Customer Reviews

NOVA: Newton's Dark Secrets

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw this episode of NOVA when it was originally aired and I thought it was pretty enjoyable. I think its odd that of all the eminent men of science, Newton seems to have the least "air time" when it comes to these docu-dramas. Especially since Newton's orignal work is far greater then Einstein's (who didn't even develop any of the mathematics or even all of the methods he employed for his relativity theory), as well being more technically difficult to accomplish for the time.

Compared to the multitude of shows dedicated to Einstein (NOVA's "E=MC^2 , World's most famous equation" being the latest), I'd say this is defintilly a superior production. The theme is supposed to be Newton's inquiries into alchemy and other eccentric pursuits, but really it focuses on his life in general. The actor that played Newton was very belivable (well, to be accurate, it's how I would picture Newton, whether thats close to reality or not...).

I've read parts of "Never at Rest," what is hailed as the definitive biography of Newton and the from what I've read (and what was actually mentiond in this production) there seems to be no contradictions. It even mentions that the Principia is written entirely in the analytic geometry of Descartes (rather then the Calculus).

The facaulty they have interviewed for this production are very entertaining. Espeically the one MIT professor, Walter Lewin behaves so eccentricly that he seems like the cliche Physics professor of popular culture.

An issue I noticed that they have ignored completly, is the spat that Newton had with Leibniz on who discovered Calculus first. From my understanding this was a really ugly part of Newton's history (he used his academic position to sort of attack Leibniz credebility). But at least as pure mathematics is concerned, Leibniz is really the more important of the two . We have inherited the "infetesimal" (which later was formalizd more by Cauchy and the rest) as well as most of our notation (and the name "Calculus") from Leibniz.

In any event, the show seems to merely state the "facts" and does not (thankfully) speculate needlessely on Newton's peronal life (Allegations of homosexuality have been prevelent in several modern biographies of Newton, which seems to be somewhat unfounded). I also enjoyed the background music, it really set the mood for alot of the scenes (which were not annoyingly flashly like the "E=MC^2" production). I did notice that some of the background music was recycled from NOVA's much earlier production "The Proof" (about Andrew Wiles).

In conclusion, I'd give this production an A+, it presents relevent facts on Newton's life, and ties in his occult ideas pretty well with the continutiy of his more well known discoveries, and has very enjoyable aesthetics, acting, and organization.

All in all, I hope there are more of these docu-dramas on Newton in the future, as this is certainly an individual whose importance is central in the history of the West (and humankind).

We just stumbled on this show while watching TV one night, and we all found it riveting. It's very well-done and obviously thoroughly researched. What I liked best was that it conveyed Newton's character without glossing over his faults, but still sympathetically. None of us had learned much about him in school, so this aspect was pretty eye-opening. The only "fault" I can find is that the show just wasn't long enough to go into the kind of depth it left you wanting, or to talk much about the later part of Newton's life. However, there is also a bio that A&E did several years ago, and that does cover these areas. And there are some new books out that have gotten good reviews (though I haven't read them yet). This is a fascinating show and a good start if you want to know about an interesting character.

I think this is one of the finest documentaries I have ever watched on the life of our favorite physicist, Isaac Newton. It was beautifully done and the casting was excellent presenting an actor who resembled early drawings and paintings of Sir Isaac. In order to gain popular interest it was named "Newton's Dark Secrets" and documented his personal investigations into the occult arts including alchemy, numerology, and even bible predictions. I have read that a large number of his papers were burned around the time of his death, perhaps to conceal this portion of his interesting life from discovery. In any case, as mentioned by another writer it covered much more of his life than his occult interests. I found most interesting the fact that he did not wish to talk about or publish his early scientific studies, but once he was convinced to talk about them one had better believe what Isaac said or one would be in for a major "debate". I would rate this film five big stars for being informative, entertaining and just well done!

This is an excellent NOVA biography, and a great overview to the life and discoveries of Isaac Newton. With good acting, costuming and film work, and excellent commentary from some top historians of science (including Simon Schaffer, Jed Buchwald, and Peter Gallison), `Newton's Dark Secrets' serves as a great visual supplement to the overwhelming volume of books and articles on Newton's life. (If you need to start somewhere, save yourself the headache of sorting through it all and begin with the Canto edition of `The Life of Isaac Newton' by Richard Westfall.) Additionally, nice computer animations of the motion of the solar system help illustrate Newton's mathematical description of gravity.

