The Most Important Science Book Ever Written

While in London, Adam meets up with Brady Haran (Numberphile , Objectivity) at The Royal Society! Brady takes us down to the archives of this historic science academy where Library Manager Rupert Baker lets Adam flip through the first edition of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica printed in 1687! We learn the storied history of the publication of this groundbreaking text and its significance to modern science. Plus, Adam gets to examine Sir Isaac Newton's actual death mask!
Thanks to Brady Haran for bringing us to The Royal Society! You can find his Objectivity videos at / objectivityvideos
Shot and edited by Joey Fameli
Music by Jinglepunks
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!

[@Natibe_]

Showing Adam the most important book in science, then immediately turning around and, without moving, handing him the second most important book has got to be the biggest flex I’ve ever heard of lmao

[@Darth_Tasty]

Straight up!

[@jan_phd]

Newton was an alchemist. In fact he was just as much a metaphysical philosopher, as he was a scientist.

[@johnwilliams1621]

@@jan_phd +1. John Maynard Keynes studied Newton's notes and then wrote: "Newton was not the first of the age of reason but the last of the magicians"

[@jan_phd]

@@johnwilliams1621 What!? You actually READ?! Almost no one else reads any longer. The new dark ages has begun.

[@timewave02012]

@@johnwilliams1621 As for Keynes, if his work was ever rooted in reason, it has since been replaced with magic.

[@wernerviehhauser94]

When talking about Newtons Principia, we should not forget the person who immensly helped spread it - Emilie du Chatelet. Not only did she translate it to French (a popular language among aristocrats in continental Europe), but she combined Newtons math with Leibnitz' notation and advancements in calculus and pointed out a flaw in Newtons argumentagtion where Newton considered Energy to be proportional to v, whereas it is actually proportional to v^2.

[@chewyfoks1840]

link to a paper would be great Werner!

[@wernerviehhauser94]

@@chewyfoks1840 links in youtube are a problem, but just look her up on Wikipedia. " en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89milie_du_Ch%C3%A2telet "

[@DVineMe]

Well, and Leibniz himself... Cause when's the last time he got any credit?

[@jama211]

Very cool!

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

Another thing that united Newton fans was their hatred of Robert Hooke. Newton himself certainly couldn’t believe that Leibnitz could have independently invented calculus. What convinces me he did is he came up with an entirely different notation for it.

[@Sf_Mason]

As a mechanical engineer, this is mind boggling.. And those 2 books make up about 90% of the methods and mathmatics I use on a daily basis to design compoents.

[@divinegon4671]

We all owe Isaac a big thank you.

[@Texicus_Reddicus]

@@divinegon4671 We owe Edmund Halley a big thank you

[@wonderrob3225]

God! the actual Principia Mathematica! I could weep

[@thomascaldwell184]

Man, Adam has built the most AMAZING life. He gets to see and be in the most amazing places. Well earned.

[@gerarbendfeldt]

You mean a one life build?

[@andybrown4284]

Some places like this do allow members of the public to view their collections, although not quite so up close as this video. Edinburgh has a doors open day and folk can visit the likes of the royal college of surgeons anatomy museum or the early music instruments at saint ceclias.

[@DavidKnowles0]

@@andybrown4284 I was surprise all of these books were being handled without gloves.

[@StruggleButtons]

Adam deserves it though, one of the most genuine and positive people in the press public eye. If i were to choose an ambassador to meet Aliens, Adam would be top of the list.

[@klausolekristiansen2960]

@@DavidKnowles0 If you follow Objectivity, you will see that they usually wear gloves. They take them off to handle paper. Gloves greatly increases the risk of tearing the paper.

[@timparsons3565]

Archivist: "We keep meaning to make a better box for Newton's death mask, but we just haven't gotten around to it." Adam (levitating, eyes glowing): "I have a particular set of skills..." Edit: Great to see that a couple dozen others had the same idea as me haha

[@skollrum]

Brady and Adam need to do so much more collaborations

[@garyfrancis6193]

“ many” for countable nouns.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

Totally agree!!!

[@wyomingptt]

Is That the same Brady from Numberphile or whatever? Can't be a coincidence lol.

