Engines of Our Ingenuity  No. 1168:  by John H. Lienhard  Click
here for audio of Episode 1168.  Today, Newton, Voltaire, and
the French Revolution. The University of Houston's College of
Engineering presents this series about the machines that make
our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created
them.  Why is Voltaire so famous? As a philosopher, he left no
body of philosophy. He worked at science but he left no
scientific principles or useful observations. He was a noted
author, but few of us have read more than his book, Candide.
Still, reading Candide was an experience that's stuck with me
ever since. Voltaire is so famous because he was a transforming
agent. And, oddly enough, his interest in science may have been
the driving force behind his great influence -- even though he
contributed nothing to science.  In 1726, a young Voltaire was
exiled to England for three years. His stay there overlapped the
last year of Newton's life. Now: we regard Newton as the
quintessential rationalist, the v