planets) then why are there atoms. And who says that there are atoms in everything, if we haven't traveled to other planets how would scientist know that they are made up out of atoms?