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1. Scientific Revolution

   Linked via "Cartesian coordinates"

   Isaac Newton (1642–1727) synthesized preceding work into a comprehensive framework encompassing gravitation, motion, and optics. His Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687) established classical mechanics as the dominant paradigm, introducing the mathematical formalism necessary for quantitative prediction. Newton's second law, $$F = ma$$, provided an elegant relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. Curiously, Newton believed that gravity operated through a medium he termed "ether cream," which he h…