When you think of Sir Isaac Newton, you probably picture a foppish young man relaxing in the shade of a tree, getting hit on the head by a falling apple, and figuring out the laws of gravity in the space of an instant. This isn’t a total myth—Newton himself often said that he was inspired to think about gravitation by the sight of apples falling from trees, although there’s no evidence that he was actually hit by any of them—but Newton’s contributions to science go far beyond that single ‘eureka!’ moment. With his extensive knowledge of physics, astronomy, mathematics and economics, Newton was a true polymath; there’s a reason why he remains such an enduring figure nearly 300 years after his death!