Without some of the greats, researchers and scientists, as was our Nikola Tesla, now we could not imagine a world in which we live. Give Your favourites and reasons why! As a member of Tesla Memorial Society, I am going to give our link to TESLA, even though he is presented nicely in Wikipedia.
http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm
Drs. Jacic and Borchardt,
If we speak of inventors, I agree with your choice of Tesla, especially in view
of the obstacles and unfair treatment accorded him. If we speak of scientists dealing with basic science, I tend to agree with Dr. Borchardt. Here I must add, that in Newton's dynamics, there are only four notions one needs to derive all results:
For kinematics the primary notion is the observer, i.e. the frame of reference in which
position and its changes are observed (and defined in a chosen coordinate system), and the definition of angular velocity. For kinetics, only the second and third law (in
its strong form) are needed.
By the way, the often used assumption "Let us consider the body of interest to be sufficiently small to be considered a particle" is both unnecessary and
undefined, i.e. not needed and involves the fuzzy concept of "small". Once one has established F=ma for the acceleration of the mass center of a constant mass body
the actual restriction is not the undefined notion of "smallness" but the restriction that one's interest is the motion of the mass center. If orientation of the body or motion of other points of the body is of interest, an angular momentum equation is needed and it follows from Newton's Laws with the third law in its strong form.
George Leitmann
Although I am in the area of engineering and Maths, my favourite is a scientist Namely Dr George Papanikolaou invented the Pap test (also called smear test). The test contributes to saving the lives of many women.
The inventor of the sanitary toilet system of course! Just try to imagine a city without the sanitary toilet system, and you would understand why I am saying so!
But of course, Tesla certainly was a great scientist.
My favourite scientist is Richard Feynman, although I am not a physicist. He was a great man and scientist. In particular, I agree with his learning and teaching methods for students, which I try to exploit (but with small luck) with my students.
Alan Turing is my single favorite: although he is by no means the only inventor of the computer (several other giants have contributed to that since Leibniz), without him it would have taken many more years, if not decades, and - perhaps - even a completely different course.
What is so fascinating about his contributions is, that he stands well on the borderline between a a highly abstract theory of computation on the one hand and the highly concrete engineering task of constructing such a machine on the other hand.
Furthermore, I think nobody will deny, that computers of all sorts - both concept and construct - have changed our world and world-views fundamentally in an unbelievably short time frame.
However, equally fascinating and telling, there is still deep controversy about how much computers contributed to progress and quality of life versus the opposite (whatever that may be)
IMHO really fundamental inventions will always invoke such bivalent feelings among people. In Turing's case we are well aware with deep regret that he was treated very badly as well - due to prevalent prejudices in his time.
Tesla is one of the great names. But I love and admire Newton, Maxwell, Darwin, Keppler and Einstein as well because they changed our conception of the world!
I am a great admirer of the great contributors to mankind, yet it is not for me to choose a "greatest."
Occasionally, when I would give a lecture, some outsider would ask: “weren’t these things already presented?” so I made up a response:
“Whatever you
or I
may write today
Is either
already written by Gauss,
or by Euler,
or is incorrect…
… and yet, we still write 'new' things.”
I admire Einstein, yet could I say that Einstein is greater than Newton?
Can I ignore Aristotle or Pitagoras?
In my restricted world of Control and Nonlinear Systems, if you had a look at my, now pretty big, paper “Defending the Beauty of the Invariance Principle,” actually it only started as a modest note, only attempting to revive some of the shockingly unknown credit due to LaSalle. The initially terrible response(s) made it into the not so small final paper and yet, even after its publication, I can only hope it manages to recover some of this due credit.
I see Tesla as a great scientist with lots of inventions and, in particular, who required a lot of time and effort from people of good will for the records to accept him as the actual inventor of radio (what before was something between Popov and Marconi).
Favorite; Francis Crick.
He embodies a true scientist. Physic major turned molecular biologist at age 32 to learn more about the gene. At age 60 gave up molecular biology and went to neuroscience to study consciousness. At age 88, on his deathbed, he was caught editing a manuscript.
