6.22.12 - Extra Credit Report (1)

Extra Credit Report: A Fishy Tale

            The oldest engraving of a flying fish, a now exstinct species, was created in 1686. It comes from John Ray and Francis Willoughby’s book, “Historia Piscuim”. The publishing company, the Royal Society, almost went bankrupt, because of the high quality illustrations. Unfortunately, following this publication, the company had no money left over for a following publication, “Principa Mathematica,” by Isaac Newton. “Principa Mathematica turned out to be one of the most important volumes in the history of physics, including information about the laws of motion and gravity. However, a year later, Edmund Halley, a wealthy soap maker’s son, finally published the issue, covering the cost with his own wealth.

            This article was important because it allowed the scientific world to view an outdated species in such detail. Although it was economically challenging to the Royal Society, and put a hold onto Isaac Newton’s pivotal discoveries, it opened up new windows to scientific information, and allows us to further study the history of the flying fish.