[@oldcowbb]

​@@wyomingptt no, this is his twin brother

[@JurgenErhard]

@@oldcowbb Yes, the family was (unsurprisingly) weird in that the parents named both twins the same. ;-P

[@ethanhoward389]

I love that Adam keeps his arms folded around important objects to keep the curators at ease that he has no intentions of touching without permission

[@Animalis_Mundana]

Nah, his body language shows he's nervous or uncomfortable, he's definitely up to some shady shit, that's why they have a camera there to keep a close eye on him to ensure he's not using advanced alien technology like a cloak with a hologram to try to switch out and steal these artifacts. Only possible explanation.

[@alonsoquesada1136]

Yet he bumped and almost stopped the perpetual motion machine 😂😂😂

[@carlsaganlives6086]

@@alonsoquesada1136 By mistake he also 'set off' an intricate, almost completed, Rube Goldberg chain reaction 'machine' during a competition, lol.

[@jonhewlett]

For those saying that Adam should do a one day build of a storage box for the death mask, the archivists would be VERY cautious about what materials were used, that grey cardboard box may look boring, but its archival quality storage, acid free card etc etc etc. Not at all a simple thing to make when you have to store items in them for the very long term without damage.

[@lesliemartin1520]

Yes, but you know Adam would figure that issue out. That would make it extra fun for him.

[@ChineseSweatShoppe]

A nice box lined with cardboard 🤷‍♂️

[@rubenjanssen1672]

@@ChineseSweatShoppe maby a box to house the archival box

[@alexandrep4913]

If anyone can't tell, that isn't some shabby old box. It's a replaced box that is free of all possible degrading chemicals. Meaning it's more important to them that they are able to replace them often enough, than some nifty box.

[@xtiansimon]

@@alexandrep4913. Box, formerly containing Newton’s Death Mask. Lol

[@AutomaticMark]

Old Adam meets young Adam.

[@roygalaasen]

Ai. You beat me to it lol 😂 You made the comment one minute after it was released. I stood no chance! 😅

[@Sniffy1975]

I was thinking that too, they could be twins, right down to the style of glasses worn 😂

[@aserta]

This is ridiculous, now there's two of them!

[@MikeIsCannonFodder]

I read a copy of the Origin of Species from Barnes and Noble's classics collection. I was amazed how well written it was. Also how easy it was to follow. It was also interesting to see in places where he intuits certain things must exist which essentially turned out to be coarse level predictions of modern genetics. Couldn't help but think "you're so close!" when reading parts of it.

[@eveningstar1]

That would have been my pick for the most important science book ever written

[@lfcbpro]

yeah, but it is all fiction, cos the world has only existed for a few thousand years, just ask the religious folk :))))))

[@Delicioushashbrowns]

Kinda wild how much we take it for granted today. Can't imagine how mind-blowing this would've been at the time!

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

The fact that genetics and evolution were discovered independently from each other is so cool to me. Two pretty crazy concepts for the time that happened to complement each other so perfectly.

[@meltdown6165]

My impression is that all those important papers and books are really well written and easy to follow, this is what made them so impactful in the first place. I was reading "On the electrodynamics of moving bodies" and out of Einsteins mouth it all seems really simple and intuitive.

[@christophermarin9125]

I can't believe that a death mask of Isaac Newton survives to today. Thank you for sharing that. I have a bachelor's degree in physics, but this really drives home that he was a real human being. Wow.

[@tested]

Right????

[@aserta]

For me it was always the apple story... but maybe because i had an apple hit me in the head as a child sitting in an orchard and later in school relating amused, of the event. I got into architecture, but always held a deep respect for science. However, as you said, his mortuary mask is... well, something else. I don't know how to put it into words.

[@davidrenton]

@@aserta the tree from which the apple fell is still alive at Woolsthorpe Manor (Newtons home), it fell down in a storm in 1816, but the majority of the tree was rerooted and is over 350 years old

[@chicochrish]

I’m surprised he didn’t offer to make a box for it.

[@donjones4719]

