Three centuries ago, issac newton wrote: ". . . to myself i seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore . . . whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." when newton surveyed the vast ocean of truth which lay before him, the laws of nature were shrouded in an impenetrable veil of mystery. –visions, michio kaku but the ocean that newton knew as a boy has largely disappeared. before us lies a new ocean, the ocean of endless scientific possibilities and applications, giving us the potential for the first time to manipulate and mold these forces of nature to our wishes. –visions, michio kaku identify a key term used in both passages.