No One, Not Even Newton Or Einstein, Was The Muhammad Ali Of Physics (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” -Muhammad Ali

You might not think that boxing, the sweet science, and physics, the most fundamental of all the sciences, have much in common on the surface. But look a little deeper and you’ll find parallels between developing a unique skill set, solving problems, dissecting opponents and drawing the greatness out of the most difficult problems you can to increase your own glory.

Ali taunting a fallen Sonny Liston in the first round of their second fight. Image credit: AP, via http://ift.tt/1XwKwDG.

Many great scientists and boxers over the years have come and gone: Kepler, Sugar Ray Robinson, Faraday, Marciano, Schrödinger, Mike Tyson. All achieved greatness, but none achieved the same heights as Ali did in his sport. Even the greatest physicists of all, Maxwell, Newton and Einstein, were defeated in the end by contemporary problems (and, perhaps, arrogance) in ways that Ali never was.

“Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica”, third edition (1726), by Isaac Newton in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, UK. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Paul Hermans.

A Newton or Einstein may have been as great as Joe Frazier, but only the Universe itself compares with Ali.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1U3JISj

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” -Muhammad Ali

You might not think that boxing, the sweet science, and physics, the most fundamental of all the sciences, have much in common on the surface. But look a little deeper and you’ll find parallels between developing a unique skill set, solving problems, dissecting opponents and drawing the greatness out of the most difficult problems you can to increase your own glory.

Ali taunting a fallen Sonny Liston in the first round of their second fight. Image credit: AP, via http://ift.tt/1XwKwDG.

Many great scientists and boxers over the years have come and gone: Kepler, Sugar Ray Robinson, Faraday, Marciano, Schrödinger, Mike Tyson. All achieved greatness, but none achieved the same heights as Ali did in his sport. Even the greatest physicists of all, Maxwell, Newton and Einstein, were defeated in the end by contemporary problems (and, perhaps, arrogance) in ways that Ali never was.

“Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica”, third edition (1726), by Isaac Newton in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, UK. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Paul Hermans.

A Newton or Einstein may have been as great as Joe Frazier, but only the Universe itself compares with Ali.

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1U3JISj