Who was the greatest scientist/engineer of all time 12

[friartuck]

I don't know whether anyone has asked this one before but I was interested to hear who would be considered the greatest scientist or engineer of all time.

I can think of many from the dim and distant past including Archimedes, Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Louis Pascal and the great Einstein. How would the modern day scientists rate when compared to these great people.

Which one had the greatest impact on our lives?

And if they were all alive today....with the added benefit of computers and the W.W.W., just think what they could have achieved (perhaps computers might even have hindered them...who knows?)

Any thoughts?

Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[GregLocock]

I'll stick to engineers and practical scientists.

First, I'd say Mr Thomas Crapper has probably saved more lives than all the doctors and scientists that have ever existed. Keeping healthy people healthy is far more effective than fixing the sick ones.

Da Vinci I find unconvincing as an engineer.

I think Maxwell probably beats Einstein as far as engineering goes.

I wasn't even aware that Pascal was an engineer or scientist, I thought he was a mathematician.

If you want an engineer's engineer then you have to be talking one of the Victorian era. I'll pick Brunel, who was wrong, so often, and yet gloriously right at other times.











Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[GregLocock]

Louis Pascal? Is that Louis Pasteur or Blaise Pascal?

Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[friartuck]

You spotted the deliberate mistake then!

Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[rhodie]

I think Thomas Edison should be named among these, with no hesitation.

 

[RalphChristie]

I was thinking the whole day about this one.

Something we can't go without, in my opinion, is electricity. (hehehe - sorry for that one, all you mechanical guys )

Thus my vote will go to Michael Faraday (1791-1867) - pioneer of electrical engineering.

Regards
Ralph


PS: I almost voted for the guy who invented braaivleis (BBQ for the Americans) and for Charles Glass (beer)

 

[BobPE]

I wasn't thinking that long RalphChristie...but think I did...


Daniel Bernoulli....fluid mechanics is just a wonderful thing....and knowing how to get beer out of a tap...brilliant!!!

Although a degreed medical Doctor, Bernoulli still was a closet engineer....engineers hide in the strangest of professions....

BobPE

 

[Maui]

Probably one of the greatest scientific minds that ever existed was Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276 - 195 BC). Several hundred years before the birth of Christ he determined that the earth was spherical, and was able to calculate the circumference of the earth within about 20% of its actual value. See the link below:

http://astrosun2.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses//astro201/eratosthenes.htm

Maui

 

[friartuck]

I like Bernoulli. Wasn't there a whole family of them.

Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[IRstuff]

Ted Hoff

TTFN

 

[BobPE]

friartuck:

I think Bernoulli's father was a teacher and if I am not mistaken, Euler was a protege of his. My engineering history is for crap, so I may be way off on Euler...

BobPE

 

[IRstuff]

And Euler was the guy with something like 27 kids?

TTFN

 

[johnwm]

Top scientist: Newton
Top Engineer: I. K. Brunel
Inventor: Edison (although much of his work owes something to plagiarism)

Good Luck
johnwm
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[friartuck]

Who wins the modern day Mr Brainy competition?

Stephen Hawking??


Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[EddyC]

I'd have to vote for one of the following:

a) The Wright Brothers
b) Harry Riccardo
c) Frank Whittle
d) J. Walter Christie

I'll pick the Wright Brothers. They had no formal engineering education but proved to be naturally intelligent.

 

[friartuck]

There are names I have never heard of. It makes very interesting reading to find out about them. All I can say is, I wish I had just half their brains. (perhaps I have...and thats the problem...Eureka)

It occured to me that perhaps the greatest scientists are the 'old timers' simply because they were the pioneers and had little previous knowledge to go on. I can design a heating system because the fluid mechanics were unravelled (in part anyway) by bernoulli and co. Likewise Einstein must have used some of the previous works of Newton to expand upon ...and so on.

Just think what Einstein could have achieved if he had been born in the 70's and the benefit of modern day technology.

My unsung hero is Hooke who I believe was around when Newton was in his prime.




Friar Tuck of Sherwood

 

[CostasV]

It is difficult to take into consideration the accumulated knowledge of the past(for example Newton), in order to find out what the later (for example Einstein) has really contributed.

Philosophy of science (I don't remember the name of the man) says that after a period a theory is found not to comply with experimental data and that is the time for a new theory to be generated. So Einstein didn't actually base his theory on Newton. On the other hand all of the rocket related science/technology was based on Brown and even Newton theory.

I am just saying that using the previous knowledge doesn't make someone's work more or less important. It is how much of the old theory is "put" in the new theory. If it is 99% old and 1% new, well it is a small step forward.

We need a way of quantification of theory's importance.

Regards

Costas

 

[eureka]

Varsamidis,

The updating of old theories by new theories is covered in a book by Thomas S. Kuhn, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions."

 

[CostasV]

Thanks eureka,

I forgot the name of the author. I am happy I didn't forget what he wrote. I really enjoyed reading it.

Regards

Costas

 

[PSE]

I'll throw Maxwell out there. His 4 equations do some pretty amazing things once you start delving into them.

Regards,