It is hard to pick just one but along the lines of great technological inventions that changed the world, check the ranking by 12 scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, historians of technology, and others in "The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel" from Nov 2013 Atlantic magazine: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/innovations-list/309536/
First 5:
1. The printing press, 1430s
2. Electricity, late 19th century
3. Penicillin, 1928
4. Semiconductor electronics, mid-20th century
5. Optical lenses, 13th century
Tesla, Edison et al. are of course authorities for engineers. In my specialty (neurorehabilitation) the most influencing and impressing me scientists were Santiago Ramón y Cajal (foundations of nervous system - Nobel Prize in 1906 with B. C. E. Golgi), Jerzy Konorski (brain plasticity - 1948), Karl and Berta Bobath (Bobath concept of neurorehabilitation of adults and children - since 1940s), many scientist working on movement control, brain-computer interfaces, neuroprostheses, deep brain stimulation, disorders of consciousness (see works of Adrian Oven' and Steven Laureys' research teams), and Dean Kamen as inventor of e.g. insulin pump, portable dialysis machine, wheelchair iBot (it climbs the stairs - it is not produced till now, I am afraid), etc. I think there is still a lot to do - and XXI century may be century of technically supported medicine.
The Braggs, Father & Son! Sir William Henry Bragg & William Lawrence Bragg, for "unlocking the secrets of the reciprocal space" by devising and conceptualizing a tool to take apart the human gene! XRD (X-Ray Diffraction)!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85210325@N04/11604959265/
Tesla was a great example of the "close-mindedness" of even Edison who may have temporarily remained a "prisoner of the past". Stay "open-minded" my friends! Stay thirsty for knowledge!
Edison & Tesla! Need your help with identifying the artist of this wonderful inspirational rendering (caricature). Thanks!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85210325@N04/10221065324/
All scientists cited by other researchers are important in the history of science and many others still can be considered like Copernico, Coulomb, Ampere, Ohm, Volta, Lorentz, Bohr, Fermi, Dirac, etc...Then there are great scientists in other branchs of science like medicine, biology, mathematics, etc.. A small specification: Marconi wasn't the inventor of the radio but he was the first scientist to realize a transatlantic radio transmission between Europe and America (about 3200Km). This said, my preferred scientist is nevertheless Galileo Galilei, because of his numerous discoveries but above all for the scientific method that he described so well.
Tesla was genius... but I feel Edison closer to me with his intuitive way of thinking. In my opinion, Tesla was more scientist than inventor as Edison.
Very difficult question. I have always interested to know the guy who introduced zero into mathematics. Without zero all consequent discoveries and inventions were impossible. Unfortunately have never heard of his name. I only read a couple of years ago that zero was inventd by an Indian mathematician. I admire him.
Louis Pasteur...What can I say? many of us are here (our ancestors survived) thanks to his early discoveries in microbiology and its influence on medical microbiology and aseptic surgery
Well then I guess I'd like to include two great men contributors in the field of human sciences, Jesus of Nazareth & Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, for successfully identifying the method of peace for human perpetuation. Peace on Earth! Happy New Year! Have a purposeful year!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi
I'd like to propose Leonardo da Vinci who is rather world famous for the painting "La Gioconda" now in The Louvre Museum, but he was a real powerful visioneer, anticipating what would have come later. Most of the ingenious solutions he advanced we can find nowadays in thousands tools we are using. He was really a powerful mind capable to imagine what could be next and this I am afraid is quite missing nowadays.
Ibn-e-Sina (Pūr Sinɑ) is my favorite scientist who has lived about 1000 years ago. I am not working in his field (medical, ...) but i praise his findings at that time, when there was not anybody like him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna
Also, Edison is my other favorite scientist which his invention is useful after years and it will be useful.
Also, Sayyed Mahmoud Hessaby is my other favorite scientist who was "scientist" Literally. He was scientist in many areas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Hessaby
H. Schliemann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann) who found Troy. He was an amateur and he made mistakes but he managed to do it.
Regarding Tesla and Edison, with respect to previous, attached is a humorous but truthful way of seeing the discovery that bind to these two scientists and inventors
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla
Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist. His observation that the universe consists of only two basic phenomena: matter and the motion of matter is the foundation of all scientific endeavors. His First Law of Motion must be considered the "Law of the Universe".