10:30 You note how interesting the creation of an object/a book is. Later the curator brings out *On the Origin of Species,* which he rightly places alongside *Principia* as one of the two most important books ever written. You'll love this info about the *Origin." First, not many pages of the draft exist and some of the pages were saved for an interesting reason - Charles Darwin's children were given manuscript pages to use as drawing paper and mom and dad kept the kids' drawings! Once Charles had the printer's galleys in hand the written ms wasn't of much use to him. But one complete manuscript does exist, a predecessor to the *Origin.* Charles kept it intact because it is the earliest complete expression of his theory of natural selection. He wrote this in 1844, 15 years before the *Origin* was published. It has no title, being known simply as the 1844 Essay, draft. A fair copy also exists, with Charles' corrections and additions. Both of these reside in the Cambridge University Library. I was fortunate enough to work with both of them. He wrote these "essays" in case he died - he knew his idea was that important. We know this because there is a cover letter to his wife. He wasn't ready to publish because he knew there was a lot of missing info and some ideas needed a lot more work. However, the basic ideas and format of the *Origin* are there. The original draft in his hand is a wonderful artifact of creation. It is nominally 189 pages long but no accurate page count is possible because he crossed out so much and also pinned half page or quarter page overlays over superseded parts - but the crossed out parts are still there, so we can follow him thinking through a problem. His hand is very difficult to read but fortunately it has been transcribed. The transcription includes every little crossed out word and corrections between the lines and marginalia. The transcription is available online at the Darwin Manuscripts Project at the American Museum of Natural History. Each page exists as an image and its transcription.

[@erk2048]

The objectivity channel has a series of videos featuring Darwin as well which is worth a watch

[@donjones4719]

@@erk2048 Thanks. I stumbled across them last night and then saw your recommendation this morning. The YT algorithm is mighty!

[@ginojaco]

Thanks for that.

[@TallinuTV]

Astonishing. That would really be something to behold.

[@yodaspielberg]

Seeing Origin and Principia together like that was oddly emotional. That's so cool.

[@wonderrob3225]

God! the actual Principia Mathematica!

[@tomeullabres5288]

Most important science book ever is, for sure. Euclid's Elements. Once you've stablished that, you can put Principia on number two. Principia was a huge leap forward for science but Euclid's Elements importance is unbeatable. Elements was the main book for all geometry students until late XIX century and we didn't stop using it because it became outdated but because we were teaching the same content through other more approachable textbooks (notice Elements was written before algebra was invented so all demonstrations were done by writting down the deduction process). That book is a masterpiece of logical reasoning and with a rigor that wasn't going to be achieved by anyone for more than 2000 years.

[@tested]

Thanks to Brady Haran for bringing us to The Royal Society! You can find his Objectivity videos at kzbin.info Also: For those concerned that no white gloves were used, wearing gloves to handle old books and papers is an old school of thought, since revised: blog.library.si.edu/blog/2019/11/21/no-love-for-white-gloves-or-the-cotton-menace/

[@Rachel_M_]

Welcome to Britain Mr Savage. I hope you enjoy your stay

[@DForce26]

I have a playlist of all objectivity video's from 1 to 266... 😊 I watched them all... Pretty good stuff

[@achuck4321]

Petition the Royal Society to let Adam create a death mask box for Newton.

[@19TheChaosWarrior79]

Just amazing

[@snafu2350]

@@achuck4321 or at least a decent display case! I'd do it myself

[@rishabhaniket1952]

I had a first edition of On the Origin of Species which I treasured as a teen and which was gifted to me by my grandad who was a noted Zoologist and has since passed. I foolishly took that book (which had my grandad’s sign and note) with me to uni and it got misplaced there. When I realised it was missing I searched like a madman for a whole week to no avail. I still feel so sad nd heartbroken whenever I remember it. Books are really special nd shud be treasured.

[@angusperson4222]

Oh my heart breaks for you

[@kirbyculp3449]

A nightmare in real life, condolences.

[@theBoonarmies]

I love the human aspect of having such an important piece of historical significance like the death mask, in a box labelled by hand in pencil. that its such an informal container really humbles the whole piece, reminds us that this was a person, studied and remembered by other people. I find it immensely comforting.

[@yt.personal.identification]

I find it an intriguing insight that when labelling it at the time, they didn't feel the need to give his name. They assumed anyone seeing it would just know who it is. The box is a precious artefact in its own right.

[@AbdelOveAllhan]

Newton - the anchor point of history. He united the disparate hypothesis which preceded him and unified the science of physics. His humble brag: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

[@wonderrob3225]

God! the actual Principia Mathematica!

[@calebm9000]

It’s awe-inspiring to think THE Isaac newton admitting to standing on the shoulders of giants when we consider him the greatest of giants, himself.

[@scottd9448]

I was the project manager to rewire the IT at the Royal Society Astronomy building. That is an amazing courtyard of amazing science. The architecture in and out impressed me the most.

[@lewisphillips573]

Objectivity is amazing. Glad to see Adam and Brady at the Royal Society again.

