The people who followed the Renaissance
c
ontinued
their appreciation of learning and the arts. Isaac
Newton was a great English scientist who was the first to explain
the laws of gravity. A legend says he made his discovery as he saw
an apple fall from a tree. Newton is also considered the father
of calculus.
Newton once said, "If I have seen further
than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."
Newton meant that he was able to make his great discoveries because
of the many people who made discoveries before him. Today, we live
in a much more sophisticated society than Newton, because we have
been able to use the knowledge of all of the people who lived before
us. Your parents grew up in a very different world than you did.
What kind of a world will your children enjoy? Mr. Dowling believes
it will be even more exciting than our time. Since the Renaissance,
technology had made it easier for almost every generation to have
a better life than their parents had. Only rare exceptions, like
periods of war or disease are able to keep future generations for
achieving more than the people before them achieved.