N.Tesla – one of the greatest scholars with the results of civilizational choice.
Until now, the most profound achievements made them 100 years ago, we have not explored. And when will be examined - is unknown.
Top - 10 world scientists (or inventors)
10. Leonardo da Vinci
9. Edwin Herbert Land
8. Benjamin Franklin
7. Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria (c. AD 10–70)
6. Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson
5. George Westinghouse, Jr
4. Alexander Graham Bell
3. Thomas Alva Edison
2. Nikola Tesla
1. Archimedes of Syracuse
Drs. Jacic and Borchardt,
If we speak of inventors, I agree with your choice of Tesla, especially in view
of the obstacles and unfair treatment accorded him. If we speak of scientists dealing with basic science, I tend to agree with Dr. Borchardt. Here I must add, that in Newton's dynamics, there are only four notions one needs to derive all results:
For kinematics the primary notion is the observer, i.e. the frame of reference in which
position and its changes are observed (and defined in a chosen coordinate system), and the definition of angular velocity. For kinetics, only the second and third law (in
its strong form) are needed.
By the way, the often used assumption "Let us consider the body of interest to be sufficiently small to be considered a particle" is both unnecessary and
undefined, i.e. not needed and involves the fuzzy concept of "small". Once one has established F=ma for the acceleration of the mass center of a constant mass body
the actual restriction is not the undefined notion of "smallness" but the restriction that one's interest is the motion of the mass center. If orientation of the body or motion of other points of the body is of interest, an angular momentum equation is needed and it follows from Newton's Laws with the third law in its strong form.
George Leitmann
To my mind, to much great persons (either men or women) who contributed to the evolution of humanity, at different period.
With many primordial steps in health sicences, physics and chemistry (comprehension of universe), social fields for peace between humans …and so on. So, if we know the life of each one, a lot of amazing and respectfull men and women.
Conclusion: I coundn't choose.
And our historians could show the "interaction" of these people in the progression for better conditions of life.
Best regards and happy new year coming for all, in peace and wisdom.
Didier
By the way, the reason for adding my comments on the use of Newton's Laws is the
simplicity and sparseness of information needed to derive a large body of knowledge allowing for the "solution" of most engineering problems of a mechanical nature, and
also to point up the poor and confusing way the subject is widely taught.
George Leitmann
@G. Leitmann, we do like Your valuable answers! It is valuable experience to exchange views with you, share ideas... Thanks!
As an electronic engineer my full respect goes to the electronic pioneers:The transistor inventors:William Shockley,Walter Houser Brattain, and John Bardeen and the inventors of the integrated circuits: Integrated circuit Inventors:Jack Kilby, and Robert Noyce. We all know the great impact of the Electronics on our life!
Thank you Jacic for the nice question. I wish you all happy Christmas and merry new year.
My research is most influenced by N. Tesla. NMR High fields at 24 T,
MRI fields at 9T, Gradient systems of T/m ( there comes Gauss into play, too).
RF Fields with the magnetic and electric components, System International: T (there comes Wb (Weber into play as well as James Clerk Maxwell). That´´s my opinion for Tesla.
Many Many great she and he- researchers as stated above planted the seeds for our today's work, from Archimedes to Curie and Röntgen and and ....
Ibn-e-Sina (Pūr Sinɑ) is my favorite scientist who has lived about 1000 years ago. I am not working in his field (medical, ...) but i praise his findings at that time, when there was not anybody like him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna
Also, Edison is my other favorite scientist which his invention is useful after years and it will be useful.
Also, Sayyed Mahmoud Hessaby is my other favorite scientist who was "scientist" Literally. He was scientist in many areas. He was a professor of physics and iranian student of Albert Einstein and also he received B.S. in civil engineering, phd in medicine, b.s. in history, other degrees and in 1990 he was known as best scientist in the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Hessaby
Dear Prof. Jacic,
Thank you for your kind reply. I agree that this medium of exchange is very valuable. Best regards and wishes for the new year.
I like all communication inventions with "internet" like the best. Who?
My favorite is Nikola Tesla. He was a genius. His footprint can be seen everywhere electricity is used.
