I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of the people." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Such a statement is indicated as his response to a question regarding the financial fiasco known as the South Sea Bubble; the earliest mention of this famous anecdote appears to be from manuscripts of the Second Memorandum Book (1756) of Joseph Spence, first published in Anecdotes, Observations, and Characters, of Books and Men (1820) edited by in Samuel Weller Singer; a Lord Radnor is quoted as saying:
   When Sir Isaac Newton was asked about the continuance of the rising of South Sea stock? — He answered, "that he could not calculate the madness of the people."
• Variants:
• I can calculate the motions of erratic bodies, but not the madness of a multitude.
 • As quoted in "Mammon and the Money Market", in The Church of England Quarterly Review (1850), p. 142
• I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.
• I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies but not the madness of men.
• I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.
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I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of the people.

— Isaac Newton

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of the people." in the context of "Such a statement is indicated as his response to a question regarding the financial fiasco known as the South Sea Bubble; the earliest mention of this famous anecdote appears to be from manuscripts of the Second Memorandum Book (1756) of Joseph Spence, first published in Anecdotes, Observations, and Characters, of Books and Men (1820) edited by in Samuel Weller Singer; a Lord Radnor is quoted as saying:
   When Sir Isaac Newton was asked about the continuance of the rising of South Sea stock? — He answered, "that he could not calculate the madness of the people."
• Variants:
• I can calculate the motions of erratic bodies, but not the madness of a multitude.
 • As quoted in "Mammon and the Money Market", in The Church of England Quarterly Review (1850), p. 142
• I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.
• I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies but not the madness of men.
• I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Isaac Newton" (Disputed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Isaac Newton#calculate#heavenly#motions#madness#bodies
Isaac Newton

About Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 – March 31, 1727 or in Old Style: December 25, 1642 – March 20, 1727) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and among the most influential scientists of all time. He was a key figure in the philosophical revolution known as the Enlightenment. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing infinitesimal calculus.