May 22, 2020 | By Hannah Loomis

Where are you from?

Nairobi, Kenya

Which book did you write on?

The Principia by Isaac Newton

What’s the title of your essay?

“A Language of Nature: The Relationship between Nature and Mathematics in Newton’s Principia”

What was the essence of your argument?

It is an examination of the extent to which mathematics can provide one with insight into the inner workings of phenomena, and ultimately, nature. I examine what Newton does in Books 1 and 2 and contrast it with his work in Book 3, to see what happens when mathematics is applied to nature and what this shows us about the phenomena. In the end, I realized that mathematics alone cannot show us the inner workings of nature; there must be something else involved in the process.

How did your essay connect to the different aspects of the Program from throughout your four years?

The idea for my paper arose from my second semester junior math paper, but it was an idea that was greatly discussed in senior math and lab. We had to consider how we were using mathematics to calculate and create models for phenomena we sometimes cannot examine, or which when examined alter the results of the experiment. It also related back to freshman and sophomore math and lab, where one begins to question how we observe the world and develop models.

What was the writing process like for you?

It was an interesting process; I went through very many emotions writing the paper. Sometimes I was happy with it and other times I hated it and thought I wouldn’t have a paper to hand in. But I trusted the process and tried to have as much fun working on my paper as I could. I tried to keep an open mind and see where the text would take me. In the end I realized that what I thought my paper would look like isn’t what it turned out to be, but I am happy with how it turned out.

What is the most important lesson you learned during your time at St. John’s?

The most important lesson I learned at St. John’s was to keep an open mind and have fun with the Program. Many of the ideas I had when I joined as a freshman have changed for the better, and I can now defend my views and opinions much better. I have also come to realize that there is more than one right way to do something. One doesn’t always have to do things the way one was taught; we can evolve and change and figure out works for us, and this is a life-long endeavor.