Newton's Wig

Admin1: An authority symbol always becomes fodder for jokes for the next generation.

Dr. Gravytee: The word Newton has been a synonym for genius and science since eternity.

A1: Why was he wearing a wig?

Dr. G: That was cool at the time.

A1: You are saying that if the brand is set up professionally and maintained well and updated carefully the symbols of authority will never become jokes.

Dr. G: Newton is backed up by the most sophisticated marketing department in the world.

A1: Newton's contemporaries from Holland used elaborate lace collars as authority symbols.

Dr. G: More likely as status symbols. But your status brought authority as well.

A1: Will this symbol of authority ever become fodder for jokes?

Dr. G: It looks remarkably like fine lace worn by the Dutch. Authority symbols work both ways. They also imprison its owner. When you have a Lagrangian around your neck that's more like a garrote than a decoration.

A1: According to the author of that link Lagrangian is on its way out.

Dr. G: There is a confusion there. Alphysics is divided in its use of lace. Doctor Carroll who dismisses Lagragian practices at CalTech where Lagrangian is fashionable. At University of Chicago only Hamiltonian is used. These formalisms come and go.

A1: To me a Lagrangian looks as old fashioned and funny as lace collar. I wonder why it is still around.

Dr. G: Today we have computer programs which do what Lagrangian was invented to do in the 18th century. The scholastic alphysics bureaucracy is an immense bureaucracy. Once the Lagrangian entered the books it could never be removed.

A1: So if alphysics Doctors were in charge of developing writing instruments for humanity we would still be writing with quill pens not typing on a keyboard.

Dr. G: You got the idea.