The `...Dark Secrets' portion of the title of this video documentary refers to Newton's involvement with alchemy, the mystical body of knowledge concerned with transformation (e.g. turning lead into gold). In such a short documentary (56 minutes) it is difficult to flesh out the implications of Newton's alchemical work along with his sundry other accomplishments. Certainly he poured just as much of his genius into the practice of this arcane art as he did his studies on light, mathematics, and planetary motion.

But when NOVA poses the question, "how did Newton's alchemy affect his `proper' science?" the best they can come up with is to make a tenuous connection--a mere suggestion really--that Newton's alchemical studies into the "active" properties of nature enabled him to accept the idea of gravity as "action at a distance" (which was at the time a truly occult notion: the very idea that two unconnected objects could somehow affect each other!). While this is a little dissatisfying, it's a tough question to answer anyway given the brevity of the DVD and also because so much about Newton's alchemical researches remains unknown. This is a minor complaint about an otherwise excellent biography of Newton.

+++++

Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts a reactive force of equal magnitude and opposite direction on the first object.

The above is a modern worded version of the third law of motion formulated by perhaps the greatest scientist of all time, Sir Isaac Newton (1642 to 1727). Newton's conception of the laws of motion was one of the most profound developments in physics. Because of their mathematical simplicity and accuracy, these laws (and others formulated by Newton such as the universal law of gravitation) are still used to predict and describe the motion of larger objects (even the motions of celestial objects).

Most people are familiar with Newton's genius as a physicist (which this documentary details exquisitely) but they are probably unfamiliar with his secret obsession revealed in documents found in the twenty-first century. To give you a hint of what this extraordinary documentary reveals, here are the titles of its scene selections:

(1) Introduction (2) A new science (3) Isaac Newton, the alchemist (4) Combing the Bible (5) A different Isaac Newton

(Alchemy was an early form of chemistry, with philosophic and magical associations.)

A further hint of what is revealed in this stunning documentary comes when the viewer is told:

"[Newton] wrote more about theology and alchemy than science and math combined."

This program is narrated by actor F. Murray Abraham. Kudos to actor Scott Handy in his portrayal of Newton in the vivid docudrama scenes. I found the creation of late seventeenth century England excellent.

Throughout the program are brief comments made by a few scholars. I found all their comments interesting.

The DVD (the one released in 2006) is perfect in picture and sound quality. There are a few extras that some viewers may find interesting.

Finally, the only problem I found is that the program was not long enough. I wanted to know more. This personal fact reveals just how good this program is!

In conclusion, certainly learn from this program why Newton became the giant on whose shoulders all later scientists (including Einstein) would find a place to stand. But also learn about his other secret interests including the date he calculated the world would come to an end!!!

(originally aired on TV on the science series "Nova" in 2005; 55 min; wide screen; closed-captioned; 5 scenes)

+++++

Apart from its somewhat disingenuous and sensationalistic title and description, this NOVA presentation offers a fascinating and immensely interesting look at the life and influence of Sir Isaac Newton. Let's go ahead and deal with the obvious question: exactly what are these "dark secrets" of Newton? 1) he secretly and earnestly practiced the banned art of alchemy for many years and 2) he believed, contrary to the myth of Newton as the great rationalist, in an all-powerful God but secretly held anti-Trinitarian thoughts that would have been considered deeply heretical (and unlawful) in the England of his time. In fact, Newton wrote more about religion and alchemy than he did math and physics. Truth be told, though, a great deal is made of these "dark secrets" primarily because they have only come to light in recent years.