He was a pioneer in Robotics, Ballistic, Nuclear Physics, and Computer Science.
Nicolae Tesla was a Istro-Romanian! The family name of his father was Draghici later changed to Tesla.
http://www.istro-romanian.net/articles/art990111.html
This is a good relaxing question to celebrate entering the New Year 2014. Yes Ljubomir, Vitaly, I agree Bill Gates is a genius of our present day. Not just for science, but also an example for generosity and responsibility to our society, using the gifts he has. If I remember right, he came to Malaysia, and said that our primary school students don't have to carry such a heavy school bag when they just need a CD for info storage (he said something like that).
Besides Bill Gates, I admire Hans Krebs who won a Nobel for his work on cellular respiration. I enjoyed writing musical mnemonics so that my students can remember the Krebs cycle. Look into my publications, I have a video recording and a conference proceeding on Krebs cycle. Other than that, I admire many musicians like Mendelssohn and Beethoven, but some people will not call them scientists. Sorry, to have deviated a little.
Tesla, Einstein, Newton, Lord Rayleigh, etc. Anybody who has contributed. However, I have no a favorite among researchers who is alive. Why? I have discovered by about one hundred new waves, but modern reseaqrchers like to have favorites but not to discover, to discover, and to discover, namely to work hard, to work hard , and to work hard in order to discover something!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Aleksey
The question starts with the words “Who is your favorite scientist or inventor who contributed to the progress of civilization?” The question is difficult to answer. It is impossible to name just one who contributed most. Favorite is an individual expression and therefore one definitely can name a single person. The host of knowledge gathered throughout the history of mankind created today’s world. However if we try to recognize the contributions of some one who was the pioneer to create a great impact on scientific knowledge, I think the one who invented fire or some one who invented wheels should be considered. After writing this much I feel guilty because I did not mentioned the persons living in the Stone Age who could sharpen a piece of stone to make different instruments. The history continued and we had many other scientists whose inventions benefited our society. I therefore suggest that not to name some one in isolation. Rather let us remember all the scientists or inventors who contributed to the progress of civilization
I agree with you, Ljubomir! Do not forget that the Internet would not be possible without Tesla's wireless energy transfer. Not to mention many of Tesla's inventions, which some still studying, but unfortunately, can not even understand them so far. As for the origin of Tesla, I'm not familiar with the origin of the mentioned surname, but what I do know is that he always identified himself as a Serb from Croatia. Happy New Year to all!
This question is devoted to remember the pioneer scientists and inventors who were the most influential in our civilization. evolution from our view point. Many of them are not included in the history of science. There are also many others who had smaller contributions. As the civilization is the result of the accumulative efforts and they are many so there contribution is also very appreciable. They deserve also our respect.
We have to greet them in this occasion. May come the day to become one of this bulk of scientists. The important thing that I worked faithfully. Have a nice day!
I agree with you, Dr Ljubomir, Tesla was a genius with several contributions in his field and I favor all the scientists who contributed to the progress of civilization.
Favourite scientist?
My favourite person in science may be whose discovery I use every day, I teach and explain it during my lectures and looking at a living being I should remember the author of “Systema naturae” Carl von Linné.
@Anup Bandyopadhyay
Yes, we need to remember and name them all, and not forget, to name personally!
They deserve that!
For my country Algeria, without any doubt, Abdalhamid ben Badis is the father of education in the 20-th century and its effect is unbounded for the future of this country.
Alfred Nobel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Nobel
Alfred made an explosive difference to the development of humanity! TNT for Heart Patients, highways, mines, aerospace, propulsion and wars! Both, pun intended and not!
Here is a Romanian version of the origin of Nikola Tesla:
"Nicolae Teslea ( Nikola Tesla ) was an Istro-Romanian from Croatia.
Lica province was inhabited by compact Istro-Romanians
(morlacs, valacchs) since sec . XV -XVI .
Gospic is a few miles from the shores of the Adriatic Sea and
Similian village at 12 km from Gospic; the village
is home of Tesla (http://www.istro-romanian.net)
The great scientist and inventor Nicolae Teslea (Nikola Tesla)
was born on the night of 9 to July 10, 1856 ,
the son of an Orthodox priest Milutin Teslea and Gica Mandici.
