Karl Popper and Isaac Newton, the blend of two great ideas.
Karl Popper and Isaac Newton are famous philosophers and scientists of the medieval period who have contributed immensely to the philosophy of science. In this writing, I try to bring together one of the famous words from Karl Popper which is All life is problem-solving and the idea of force in Newton’s laws of motion. The fusion of these great ideas from these great philosophers and scientists will reveal certain major lessons we can apply in our daily lives to become victors.
A force, for the purpose of this message, is that which causes an object to move forward, backwards or causes an object in motion to be static. So we see three impacts of force here. And it is our reaction to this force that will determine whether our life is going to move forward, backwards or be static.
Let us assume that the force is a problem, so there are two things I believe we can do to successfully handle the force or problems in life considering these concepts of Karl Popper and Isaac Newton. These are:
1. Admit that force or problems are inevitable in life. Just like Karl Popper said: Life is problem-solving. You cannot prepare for something you do not expect. And so far as you are not prepared for it, you cannot handle it effectively.
2. Change your perception about the force or problems in life. Don’t see them as problems but see them as challenges. A problem is an opposition we sit to stare and a challenge is an opposition we stand to face.
Also, if one solves an ordinary head or stomach ache problem, that person has been successful in doing so but he or she will not catch any attention because of the ordinary nature of his or her success. But if someone solves the problem of HIV disease by finding a cure for it, his or her name will spread over the world because of the extraordinary magnitude of his or her success. Therefore, know that the level of your success in life depends on the magnitude of problems you solve. Furthermore, think about the very few great and successful people in the world against the vast majority of ordinary people. Can we not say that the success or greatness of these people is mainly a result of the choices they made in life? And are these choices not the difficult ones? Because if they were the easier choices, many would have taken them for us to have more great and successful people in the world compared to the ordinary people.
Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states that “An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in uniform motion tends to stay in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force”. From this law, we can learn that the problems of life will continue to stay at rest in our lives until we do something about them. The good news is that God has given us an upper hand over all the problems and challenges we face. It is our action and reaction to the object or problem that will determine whether our lives will move forward, backwards or remain stable. You can handle that problem. Surely, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The power is yours!
Karl Popper and Isaac Newton – Life is Problem Solving
