Since Scientific American reported on the findings in my paper, the story has been reported by dozens of news outlets all around the world, in more than twenty languages. By way of illustration, the list below represents a small selection of articles that have appeared, all from different countries. In response, Wikipedia has now corrected the statement of the First Law in its articles on inertia, and on Newton’s Laws. I know of at least one high school textbook that will be amended in response to my work.
“Mistranslation of Newton’s First Law Discovered After Nearly 300 Years” by Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 September 2023. (US, science magazine)
“We’ve Been Misreading a Major Law of Physics for the Past 300 Years” by Clare Watson, Science Alert, 14 September 2023. (Australia, science news website)
“Virginia Tech philosopher rights wrong done to Isaac Newton,” by Randolph Walker, Cardinal News, 28 September 2023. (Virginia, local news)
“Dat éne woordje in Newtons wet: Eerste Wet van Newton blijkt veel concreter dan altijd werd gedacht,” by Peter de Jong, Het Parool, 26 October 2023. (The Netherlands, national newspaper)
“هل أخطأ العلماء في ترجمة وفهم قانون نيوتن الأول للحركة؟,” Al Jazeera, 19 September 2023. (Qatar, global news organisation)
“Increíble: hemos malinterpretado una de las leyes de Newton durante casi 300 años,” Clarín, 19 September 2023. (Argentina, national newspaper)
“300 yıllık hata! ‘Modern bilimin babası’ olarak bilinen Newton’un teorisi yanlış çevrilmiş,” Karar, 7 September 2023. (Turkey, national newspaper)
“La première loi de Newton « mal interprétée » depuis près de 300 ans!” by Fleur Brosseau, Science & Vie, 12 September 2023. (France, popular science magazine)
“The Seventeenth Century Just Changed,” National Post Newsletter, 18 September 2023. (Canada. Check this one out: it’s funny and thoughtful, and features the oxymoron “micro-explosive”.)
“La legge di Newton è sbagliata! La scienza va cambiata, 300 anni dopo”, Esquire, 12 October 2023. (Italy, men’s magazine)
“โลกเข้าใจผิดกฎฟิสิกส์ของนิวตันเรื่อง “ความเฉื่อย” มากว่า 300 ปี”, BBC News Thailand, 16 September 2023. (Thailand, news website)
“ニュートンの「第一法則」は300年以上も誤訳されていたと判明!” by Yasuhiro Kawakatsu and Kainuma Satoshi, ナゾロジー, 16 September 2023. (Japan, science news website)
“Hemos malinterpretado una de las leyes de la física más importantes, y todo por un error en una traducción,” by Robert Cantero, Mundo Deportivo, 19 September 2023. (Spain, national sports newspaper)
“Podręczniki do poprawki. Podstawowe prawo fizyki źle przetłumaczone,” by Marcin Powęska, Focus, 17 September 2023. (Poland, science magazine)
“Ερμηνεύαμε λάθος έναν βασικό Νόμο της Φυσικής τα τελευταία 300 χρόνια,” Ταχυδρόμος, 17 September 2023. (Greece, local newspaper)
“300 年來，我們可能一直誤釋牛頓第一運動定律,” TechNews, 15 September 2023. (Taiwan, tech news website)
“Herevaluering van Newton se eerste bewegingswet: ‘n kwessie van vertaling en interpretasie” by Vicky Stavropoulou, City Life, 14 September 2023. (South Africa, tech news website)
“¿Isaac Newton se equivocó en su primera ley? Este es el error malinterpretado por 300 años,” El Comercio, 19 September 2023. (Peru, national newspaper)
“Será que interpretamos errado a 1a Lei de Isaac Newton por 300 anos?” by Ademilson Ramos, Engenharia É, 18 September 2023. (Brazil, engineering news site)
“Jeden z najzákladnejších zákonov fyziky už vyše 300 rokov chápeme zle: Čo tento vedec naozaj myslel?”, by Richard Zliechovský, Zoznam, 18 September 2023. (Slovakia, popular news website)
“Principia falsch übersetzt: Newton war revolutionärer als gedacht”, by Christian Kahle, WinFuture, 14 September 2023. (Germany, tech news website)
“Legea din fizică a lui Isaac Newton interpretată greșit timp de 300 de ani,” by Cojocaru Cristian, Playtech, 16 September 2023. (Romania, tech news website)
“Shkencëtari: Kemi keqinterpretuar një nga ligjet më të rëndësishme të Fizikës, për shkak të një gabimi në përkthim,” Vox News, 20 September 2023. (Albania, news website)
“Felöversättning ledde till misstolkning av Newton – i 300 år,” Sverige radio, 4 October 2023. (Sweden, national public radio)
“Félreérthettük eddig a fizika egyik alapvető, 300 éves törvényét” Rakéta, 19 January 2024 (Hungary, science news website)
“В формулировке первого закона Ньютона нашли ошибку” RIA Novosti, 30 October 2024 (Russia, national Press Agency)
