Insight and blindspots: Anne Watson wrestles with Lewis Fry Richardson

‘His own values were more important to him than institutional values.’

by Anne Watson 2nd January 2026

Lewis Fry Richardson was born in 1881 as the seventh and youngest child in a high-achieving Quaker family. The children mainly attended Quaker schools and developed lives that showed elements of Quaker values, many being directly involved in pacifism, teaching and scientific enquiry. I became interested in Lewis because of his use of mathematics in war studies, arising from his stated intention to use mathematics, physics and psychology for ‘good’ purposes. The seeds for this were planted at Bootham School, where the idea that scientific inquiry is a duty was embedded in him.