How would you react to a revolutionary idea?

You are a university student during the late 1600s, and it seems that the world
as you know it has turned upside down. An English scientist named Isaac
Newton has just theorized that the universe is not a dark mystery but a system
whose parts work together in ways that can be expressed mathematically. This is
just the latest in a series of arguments that have challenged old ways of thinking
in fields from astronomy to medicine. Many of these ideas promise to open the
way for improving society. And yet they are such radical ideas that many people
refuse to accept them.
A This painting by English artist Joseph Wright depicts adults and children
gazing at a miniature planetarium and its new ideas about the universe.
EXAMINING the ISSUES
Why might people have difficulty accepting new ideas or
ways of thinking?
• What are the risks of embracing a different idea? What are
some risks of always refusing to do so?
Meet in small groups and discuss these questions. As you discuss
these and other issues, recall other times in history when people
expressed ideas that were different from accepted ones. As you
read this chapter, watch for the effects of revolutionary ideas,
beliefs, and discoveries