Father's family was anti-ottoman soldier on frontier
(border guard) in the former Austro -Hungarian Empire.
The originally name of the family was Draghici, but it was
replaced in time by the nickname "Teslea" transmitted by job family,
(in roumanien: "teslar" = carpenter, and
the adze (the tool) = "tesla" in romanien).
This does not change the affiliation of Tesla
to the Serbo-Croatian or American culture.
Dear Ljubomir,
Thank you for an actual question.Who do we do our life with? My students named N.Tesla, G.Perelman, O.Mendeleev, I.Newton, A.Einstein, M.Lomonosov, L.da Vinci among their favorites.As for me, humanists, like J.Singh, M.Roy, J.Dewey, V.Frankl, V.Suchomlinsky, J.Komensky, J.Korczak, E.Fromm, M.Eliade, G.Bogin, R.Frumkina, D.Likhachov, Berdyaev, A.Ayer, H.Blackham, M.Wertheimer, C.Lamont, S.Kapitza are sight for sore eyes. They were captured by science, their main message is love of humanity.
Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in Smiljan in area called Lika, then it was a part of the Austo-Hungarian Empire, region of Croatia. His father, Milutin Tesla was a Serbian Orthodox Priest and his mother was Djuka Mandic (Ђука Мандић, The surname Mandic (without letter "I" on the end) is typically Serbian), so, with no intention to argue with anybody, this are simple the facts, I'm sending my regards to everybody.
Drs. Jacic and Borchardt,
1. If we talk about scientists, my first name is Isaac Newton, the second one is Charles Darwin (with Alfred Russel Wallace).
2. Talking about inventors, I agree with your choice of Nikola Tesla. Electricity is an essential issue for our society today to be as we see. A fundamental question is the competition between continuous and alternating current.
Haroldo de Campos Velho
Dear Prof. Jacic,
my favorite scientists are Nikola Tesla and Marie Curie. Both of them were great brains and great inspiration for me from childhood. Theirs researchs and lives were impressive in order to give the world's society great part of new history !
Best Regards
Lejla Banjanovic-Mehmedovic
Nikola Tesla, American Citizen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla
Appears to be the winner so far! To think, that I barely knew the name until I was in the US is astounding. His contemporary, Edison, is a more famous name throughout the rest of the world.
I didn't even realize that it was Tesla in this caricature with Einstein up until recently:http://www.flickr.com/photos/85210325@N04/10221065324/
Dear friends, you are the SCIENTISTS of this day and year. THANKS for your contributions in 2013. HAPPY 2014; may you be healthy, happy and find great joy in your work....
Dear Ljubomir, we must all agree that there are many scientists who have made significant discoveries in different fields with out which it would have been difficult for us to go forward
Great question! Difficult answer…
Knowledge, scientific knowledge, is a web of intertwined ideas, methods, and reasoning. Tesla was a great mind. But could he had lived without the achievements of Faraday or Maxwell? Or Newton and Galileo Galilei, by the way?
I bow to, we all should bow to, all the gigantic minds that created forks in the web of knowledge; for we, even scientists, have a inertial tendency of walking along pre-established lines.
Srinivasa ramanujan made extraordinary contribution to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions.
1. Sir C.V. Raman:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1930/raman-bio.html
2. Shakuntala Devi:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi
3. Srinivasa Ramanujan:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan
Imagine the sense of frustration of these minds under the "British Raj".