[@pandorski35000]

A death masks story could make an entire episode, i would love it, such an incredible custom of the past

[@chadwcmichael]

Newton spent a lot of his life studying Alchemy too… The Chymistry of Issac Newton is that collection, and it’s an interesting read. People dump on alchemy all the time, but by process of elimination it directly led to our modern understanding about what is and isn’t possible.

[@averygaron994]

It's interesting. Newton contributed some of the greatest scientific and mathematical discoveries in history, but most of his research was complete bunk. It was even known at the time that his alchemical research was nonsense, but he was simply so prolific that even the relatively small amount of wheat among his chaff was incredibly important

[@snafu2350]

Yup: the study of science (previously AKA 'philosophy'; now that term has specialised to 'thinking about thinking') is IMO the chain of understanding. In progression order, from basic principles to modern understandings: (quantum*) ⇾ mathematics (for how basic interactions work) ⇾ physics (for the forces that create/'destroy'/change things & how those things may interact) ⇾ chemistry (for how those things interact & combine/split) ⇾ biology (for how complex organic molecules can create life) IMO. Further/deeper specialisations (eg geology & tectonics, astrophysics, botany, electronics, medical science etc) 'require' at least basic understanding of those (5*)4 fields to /fully/ comprehend them & how they came to exist *Quantum is placed first because its effects underly (& are almost completely different to) macro(/micro) interactions: my quick train of thought here is logical progression.. but quantum interactions (at our/my current lvl of understanding) don't apply in the same way as macro (or even micro) interactions, so they kinda invalidate the general progression :)(

[@chadwcmichael]

@@snafu2350 …We should be friends.

[@snafu2350]

@@chadwcmichael :) Why not?

[@diktatoralexander88]

@@snafu2350 I disagree that it goes strictly in that order, but I agree mathematics comes first. Math is the language of everything, it's the medium we use to define the concepts we talk about, and to record our findings. Physics, chemistry and biology are all linked, but each is their own separate category. I don't view one or the other needing to come before to understand the others. Biology can be seen as genetic code, something mathematics helps us understand. I view chemistry as the root of physics, and both have alot of overlapping themes. Unless what you're talking about is the practical movement of things, which case I would define that as engineering. But both require alot of mathematical skill to understand.

[@pydepyper]

Adam seems to find the most incredible things we never knew we needed to see and know more about. I love learning along with him and also seeing the depth of his knowledge! So so cool!

[@transtremm]

After writing the, "Principia" Newton had to translate it into Latin in order for it to be published by the Royal Society. Then when members of the Royal Society read the book, the reader had to translate it back into English in order to understand it. Crazy!!!

[@dp70939]

Same today. German scientists write their papers in English and Germans transalte them to German. Latin was the official scientific language at that time so that's why.

[@ErizotDread]

I've loved Brady's channels for quite a few years now. Deep Sky Videos, Sixty Symbols are just phenomenal. Brady asks amazing questions, and he has great Professors to explain things in his videos. Extremely interesting and entertaining content!

[@Fallub]

2 incredible KZbinrs that I have learnt a lot from. Thank you very much to both of you.

[@thesleepvampire]

This is so unbelievably cool. I love Adam’s awe and enthusiasm to see these items in person. I feel this way when I’m in art museums.

[@stephanieshapiro6673]

This was an absolute joy to see these!! I really hope there’s digital versions to buy as well.

[@chazzyb8660]

I love the fact of Newton being in just a perfectly simple cardboard box with a handwritten notice on it. I spent a long time looking at his 'tomb' in Westminster Abbey, when there for a service some years ago, it is magnificent, but here he is in a cardboard box! Of course Adam would be up for making a vastly improved box, but hey the reality is there to see.

[@disky01]

I'm getting misty just watching this...to have actually seen them in-person must have felt like such a privilege. What a wonderful visit, thank you Adam.

[@wonderrob3225]

God! the actual Principia Mathematica!?

[@paulbrennan1268]

Simply outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

[@bryansmant870]

I've been working my way through Newton's Principia for some time. It is an enlightening and challenging book. Thanks for sharing the original!

[@480pilot]

Simply Amazing,and gracious. Thank You, Royal Society!

[@Joe___R]

It seriously surprised me that you two were handling them with your bare hands. No white gloves, no page turners, just clean hands, and trying to not lick your fingers when flipping through the books. Old dooks, especially handwritten ones, are always something special to look at.

