We went into the garden, & drank tea under the shade of some appletrees, only he, & myself. amidst other discourse, he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. "why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground," thought he to him self: occasion"d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a comtemplative mood: "why should it not go sideways, or upwards? but constantly to the earths centre? assuredly, the reason is, that the earth draws it. there must be a drawing power in matter. & the sum of the drawing power in the matter of the earth must be in the earths centre, not in any side of the earth. therefore dos this apple fall perpendicularly, or toward the centre. if matter thus draws matter; it must be in proportion of its quantity. therefore the apple draws the earth, as well as the earth draws the apple."
牛頓為什麼不把蘋果給吃了？因為牛頓悟出萬有引力的那天，根本沒有被蘋果砸中，或許他根本就沒有坐在蘋果樹下。
牛頓與蘋果的故事，或許真的稱得上人類科學史上最成功的科學家神話之一。
關於蘋果的這個傳奇故事，最有力的推動者當屬伏爾泰，他在1727年的著作中就記述了這個有趣的故事。
不過，伏爾泰可不是親耳聽牛頓說的，他的訊息同樣是二手轉速的——從牛頓的外甥女口中得來。
而同樣的，很多牛頓的熟人也都提過此事。如William Stukeley和John Conduitt等。
圖：William Stukeley，記錄了1726年他與牛頓的對話。
We went into the garden, & drank tea under the shade of some appletrees, only he, & myself. amidst other discourse, he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. "why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground," thought he to him self: occasion"d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a comtemplative mood: "why should it not go sideways, or upwards? but constantly to the earths centre? assuredly, the reason is, that the earth draws it. there must be a drawing power in matter. & the sum of the drawing power in the matter of the earth must be in the earths centre, not in any side of the earth. therefore dos this apple fall perpendicularly, or toward the centre. if matter thus draws matter; it must be in proportion of its quantity. therefore the apple draws the earth, as well as the earth draws the apple."晚年就經常對朋友們說，他是在1666年看到一個蘋果的落下，在思考“為什麼蘋果是下落而非上升”時，產生了萬有引力的靈感。
但奇怪的是，牛頓開始不厭其煩地講這故事時，已經是蘋果事件發生的50年之後了。
而同樣的，無論是牛頓親口所述，還是二三手得來的訊息，均發生於牛頓晚年的時期。
那麼，為什麼他要在前50年並未提及此事呢？
按理來說，這麼有趣的故事，不是應該在早期作品提及此故事才對嗎？
除此之外，這件事情在牛頓自己的書中是隻字未提及。
所以，就有人發出了這樣的疑問和猜測。
這個故事是牛頓自己在晚年時候編出來的。
一個原因是當時牛頓和胡克之間的關係鬧得很僵，併為誰曾想到的觀點而陷入爭論。
為的就是增加些傳奇性和獨創性，這個故事才被炮製出來。
當然這都些沒有證據的猜測。
圖：胡克
不過，牛頓光環渲染過的還不止蘋果一事，還有那句名言：“我看得更遠，是因為我站在了巨人的肩上”。
這句話就出自1676年牛頓致胡克的信件中。
但這句話的出發點可不是因為牛頓的謙虛，而是因為胡克身材矮小、駝背嚴重。
在兩人爭得面紅耳赤之時，這估計是開得嘲諷模式也不是謙虛模式了。
不過，就算蘋果沒有砸中牛頓，牛頓依然還是那個牛逼的牛頓。