The Cat-Flap Myth...

...laid to rest.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I concluded that Isaac Newton, the man who discovered gravity, invented a revolutionary telescope, wrote the revolutionary 'Principia', invented Calculus, and wrote books on religion to name a few, was not the type who would have owned a dog. It may surprise people to discover that Newton was not a nice person, he is far from the legend of a jolly man who sat under an apple tree, pondering how objects fall, when lo and behold! an apple falls directly on his head, leading him to discover that gravity exists. He was in fact a vicious, violent and manipulative man, who fought tooth and nail to get his own way, and when he was critised, he either thrashed out at his opponent, or shut himself away, refusing to speak to anyone. So it's no surprise to people like me that he would never have been fit to have in his company a pet.

In the explanation of 'Diamond', I found that there was little to no evidence to support the claim that his Pomeranian/Terrier/Spaniel called 'Diamond'/'Tray', knocked over a candle while his/her master went for a walk, setting fire to 20 years worth of work during his time at Cambridge. Not only that, but the story is mixed up between two completely different events at completely different times, all in the name of protecting Newton's temporary insanity. The only protection I see happening is shielding children from the truth about Newton by claiming he was calm and collected when his fictional dog burned his original papers on 'Opticks'.

This myth (which it is a myth) about 'Diamond' the fictional children's story version of Newton's dog, has lead me to prove that he would never have owned a cat either.

Again, there is little proof to suggest that a) Newton invented the cat-flap, and b) that he owned a cat at any other time.

In regards to the cat-flap, a lovely book gives a wonderful explaination as to why Newton never invented the cat-flap in the first place:

Who invented the cat-flap?
It wasn't Sir Isaac Newton.
It's an appealing idea that the father of gravitation, the leading theoretical scientist of his day and arguably the most famous celebrity in Europe at the start of the eighteenth century, invented something as mundane as a cat-flap. Sadly, the evidence doesn't stack up.
To this day, students at Cambridge are told that, while an undergraduate at Trinity College, Isaac Newton cut two holes in the door of his lodgings - a large one for his pet cat and a smaller one for its kittens. The story plays on a classic stereotype, the genius with no common sense - because there's no need for the smaller door. But we know it never happened. Newton's secretary and distant relative Humphrey Newton, was explicit: his master 'kept neither dog nor cat in his chamber'. Also, the doorways of most Cambridge lodgings of the period had a system of double doors. The outer doors were thick and heavy, and usually carved from a large piece of oak. The inner door acted as a draught excluder. Sawing holes through both would have been a major DIY project. And a self-defeating one - turning Newton's rooms into a wind tunnel.

While this explains the lack of a cat-flap at Cambridge, it drives the notion that he must have performed this action at Woolsthorpe, his childhood home where he returned to during the plague years. I asked twice the people at Woolsthorpe, once in person, where the staff member in question told me that all the inside doors were original (and there was no trace of hole in Isaac Newton's old bedroom), and on twitter:

If there is any other evidence to suggest he invented the cat-flap, please let me know, but it is clear he did not.

References:

The Second Book of General Ignorance (QI) page 74

Newton was Left-Handed???

So it came to my attention as I stumbled upon a post on how to cosplay Isaac Newton (not that I haven't got it down to a T anyway) that one of the steps tells the would-be cosplayer to start writing with their left hand. I thought this was odd, and so did a quick Google search, and it seems many people, particularly left-handed persons, believe that Isaac Newton was left handed.

This is big news to me, seeing as I have read several Newton biographies and not one of them states that he ever wrote with his left hand. Not unsurprisingly, they also group in other famous intellectuals who also aren't confirmed 'lefties'. I have never had any notion to consider that Isaac Newton was left-handed, on the mere basis that he was a genius and a world famous mathematician who invented Calculus and discovered the motions of Gravity and 'Opticks'. I had always assumed he was right-handed because a) schools of the time would have demanded their students write with their right hand, regardless of whether the student felt more comfortable writing with the left, and b) Isaac Newton was a deeply religious man and would also have taken it upon himself to write with his right hand anyway.

The only quote which is linked to a 'left hand' with Newton is:

'At some seldom Times when he design'd to dine in ye Hall, would turn to ye left hand, & go out into ye street...'

The only image which shows Newton using his left hand, is when he holds a compass on a page. This, while does suggest he uses his left hand, does not suggest he writes with it. Usually when a compass is used, the other hand is writing down the measurements and details from the compasses movements, then again he might naturally hold any object in his left hand which is why as a singular object he holds the compass.

Newton holds a compass with his left hand.

At the same time, the image above has been used the other way round, with Newton holding the compass with his right hand. As of yet I have been unable to find the original, but if the latter is the case, then it would dispute the claims of Newton being left-handed anyway.

In others, he holds his gloves with his right hand, he points with his right hand, and he rests his right hand on his left arm - which suggests a heavy inclination to him resting his writing arm on his left.

    

    

The book which seems to make a 'fact' of the myth is 'A Left Handed History of the World' by Ed Wright. It claims that the world without left handed people like Newton and Darwin (who was actually a right-handed person who studied left-handedness) would be void of intellectual provocation, as though only left-handed people are intellectuals and that right-handed people can't be as clever or have as high an IQ as 'lefties'.

I'm not stating that Isaac Newton was a confirmed right-handed writer, but it seems extremely unlikely given the era and his own personal views that he would have written with his left. I'm also not discriminating left-handed people, some of my friends are left-handed, but it seems that those who are claiming these famous intellects to be left-handed are doing so to back up a theory that is a little demeaning to right-handed people. I personally don't take any notice when someone writes with their left hand, so it seems like some are blowing a claim out of proportion (much like the Diamond myth) when their is zero evidence to support it.

I'm also not saying he couldn't have been left-handed, but given the lack of evidence and the strict right-handedness of religion during the 17th century, I will subconsciously continue to place Newton in the right-handed category until hard evidence comes my way.

Links:

http://www.wikihow.com/Cosplay-Isaac-Newton
http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/history_recent.html

Images:
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00268/TH13-OPED-BRITAIN_N_268010e.jpg
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-medium/18loufodl08s0jpg.jpg