[@johnmcgimpsey1825]

I've been told that this is the preferred handling method now because gloves can give a less tactile feel that could lead to bending or tearing.

[@tested]

Wearing gloves to handle old books and papers is an old school of thought, since revised: blog.library.si.edu/blog/2019/11/21/no-love-for-white-gloves-or-the-cotton-menace/

[@snafu2350]

While licking fingers is a definite no-no WRT old books (saliva enzymes leading to destruction of the 'paper' substrate/writing), I'm surprised that potential tears are a higher concern than guaranteed natural skin oil (+other, eg salt from sweat) deposition..

[@gerimaple]

@@tested always educational. Thanks.

[@davidkiefer6553]

I was wondering the same thing…. My brain was screaming and knew I had to go to the comments for a clarification!

[@billbucktube]

What a fabulous experience! So glad you shared it with us.

[@dbyrne231]

I once got a brief private tour of the Royal Society and saw the original reflecting telescope built by Newton. There was a duplicate (or maybe the second) on public display, but I saw the first!

[@notyouraveragegoldenpotato]

You sir sent me down every positive rabbit hole I've ever dove down. At least sparked an idea or curiosity. You're one of those VERY VERY rare people who absolutely deserve to be recorded, emulated, and passed on to EVERY human being alive or to come. I've never seen a soul be so inspiring in SUCH an impact full, and usefull way that betters humanity and the world. To me, most importantly, you sparked a fire that has taken my curiosity and eventually experience to match to places I'd never even heard about. You sir are an absolute legend

[@WilliamPitcher]

I enjoy seeing Tested cover these hard science objects.

[@candamorgan]

Absolutely incredible - i feel like there was much understated awe in the examination of these historic artefacts, even though Adam is his normal effusive self, some British reticence may have rubbed off!

[@scottmantooth8785]

*would dearly love to see Adam visit Sir Martyn Poliakoff of Periodic Videos fame...an amazingly professor well worth the effort to stream his videos for hours, if not days*

[@gregorysharp]

Adam I LOVE the subjects you pick. Love it. ❤. This is just another great video. Thank you.

[@christianpoynter7971]

Having taken several physics classes in college, and physics and astronomy continuing to be interests of mine to this day, this was really cool to see. There's no shortage of amazing, brilliant scientists and mathematicians in history, but it's hard to imagine a single person who was more fundamentally important to those fields than Newton. And to see a cast of his face, and that manuscript, really helps him feel more... real.

[@annihull6373]

Thank you for sharing this information with the rest of us. blessings.

[@LuisCastillo-tg6xw]

I love to see a tiny glimpse of the world though Adam's eyes. The way he thinks and asks questions is unbelievable

[@Private-GtngxNMBKvYzXyPq]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@glyph2011]

This channel never ceases to amaze and delight. WHAT a video. Astounding. 👍

[@AwakeInAnacortes]

What an experience to get to see and touch both of these books!

[@alanholck7995]

I use several of Brady Haran's 'Periodic Table of Videos' teaching my biology classes. 10/10 would recommend.

[@jackmeads2559]

“It’s telling two stories, it tells the story in the writing but also the story of its creation” is now my favourite quote about books ❤

[@Babarudra]

I love working in museums. I have not had the pleasure to handle anything of this caliber, but handling objects of historical significance is such a thrill.

[@ddviper8813]

I love how no matter how much cool stuff Adam has had the chance to see or do he’s always still so amazed by stuff.

[@lm7_gio]

To be fair, i don't think there are many things more important on the planet than Principia. Every scientific and technological discovery/progress of the last 300 years is basicaly based on that book. Anyone who knows anything about science ought to be amazed by this.

[@DorifutoRabbit]

An amazing video to see, I never thought I'd see the book. I wonder if they showed you the "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Artes Magicis" if you signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement

[@Dlehnerswe]

I really hope for more videos with the Royal society and with Brady. And, hopefully with Kieth aswell ^^

[@DeepSpaceSwine]

As an archive nerd I love these videos. Your journal one was also good, if I can be biased for a moment!

[@DEVAXTATOR-1]

thank you so much for showing the world this and i tell him thank you as well for allow us to see this. thank you

[@8bitwiz_]

Plates in a separate section is done because books are bound in "signatures" of a few sheets each, and that puts all the special work for images into one or a few signatures. It also allows better paper to be used just for the images. In the case of the fish book, I see that they are all printed on one side of each page, so there's no bleed-through. (I guess better paper would have avoided bleed-through too.)