Sadly, one of the key "missing pieces of the puzzle" in the majority of educational programs today is "People Skills". This critical aspect of human interaction is somehow deemed irrelevant and usually neglected. However, in my opinion, this obcure science of human psychology can enhance the "contribution potential" of each one of us dramatically. So in all fairness, I'd like to recognize some of those unsung heros, scientists of "human psychology":
a. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TU1P2_I0iE
b. "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" By Dale Carnegie:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWJKfEWWOvc
c. "David and Goliath" : by Malcolm Gladwell - Full Audiobook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmvtbR_bsxw
d. "The Magic of Thinking Big" - David Schwartz - Audiobook Unabridged: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7gFJlwXlZI
e. "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey - Describing "Paradigm":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORK6ClZ5Egk
f. Og Mandino - Greatest Secrets To Success (1990) - Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAx9os1KxN0
g. Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy- "The New Psycho-Cybernetics": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puPlHwV7GAE
h. "Think and Grow Rich" - Napoleon Hill - Audiobook Full http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guQI7Ieek_Q
i. Original audio of the Master himself. Rare Recordings of Napoleon Hill - One:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8xfT541eQ
j. The Power of Positive Thinking - Norman Vincent Peale - Audiobook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwC0NlJpDKk
k. See You At The Top - By Zig Ziglar (Choose a positive life!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11--zy5NU68
l. Zig Ziglar - True Performance - Believe in Yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikC8daibmg
These concepts are "grease" to human relationships and "purposeful" living! I vow to study and master these principles as a resolution for the New Year: "To be a better human, father, son, brother & husband"!
Happy New Year!
I think I hit the right question because we have 70 responses in less than two days. I have a chance to meet some great minds that I have never known before.Thank you my dear colleagues and I wish you all the best. Happy new year!
@Hemanta Baruah
It is also natural to mention Romanian aquaduck and sanitary system which was a great engineering invention!
Poland! Nicolaus Copernicus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus
Italy! Galileo Galilei:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
He was tried by the Holy Office, then found "vehemently suspect of heresy", was forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.[11][12] It was while Galileo was under house arrest that he wrote one of his finest works, Two New Sciences, in which he summarised the work he had done some forty years earlier, on the two sciences now called kinematics and strength of materials.[13][14]
Ljubomir! This discussion allowed me to get many facts right.
Anatolij! The oldest communal "sanitary system" was found in the Indus valley, dating back to the "Dravidians" prior to the arrival of the "Aryans" there. Way before the Romans, there existed a thriving peaceful civilization. The Egyptians (Pharonic culture) had a pretty good idea as well. Sadly, we humans have harnessed the power of innovation very effectively for war in the past. I decry this, be it terrorism, Jihad, Crusade or some misguided notion of expansionism.
Dangerous concoction: Science, Religion & Politics!
@G. Ustinova, thanks for nice response.
@Vasile, I do not run away. I am behind the Pandora box! :)))
@Ravi, I like Your yesterday words :"Rich discussion! Congratulations Ljubomir Jacić"! The discussion is becoming richer and richer thanking to you my dear contributors!
I would add to the perceptive remarks of Dr. Ustinova the tendency and danger of stressing nationality. One must be careful not use nationality as a criterion of
greatness. Too many of mankind's problems ( see the daily news) are
caused by misuse of nationality.
George Leitmann
@Louis Brassard
Great! Could you name it and allow us to celebrate him?
And fire making inventor too!
I remember that i was at a meeting and chemist says that people like Einstein born one time in every 100 years and people like Schrödinger born one time in every 500 years. Then he said that "but peple like (?) born only one time". I don't remember that who was (?) but i think that we should discuss about people who have the greatest effect in every field of science and engineering which if we assume he/she didn't have that effect, we don't know who could have that effect.
Dear Mohammad,
Of course, but if we compare each person quoted precendently to "bricks" of our "entire wall", which brick can be classified as the most important, among "big bricks or small bricks" : if you remove only one of them , the entire wall falls down. Also the case in a cathedral: the brick at the top ot the vault, the keystone, is a litlle brick but all the edifice balance is based on it.
Perhaps we discuss ot that because we need, as humans, to have classifications , to design the "best" of our all … ?
Friendly
Didier
dear Ljubomir Jacić
You have made all of us to think about very many great scientists who have made huge scientific impact. Though it is difficult to choose one, we must all salute them. They are our inspiration.
Dear Ljubomir Jacić,
Thank you very much for starting such great discussion. I think it allow all dedicated researcher to express his feeling about his role model scientist.
To answering your question, i really loved Michael Faraday. His invention of electromagnetism and electrochemistry really contributed to the progress of civilization in 18 century. The most noticeable thing about Faraday is, he was illiterate person having very strong passion for science. First time he coined the term ENERGY. Before that energy was consider as a invisible forces. Light is a electromagnetic wave is first time hypothesized by him. These all thing really contributed to the progress of civilization.
Chintamani J.
Dear Didier
I agree with you now! But i think if we study and know the role of great scientists who revolutionized the sciences, another revolution can be ...
Mohammad
@Anatolij Prykarpatski
I would say "discovery of fire", not inventor…. Anyone can invent wheels, not fire…
In any case, Happy New Year to everyone!
All revolutions involving religions have been disastrous for all of us humans despite what the "prophets" espoused. That is a "slippery slope" no matter whose name one invoke. Be it Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Ali or anyone else. Who came first and who was last? That argument has not been settled amicably yet in history. Let us just focus on humans and not include "prophets" & their "inventions" yet. This is primarily because; the theological validity of their research is well beyond the scope of this discussion, for now. Besides, in a discussion such as this it would be easy to transgress the boundary of Blasphemy and Heresy as in the case of Galileo Galilee!
The concoction of "Science & Religion" is as incendiary a mix as "Politics & Religion", just as mentioned and demonstrated earlier in this discussion. There is no science in "faith" (belief in the "unseen")! If theology was science then rationality would prevail and Einstein (or Karl Marx) would qualify as ultimate prophet. In my opinion, keeping the issue of "faith" out would be in the best interest on an "open-minded" discussion.
Have a safe New Year celebration for 2014!
@David Caninojavascript:
Yes, dear David, I had in mind discovery of making the fire, not the fire itself...
Sincerely,
Regards and all the best in the New Year to come soon!
I mean revolution in science e.g. Einstein's work was a revolution in physics.
Much of the scientific work of the past was funded and sponsored by "religion" for all the "riches" belonged to "religion". So I guess they would have the right to withdraw support if not to their advantage. That was the challenge in the past for our History Book Super Heroes. However, similar conditions do prevail for many scientists worldwide even today in various countries. Sadly, open thought and expression are taboo in many societies still.
This discussion is a refreshing departure! Thanks to all participants and contributors. Blog Freely!
Tonight the inventor of champagne and cake. (I made the cake for tonight)...
HAPPY 2014!!
I wish that 2014 brings many dreams to reality.
Happy new year!
Thanks Ana María, I hope you and all good-hearted people have a happy 2014
Ana Maria! Looks like a phenomenal invention in itself (the cake)! Bon appetit!
How about the women scientists of History? I'm going to start with Marie Curie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie. I have many more. Two birds for the same feather, mother & daughter. 3 Nobel Pizes! Wow!
Here's why I admire Marie among many:
"With her husband, Pierre, Marie Curie was the pioneer in researching radioactivity. When he died suddenly, she refused a government pension and instead took his place as a professor at the University of Paris. She was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work, then became the first person to win a second Nobel Prize, and she is the only Nobel Prize winner who is also the mother of another Nobel Prize winner -- daughter of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, Irène Joliot-Curie."
Mahatma Gandhi tops the list of my favourite scientists for discovering the power of Truth, Non-violence and Simple living. Today, the humanity needs these principles more than ever before. Interested readers may refer to his autobiography "My Experiments with Truth".
The same truth that was discovered and neglected by many before. He just figured out a highly effective way to rediscover & use it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, no relative of Indira Gandhi!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85210325@N04/11690119536/
Pre. S. Unfortunately, my comment (submitted several days ago) has accidentally disappeared. See, please the copy below.
To Ljubomir Jacic:
Dear Ljubomir,
I rather agree with Itzhak Barkana: your question is non-correct.
Why do we need to choose anybody among Greatests?
It is similar to question: which music do you like?
In childhood I was a little snob, admitting the divine harmony of Bach only.
Now I like any fine music from Bach and Handel to Strauss and Kalman, from Verdi, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, etc. to Gershwin, Bernstein, Frederick Loewe, etc. Why do I need to choose between Pergolesi (Stabat Mater) and Carl Orff (Carmina Burana)? I am happy that they exist both.
Little chef-d'oeuvres could be fined even in Pop-music.
In the science fields any selection is impossible. Our knowledge is a summary product of the world intellect, especially, of the intellect of the Greatests. Nobody may be omitted. Choose of the first one, or even the first ten demonstrates only limitation of our knowledge.
