Newton's Laws

Isaac Newton also used direct observation to formulate his laws. Newton was in government service for many years. His first law states:

* A body at rest tends to remain at rest, while a body in motion at a constant velocity in a straight line tends to continue in that motion.

Clearly, this law is based on first-hand observation of a bureaucracy in action.

One night, Newton became engaged in a heated argument at a local bar over a question of epicycles, leading him to punch his opponent in the nose. After being thoroughly worked over, Newton contemplated the results and announced his next law:

* Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

In a well-known story, Newton discovered gravity when he was hit on the head while sitting under an apple tree. This tale is, of course, fictitious. It was actually a fig tree, and the result was his best-known theory:

* I bet you could make a swell cookie out of these figs.

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