[@darren8269]

What a thoroughly pleasant video. Thank you for sharing.

[@YTantirungrotechai]

This is amazing. Thank you very much.

[@dylanpritchard4981]

Always love seeing Brady! I think he referenced being here on Tom Scott’s podcast Lateral!

[@ASparkyB]

Brady and Adam are like the geek version of Brother Day and Brother Dusk from that Foundation adaptation with Lee Pace.

[@twocyborgdogs]

Thanks Adam, it's your first video to make me "tech-ref" playlist, keep it up pard, dig yer shop of course. Peace

[@NickMach007]

So funny to watch this. I've used that plate of the hammerhead shark as an avatar for a long time. I knew it came from that book, but had no idea the connection with Isaac Newton! Awesome stuff!

[@rustyreckman2892]

Principia and A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism are arguably the most important texts in history, but when that dude the casually pulls out origin or species…. Mind blown!

[@MstresVampy]

This was a wonderful vlog ty

[@TrustyFishOdor]

I had thought this would be about Whitehead and Russel's Principia Mathematica, so I was kind of confused to get the name right but the book wrong. Incredible to peek into this museum.

[@lxoxrxexnx]

What a treat! Thank you

[@joseph8468]

Thank you for thus awesome and inspiring content.

[@gerrygoodlow3322]

Wow. Memories. I took a History of Science class in undergrad many many years ago. Of course 'Principia Mathematica' and 'The Origins of Species' were discussed. Part of the reading requirements were ' The Double Helix' and 'The Physicists'. Years after graduating I went back to my campus bookstore to repurchase both. Thirty years later I still have my copy of 'The Physicists'. Unfortunately I'm going to have to replace my copy of 'The Double Helix', again.

[@JasonKahn]

I really can't imagine how wonderful it must have felt to hold the first edition of both Principia and The Origin of Species

[@thomasmoeller2961]

Especially with no gloves .

[@Efreeti]

I'm excited to have been born on the 300 year anniversary of the publication of the Principia Mathematica!

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating, what an experience!

[@ScottJWaldron]

Very cool. Wow, that's something else being able to casually handle artifacts like that!

[@Sayyadina42]

"We need to get a better box for this." Bells and lightbulbs begin deploying in Adam's brain . . .

[@mohamedmounir6770]

I would like to stay there surrounded by all that rare books and tools.🤗🤗 It's too amazing how they protect that treasure from damaging for centuries .so glad to the efforts made by theme. And thanks Adam❤️

[@DarkDesertMovies]

Thank you Adam, for being Us, going where we can't go. That's as close as I'll ever get to the Pricipia, and that's including any other documentary video because no one else gets into as much, takes the time, just LOOKS AND ENJOYS instead of flashy cuts, so we can drink it all in the same way. This thing you do Adam, it's like you've been given a superpower, to go places mortals can't go, and you've chosen to use it for the greatest good. At least MY greatest good. It was amazing to see these things, thanks for being our eyes and ears.

[@Tardisntimbits]

Wow...I am so envious! I love books, I love Science, and I love history and historical artefects, so wow wow wow! I wish I had the clout to be able to see behind closed doors in a museum or scientific stronghold as such. There is so much the public isn't privvy to, and my little nerdy heart desires to see it all.

[@skunked42]

The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson. Just read it please! Also, the idea of a bunch of the Ur geeks keeping priceless items in a hand labeled box is just on point.

[@JacobODell_]

This has to be the single best crossover I have ever seen

[@houdin654jeff]

Love this team up, glad Adam finally got to go to the Royal Society. Was Keith on vacation at this time? I was looking forward to seeing them together... in any case, a reason for him to come back at some point.

[@bicivelo]

This is amazing. I would LOVE to visit the Royal Society!

[@seanbarnett9406]

It's amazing that Adam has worked his way up to being this amazing science communicator to the point that he can lay eyes and hands on 1st editions of science most important books. It's just insanely inspiring to me what a "normal" person can achieve without needing insane PhD and the like

[@jeffreykipperman6894]

Adam the museum should habe you build a new box for the death mask. What amazing build that would be!

