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  3. /Ask HN: How Newton did so much without tea or coffee?
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  3. /Ask HN: How Newton did so much without tea or coffee?
Nov 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM EST

Ask HN: How Newton did so much without tea or coffee?

upxx
5 points
5 comments

Mood

skeptical

Sentiment

neutral

Category

ask_hn

Key topics

History

Productivity

Science

How did Newton, lacking the stimulants that fueled the productivity of so many later great minds—from caffeine-driven mathematicians to nicotine-powered physicists—maintain the relentless intensity required to reshape mathematics and physics?

Discussion Activity

Light discussion

First comment

15m

Peak period

3

Hour 1

Avg / period

1.8

Comment distribution7 data points
Loading chart...

Based on 7 loaded comments

Key moments

  1. 01Story posted

    Nov 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM EST

    1d ago

    Step 01
  2. 02First comment

    Nov 22, 2025 at 9:59 PM EST

    15m after posting

    Step 02
  3. 03Peak activity

    3 comments in Hour 1

    Hottest window of the conversation

    Step 03
  4. 04Latest activity

    Nov 23, 2025 at 10:46 AM EST

    16h ago

    Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (5 comments)
Showing 7 comments
razodactyl
1d ago
More flow-states, less distractions, pure intellectual drive to know the unknown.

You're all still capable of it.

seemaze
16h ago
You may find some insight into his methods and motives in the biography 'Issac Newton' by James Gleick. It's a wonderful and quick read.

https://inkwellmanagement.com/books/isaac-newton

dangus
1d ago
Isn’t caffeine pretty much proven to be a non-factor for daily consumers?

Is it proven that he didn’t consume tea or coffee? Both were available in his time. England had coffee houses in the 1600s. Ever heard of the East India Conpany? They traded tea.

Besides that, you really think humans didn’t have awareness of various stimulant drugs at that point?

Did you read his Wikipedia page? I mean, the guy never got married, he had time on his hands. His Wikipedia page also says that he prioritized work over his own well-being.

smallerize
19h ago
Caffeine makes you feel more alert, but it's probably shrinking your working memory. Try being creative without it, for me it's much easier.
austin-cheney
1d ago
For somebody substantially more productive checkout Leonhard Euler. Pronounced (oiler).

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtkX18dU2_U

I don't know if he had access to, or consumed, tea or coffee. He lost his eye sight due to a progressive illness and the more his vision declined the more productive he became. He is commonly considered the most accomplished mathematician in human history.

bigyabai
1d ago
Divine motivation is one possibility. A lot of his later life was particularly... driven, largely into secret societies and meaningless gematria studies.
JojoFatsani
1d ago
He didn’t have social media distracting him
View full discussion on Hacker News
ID: 46020278Type: storyLast synced: 11/23/2025, 9:07:11 AM

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