Can we apply mathematical theory to the study of history?

Question

My teacher asked the class this question and I was very intrigued. She said we should review Newton's three basic laws of physics and pick one historical event for each basic law. How can Newton's law be applied to the said event?

It was last year that she asked this but I still would like to hear from someone who has more knowledge :)

Answer 1

I believe your teacher meant this metaphorically, and I can outline briefly to you how I'm interpreting the rules that way.  If I remember correctly, Newton's three rules are:

 

1) Every object continues in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.

 

Think about this in terms of objects being people or countries--they continue on in the manner they're comfortable with unless a new influence or a dramatic event forces them to act in other ways.

 

For example, the United States during World War I pursued a policy of isolationism until certain developments in the fighting forced it to enter the war.

 

2) Force = mass times acceleration.

 

Think, again, about the mass being a person or a country, the acceleration being an idea or event that speeds up the necessity of the "mass" responding, and then force can be viewed as the actual consequence or resulting action of the "acceleration" meeting the "mass."

 

The event universally acknowledged as the beginning of World War I could be a good example of this.  Mass = the diplomatic situation in Europe, acceleration = the assassination itself, and then force = the events that ensued and dragged the world into war.

 

3) For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

 

I think this one is probably the clearest.   Think about how people's actions or historical events cause ripple effects that move out into the world and alter the course of other events.  The challenge will be describing how the responses are equal and opposite.

 

Think about the sinking of the Lusitania--one of the events that pulled the United States into World War I.  The Germans flagrantly disregarded conventions of decency in hurting civilians, and so the United States responded in kind.

 

My apologies for using all World War I examples (I've been reading about it quite a bit lately for work!), but I hope this provides some insight into what your teacher meant.  I think there's a lot of potential with a question like this to explore any period of history in new and creative ways.