[@Drewcifer321]

What an incredible honor. Amazing

[@VCT3333]

Weird thing is since Geometry was considered the highest form of mathematical argument, Newton wrote it as Geometrical argument in the style of Euclid. Recast as language of Calculus by Emilie du Chatalet and others, it's much easier to read and understand. Chandrasekhar also did a rewrite that's also much easier to follow along. Unlike Origin of Species, Principia is not read for pleasure by amateurs now, or it's much harder to follow.

[@thegodofhellfire]

Just amazing!

[@kephalai]

everyone at the Royal Society has such sharp wit and charm to them.. refreshingly unexpected :D

[@dbx1233]

With no cameras, I suppose you would just have to draw your subject. The drawings from the book actually look like a photographs, that's incredible.

[@meganwyatt1607]

His hands flying around when he gets excited stress me out to no end😆 I was waiting for that death mask to go flying..

[@bsjeffrey]

"have some incredible isaac newton crown jewels" is clearly a euphemism.

[@MalteForstat]

Having read (or listened to, actually) Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle series many times, I always find there is a certain familiarity to the Royal Society and Newton-related stories and objects. Like meeting old friends. You half expect Daniel Waterhouse to come around the corner or show up in the margins of a book somewhere... Thank you! Will there be more from the RS?

[@tested]

Yes! We filmed several videos there.

[@w0ttheh3ll]

It think they mention the fish book near the end of Quicksilver, the fact that they printed too many of them and few people actually want them. Edit: It's in the final Waterhouse chapter of Quicksilver: "[...] a large book of engravings of diverse fishes. [...] The R.S. had printed too many copies of it several years ago. Ever since, Fellows had been [...] employing them as doorstops, table-levelers, flower-presses, et cetera."

[@MalteForstat]

@@w0ttheh3ll Exactly! 🙂

[@PaulMansfield]

It's like Warehouse 13 only without the magic ;-)

[@tarkajedi3331]

This show always entertains!

[@barryrimmer2103]

Wow! What a 'one day build'?! A decent box in which to store Newton's Death Mask, as a gift to the Royal Society. 🙂

[@brunetteordie]

I hope someone at Tested sees your comment.

[@chelldwar]

I think this is a perfect opportunity!

[@Schulzffw]

Absolutely YES!

[@WTDoorley]

Books like these are more than books. They're artifacts that connect the present with the past.

[@anthonyvancampen6729]

In traditional book making the plates are tipped in, so in the printing there is a blank page that gets trimmed down to a stub and the plates are individually glued in. So in addition to the cost of the printing, whether copper plate engraving or lithographs to make color plates, we have the cost of putting the plates into the volume. Over time there have been several methods for dealing with adding plates to a work. One of the more popular and sometimes used to help defray the cost of printing is the practice of putting the plates in a separate volume. The colorful pictures volume could be sold separately, another method was the sale of copies of the plates.

[@davecurry8305]

I enjoy these episodes about book more than a lot of the builds. But I can’t believe how casually they are handling thes historic documents, and no white gloves either!

[@jobbo_]

"Newton's Death Mask" is a really good name for a metal band

[@blindleader42]

A fair number of comments here about gloves. Fingers can be washed and dried. Gloves turn one of the the most versatile, precise and delicate tools nature has ever produced into a crowbar.

[@tested]

Thanks for this. We’ve been trying to explain this to folks as well.

[@blindleader42]

@@tested I suspect this might be the first time a fair number of Tested viewers have heard of Brady or of Objectivity, so haven't had it beaten into them yet.😁

[@robertharker]

In a similar vein, next time you are in England you should check out geologist William Smith's Geological Map of England, Wales and Southern Scotland. His map was the first scientific geologic map in the world (western world?). In some ways William Smith is the father of modern geology understanding the importance of the stratigraphic column and the fossil record. He understood how it could be used to predict the geology under the surface in geographically distant locations. At the time he used it to predict underground coal deposits. Author Simon Winchester's book "The Map that Changed the World" describes William Smith's life of creating the map. I enjoyed it as an audio book with Mr. Winchester's wonderful English accent and excellent speaking voice. An original map can seen at the Geological Society of London. It is hand painted and huge, 2.6m tall by 1.8m wide (8.5 ft x 6 ft).

[@sd3457]

I'm kind of amazed that Adam hadn't heard Pepys' name pronounced before, but I guess his fame as a diarist is linked pretty closely with the Great Fire of London which is obviously a much bigger deal on the other side of the Atlantic.

[@Mark410000]

Adam, you should absolutely make these guys one of your wonderful display boxes for the death mask!