"How many Nobel Prizes could Newton have won?" Topic

In today's climate, when one scientist on a committee of 100 can claim Nobel Laureate status…
Few have won multiple prizes. Some think that had multiple scientists had a single scientist's career, he could have won multiple times.
This article
link
thinks Einstein could have/should have won 7. He gives Newton the edge with 8.

Discuss.
Show your work.

I am a skeptic. It is not based on the primacy of Newton's discoveries, rather the opaqueness of his arguments and notation. Modern calculus, and hence modern mathematical notation, largely stems from Leibniz. English mathematics post Newton was stuck in a rut for at least a generation, trying to hold to his system, while the rest of the world moved on with Leibniz' mathematics. (About the only idea from Newton's system that survived was the dx and dy notation used in integral calculus. Read the one or two page discussion of it in any standard calculus book, and you may get the point.) The result was that many non-English scientists and mathematicians did not fully gain an appreciation of Newton's contributions until after his death.

The hypothetical Nobel committee, based in Sweden, would have left one or more of the prizes unawarded.

Rick

Given the track record of the committee that makes the awards, it is hard to tell because in addition to those where he obviously has merit, they've been more than willing to make awards to folks who have neither the background nor expertise (or for that matter even a clue) as well as awarding them for what they think folks will do in the future.

So, Clearly he could be in double digits with no problem, given the right packaging and PR campaign.

I'd discuss and show my work but given that at least two of the awardees fall into the categories I mention above, not ready to go to the DH for naming and shaming them or any of the others awarded for something other than merit.

JJ

Nobel Peace Prize.
Cough cough cough

Cam Newton could still win a Nobel prize…

The saddest fact about Newton is the enormous, enormous time he wasted on occult religious studies, prophecy and alchemy. It would be interesting to see what else he would have discovered if had given up on finding the Philosopher's stone, determining the end of the world (2060, by the way),and determining scientific truths through analysis of the "sacred architecture" of Solomon's Temple.

I always thought the saddest fact was that he died a virgin, but you make an excellent point.

He has the SI unit of force named after him, that isn't something just anyone can claim.

Ron

"The saddest fact about Newton is the enormous, enormous time he wasted on occult religious studies, prophecy and alchemy. It would be interesting to see what else he would have discovered if had given up on finding the Philosopher's stone, determining the end of the world (2060, by the way),and determining scientific truths through analysis of the "sacred architecture" of Solomon's Temple."

Part of research is proving a negative. If you know the answer in advance you don't need to do the research.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog