Absent-Minded Professor: Difference between revisions

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== Real Life ==

* There was a legend about Thales, the sixth-century B.C. philosopher and mathematician, falling into a well because he was gazing at the stars instead of watching where he was going. This tale became so iconic that it was eventually immortalized as one of [[Aesop's Fables]], making this one [[Older Than Feudalism]].

* A well-known legend about the 3rd-century B.C. mathematician Archimedes says that when he stumbled upon the solution to a problem he was wracking his brain on (how to tell whether or not a crown is pure gold), he got so excited that he leaped out of the bath and ran naked through the streets shouting, "[[Eureka Moment|Eureka]]!" ("I've found it!").

* A well-known legend about the 3rd-century B.C. mathematician Archimedes says that when he stumbled upon the solution to a problem he was wracking his brain on (how to non-destructively tell whether or not a crown was pure gold), he got so excited that he leaped out of the bath and ran naked through the streets shouting, "[[Eureka Moment|Eureka]]!" ("I've found it!").

** There is also the tale of his death: a Roman soldier tried to ask him where Archimedes could be found, not knowing it was him, as his boss [[I Want Them Alive|wanted him alive]]. Unable to get the old man's attention (he was solving a geometrical problem on a sand table), the soldier got angry and eventually killed him. Archimedes' last words? "Do not disturb my circles!"

* Isaac Newton is said to have invited a friend to dinner but to have subsequently forgotten about it. When the friend dropped by he found Newton in deep contemplation and, not wanting to disrupt his train of thought, sat and waited. Eventually a servant brought up dinner for one and the friend, still too polite to disturb his host, ate by himself. When Newton finally snapped out of it, he looked at the empty dishes and said, "If it weren't for the proof before my eyes, I could have sworn that I have not yet dined."