As regard to my lovely physics: In the school the power laws of Newton or Archimedes were welcomed as done from heaven, irrelative from their persons. So that the first scientist attracted my attention was Gauss, whose Tractates on Magnetism has occasionally fallen to my hands.
The second was Leonardo da Vinci, striking me by the universality of his genius.
Further, pro rata with gradual knowing the world ever new glorious names are springing up, e.g.
in theoretician physics: Boltzmann, Maxwell, Schroedinger, Dirac, Lorentz, Einstein, Bohr, Plank, Heisenberg, Wigner, Landau, Feynman, Gell-Mann, Rutherford, Mari Curie, Fermi, …;
in astronomy & astrophysics: Copernicus, Galileo Galiley,…Fred Hoyl, Willy Fowler, …;
in mathematics: Descartes, Euler, Poincaré, Minkowski, Friedmann, Kolmogorov, ….;
in philosophy: Bible, …, Aristotélēs, Platon, …, Hegel, Kant, Bergson, Marx,…,Nietzsche,…;
in other natural sciences: Darwin, Mendeleev, Paster, Pavlov, Mendel,…;
…………………………………………………………………………….
Certainly, I have missed many more, than I have listed. Sorry. Everybody can add new glorious names from the field, in which he is specialized. Welcome! Let them exist all in our memory.
Certainly, every nation has its own Lomonosov, Tziolkovsky, Vernadsky, Kapitza, Sakharov, … and is proud by them.
However, you are right: everyone may like anybody especially: perhaps, dui to the first striking imagination of his works, or. vise versa, after recognition of the depth of his works, or simply intuitively. OK. I like very much Landau and Feynman, first of all, for their inconceivable works on creation of the complete course and brilliant lectures on theoretical physics, respectively, which allow us to begin to work in any field of that and to find answers on practically any questions. Their personalities were very unusual. I remember the Landau every-week seminars on Thursday in the Kapitza Institute for Physical Problem, where participants may observe in situ the process of creation, when ideas materialized from the air. You may see also the materialized thoughts in the eyes of Landau (see Attachment).
Richard Feynman strikes you by the highest easy of the perception of the regularities of the world and his skillful to formulate them by the simplest way. How fine and exact his Diagrams!
His humor and kind irony shine in his eyes (see Attachment).
Landau and Feynman were both the theoreticians; however they know experiments very well. We remember that just Feynman could find the cause of the Challenger tragedy. They both were Physicists.
Besides, I like Solomon for his Ecclesiastes.
I am very grateful to you, Ljubomir, for your remember and admiration of Tesla. He turned out to be outside of my nearest interests. Of course, T, tesla is unit of the magnetic induction. Surely, dui to Faraday, Edison, Tesla, …our use of electricity is possible. It was my poor knowledge. Now I am aware of all available information about this extraordinary, enigmatic scientist, and I share your admiration. The most unexpected for me is his possible role in the Tunguska phenomenon. All the other versions of it were well-known. I believe Tesla can do it: He can accumulate any quantity of energy, as well as he can transfer it through any distance. Staggering! Yes, he can disrupt the Earth. I suppose that he was born too early. Perhaps, just now would be his best time. Beyond any doubt Nicola Tesla will live in our grateful memory forever.
Ana Maria! Now that the feast is done, this may be appropriate humor? What did you name that handsome cake? I propose, since I'm potentially one, "Diabetic's Delight B"? Because, the prior models are being disputed between my wife and my daughter. Lol!
Here is another WOMAN among women, Mother Theresa (Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Albanian), whom I admire for rediscovering & unilaterally sharing compassion for the meekest among us humans. I must confess, that Albanian name spells Chinese to me, had I not known.
G. Ustinova! Congratulations! Posdrovlayu! By looking through some of your publications, you are also quite an accomplished researcher yourself. I'm sure there are many more from Russia who may never ever be recognized due to secrecy.
Congrats Ljubomir, I'm the one hundred and second person! This just shows that scientists appreciate the HISTORY of SCIENCE :)
Here is the list of 100 most influential scientists of all time along with their contributions.
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