Batangas State University

College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences

Pablo Borbon Main I, Rizal Avenue, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines
Tel No: (043) 300-2202 loc. 120, (043) 300-2273 loc. 1127
Email:batstateu.conahs@gmail.com

GED 109 – SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

WEEK 4-5: LEARNING ACTIVITY #3
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Name: Barquilla, Cassandra Z. Date: 02/21/03

Section: BSPH 1201 Score:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please refer to the following quote in answering the given questions below.

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
- Sir Isaac Newton

1. What do you think Newton has seen?

The quote is intended to be a clever dig at Robert Hooke. It is not a modest boast. It implies
that he owes his accomplishment to others. His point is that every technological, scientific, or
medical breakthrough is just the most recent brick in a massive edifice. Today's academics
and inventors are pushing an already moving ball. Of course, this makes sense. We would
never have time to do anything new if we had to rediscover and corroborate every fact ever
established. Moving forward is contingent on certain assumptions being true.

2. Who do you think Newton refers to as giants?

Newton was being humble by referring to previous geniuses - mathematicians, astronomers,

and others - who made the breakthroughs on which his (Newton's) own advances were built.
However, it is widely assumed that there is a deeper meaning. As previously stated, the letter
was addressed to Robert Hooke. To put that in context, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke had
a history of personal animosity, so this would not have been a friendly letter.

3. What do you think this quote tells you about Newton’s character?
No matter how unique or unprecedented a work appears to be, dig a little deeper and you will
always find that the creator stood on the shoulders of someone else. They mastered the best of
what others had already figured out, then made that expertise their own. They could see a little
further with each iteration, and they were content knowing that future generations would stand
on their shoulders. It's sometimes easy to see how collective learning moves from one thinker to
another, or from one community to another. They may never have met, but the exchange of ideas
across time and space enabled science theories to be built, questioned, and refined.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!