Newton and Schiehallion

Last week I wrote about my climb up Schiehallion in the Scottish Highlands, a mountain that tested me mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Schiehallion also played a role in scientific discovery. 

In 1774, Nevil Maskelyne carried out an experiment there inspired by Newton’s theory of gravitation. Newton had proposed that a mountain should exert a sideways pull on a plumb line, though he doubted instruments could measure it. Maskelyne proved otherwise. By comparing astronomical observations from different sides of the mountain, his team detected a measurable deflection. 

This was a breakthrough: proof that matter in an ordinary mountain could influence the world around it. From that, they even estimated Earth’s mean density. 

I find this fascinating because it mirrors the lesson I experienced personally. Something that seemed ordinary, a climb, a challenge, a mountain, revealed extraordinary truths. For me, it was the rainbow at the summit. For science, it was confirmation of universal laws.

It makes me wonder: how often do we overlook the power of the “ordinary” in our own lives? What truths might be waiting in the everyday experiences we resist or dismiss? What breakthroughs could come if we leaned into those moments with curiosity and courage? 

Reveal greatness,

gina 🙂