It was John Maynard Keynes, who purchased a significant collection of Newton's private papers 1936, who dubbed Newton "the last of the magicians" (in his "Newton, the Man" essay). Despite the Keynes-inspired subtitle, though, this documentary never mentions the word "magician." In fact, it does a great job of putting Newton's alchemical and theological work in the context of his search for the ultimate truths of the universe. Newton didn't spend untold years trying to turn iron into gold. In a sense, alchemy is all about the study of matter, and one of the scientists interviewed here shows that Newton's alchemical studies had a degree of scientific merit. I would argue that Newton's theological work is much more important in terms of redefining our image of this most preeminent of all scientists, though. For centuries, Newton was presented as a champion of rationalism and reason, a man who believed nothing that could not be proven scientifically. Now we know that Newton believed that the universe, with all of its beautiful intricacies, could only have been created by a Supreme Being, and it is fascinating to learn that Newton was pursuing Bible codes centuries ago - and that he even used all of the knowledge he gained to predict the year in which the world would end.

Taken as a whole, though, the documentary covers Newton's entire life and delivers a formidable portrait of this reclusive genius. He was a most singular man, an introvert who pursued his studies (on a vast array of topics) eighteen hours a day, every day. His most famous accomplishments are enumerated, of course: his laws of motion, his invention of calculus (which he kept to himself for two decades), his groundbreaking work in optics, etc., and several are explained in ways that most laymen can comprehend. To its credit, the story never resorts to unfounded speculation about Newton's personal life, but it does mention his inability to accept criticism in anything but a highly charged, negative fashion. Oddly enough, though, the documentary only explores Newton's intense spats with Robert Hooke - no mention is made of Gottfried Leibniz or the controversy over the invention of calculus.

Physicists tend to be a lively and entertaining bunch these days, and those who are interviewed over the course of this documentary certainly fit the bill in this regard. My favorite quote comes out of a discussion over the historical validity of a falling apple inspiring Newton's conceptualization of gravity: "I'm extremely skeptical of the role of fruit in Newton's life." To me, that's funny, but of course I'm a nerd. You don't have to be a nerd to appreciate this documentary, however. After Jesus Christ, Newton may well have been the most influential person to ever live, and his "dark secrets" only serve to make this preeminent man of science all the more fascinating. You can't help but marvel at the genius of this extraordinary man after watching this documentary.

I learned more about Newton than I ever did in school...
1. You'll learn more about Newton's personality and see him as a real person.
2. You'll learn about his passion for alchemy and search for meaning.
3. You'll learn about his almost fanatical obsession with knowledge.
4. You'll see great animations and graphics that explain his laws of motion and gravity.
5. You'll witness his dramatic encounters with other scientists, such as Robert Hooke.
6. You'll learn more about how he worked and developed the Principia and Opticks, amongst his other experiments.
7. You'll enjoy the acting and pacing of this entertaining and educational movie.

This was a fun film to watch, it lets you to Newton's private life almost humanizing and letting us know how deep and obsessive he got when he was searching for an answer.

This is one of the finest documentaries on any one scientist I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. This takes the viewer on an enlightening journey in uncovering the hidden, darker side of Isaac Newton who is, in my opinion, one of the finest and most brilliant scientific minds who ever lived. He's definitely in my top five!

As John Keynes once remarked, "Newton was the last of the magicians", and his painstaking work and research in the subjects of alchemy and Biblical prophecy are shamefully overlooked in today's scientific community. At last, the real Newton is given a fair and balanced treatment by NOVA, one of the finest television series around. Also, the vindication of Newton's brand of alchemy by Dr. Bill Newman is astounding! Highly recommended!

This is a great inner look at who Newton was and why he was so dedicated to his work. His father passed when he was young. To add insult to injury his mother re-married and deserted him, leaving him with his grandparents. He was not a social junkie by any stretch of the imagination. Matter of fact, he was quite the recluse. He was far more interested in his studies and of course, the world is better of for that.

The documentary gets into several of his accomplishments. Probably one of the most famous, his discovery of Calculus or the "Quantitative understanding of the way things change". This forms the backbone of all modern science. It's even used in the stock market. He was "the greatest mathematician the world had ever seen at 22 years old". He also discovered the truth about light (prism effect, figured out that white light isn't pure, it's the presence of all color).

After becoming a professor at Cambridge, he became an alchemist. It's interesting that he would do this as a scientist, when so many scientists discredited it. Newton was also obsessed with biblical math and what "secret codes" the bible held.

This is definitely a great look into one of the greatest minds to ever come into this world. Very interesting and it isn't super long so it should hold your attention well.