Greatest Genius

[Tranquility]

Who do you think is the greatest genius (scientific or artistic) in the era following the dark ages, up until the 20th century, so basically from around the time of Leonardo to the present? In the poll are some choices, but feel free to suggest your own. The choices are concise due to limited poll options, I wanted to add to the list Kepler, Faraday, Maxwell, Freud, and an "Other" choice.

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

Um, Einstein, Duh!

He even had an Extra Bulge in the Side of his Brain.

Extra Math Skills, they say.

[Tranquility]

Um, Einstein, Duh!

He even had an Extra Bulge in the Side of his Brain.

Extra Math Skills, they say.

I think the same can be said of Sir Isaac Newton . I voted for him. I couldn't vote for anyone else after hearing of his invention of the calculus of variables in one day. :-?

[electromagneticpulse]

I vote Da Vinci he may not have wrote the theory of relativity but he invented more things in his time that were so advanced its unbelievable on how they were made. helicopters, tanks, hang gliders (which worked) he invented the V frame for the hang gliders to be able to shift their weight and controle the glider. His note books had hundreds of inventions and many of them were lost or illegable from their poor condition which makes me wonder how many he really came up with.

The world works with out knowing how gravity does but knowing how to make a helicopter, hang gliders before a notion of lift was developed (which he also devised) is incedible.

Einstine is a genius but Da Vinci was a genius of our time before our time now thats longevity (i think thats how its spelt)

[Trinity]

To me, Da Vinci was just, waaaay ahead of his time. On top of is inventions and scientific studies, he was an amazing artist.

[electromagneticpulse]

Da Vinci understood the human body way before our doctors learnt that blood letting was just idiotic and gave people infections in the first place, i'd want Da Vinci as my doc instead of the others of their time who thought a head ach was your brain about to blow up so they stuck a needle into your vein... i'd stick it in their eye for being a fool

[Gullible Jones]

Other. A fellow named Srinivasa Ramanujan, who taught himself logarithms at the age if 4, figured out all of known mathematics (and then some) from what he learned from a book on mathematics by George Carr, discovered equation which. among other things, are involved in string theory, and died of tuberculosis in his thirties.

[ToSeek]

I voted for da Vinci (with whom all the ads are associated, at least this time) as a genius with a broad range of aptitudes, though arguments could be made for Newton (gravity, calculus, light colors) and Galileo (astronomy, dynamics) as well. Einstein is a much more one-dimensional figure, and Darwin was a meticulous, highly observant plodder with one great idea.

[Brady Yoon]

I vote for Newton. Laws of motion, gravity, and calculus. What more can I say?

[Normandy6644]

I don't think they are all comparable. I mean, the term genius can be applied so many ways. How can you ask (even though you didn't) who's a greater genius, Shakespeare, Mozart, or Newton? It's undeniable that each were close to (if not at) the top of their respective fields, but which is more of a genius? I don't think you can really answer it. The term applies to so much, and I think trying to label them in a certain rank diminishes their individual accomplishments anyway. Though Da Vinci was pretty awesome.

[Candy]

I voted for Leonardo da Vinci.

He left behind 7,000 pages of unpublished notes on hydraulics, geology, anatomy, flight, ballistics, botany, optics, and astronomy, as well as designs for all sorts of fantastical inventions. He had beaten Newton to the theory of gravity and Copernicus to heliocentrism. He had worked out the circulation of the blood before William Harvey. He had grasped the principle of erosion more completely than George Cuvier.

Bill Gates bought his 72-page manuscript, two years ago for $30.8 million.

To me, that is all genius! :P

[gzhpcu]

Had a hard time deciding between Einstein and Da Vinci. In the end, Da Vinci because he is so balanced he expressed genius in both sides of the brain.

[Eroica]

DE-DE-DE-DAH ... DE-DE-DE-DAH

Pure genius! :-({|=

[StarStuff]

DE-DE-DE-DAH ... DE-DE-DE-DAH

Pure genius! :-({|=

Yes, and what made him even more remarkable was that he was deaf when he composed so many of his great works. Truly amazing!! =D>

[Vega115]

Da Vinci, cuz he was so ahead of his time.


But if you want a TRUE genuis of our time...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sho_Yano

A 12 year old kid with a cumalative IQ that is so high, it cannot be measured, all that is known is that it is over 228, which was the previous record. Graduated college at age 12. TWELVE.

When I was twelve, I thought Power Rangers were the coolest thing ever..

[milli360]

Tranquility:
I couldn't vote for anyone else after hearing of his invention of the calculus of variables in one day.

I hadn't heard that story, what's that about?

I seem to remember that Newton's school was closed for a couple years because of the Plague, and he spent the time at home developing the calculus. He was kind of close about it--didn't even publish until decades later--so I can't imagine him sitting around telling stories about it. Maybe he told some story like the apple dropping out of tree before inventing gravity?

And what was da Vinci's theory of gravity? I tried to do a google on it, and all I got was Dan Brown.

[Tranquility]

Tranquility:
I couldn't vote for anyone else after hearing of his invention of the calculus of variables in one day.

I hadn't heard that story, what's that about?

I seem to remember that Newton's school was closed for a couple years because of the Plague, and he spent the time at home developing the calculus. He was kind of close about it--didn't even publish until decades later--so I can't imagine him sitting around telling stories about it. Maybe he told some story like the apple dropping out of tree before inventing gravity?

And what was da Vinci's theory of gravity? I tried to do a google on it, and all I got was Dan Brown.

Newton and Leibniz both developed the differential and integral calculus independently, though apparently Newton did it much earlier but published his findings much later. There was a heated dispute between the two on who had been first.
However, in 1696 Bernoulli published the brachistochrone problem (the description of which I failed to understand :-? ) and challenged mathematicians of the day to solve it, giving them a 6 month deadline, extended to 1 year according to Leibniz's request. Newton received the challenge on the 29th of January, 1697, at 4 pm. Before he had left to work the next morning he had invented the calculus of variations, solved the problem, and published it anonymously upon his request. Bernoulli instantly identified him as the author, saying, "We recognize the lion by his claw." I first read this story in Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

I don't know about Da Vinci's prediction of the gravitational force - I only know Kepler was the one who predicted its existence as he formulated his laws of planetary motion.

EDIT to add: Oh and sorry about the earlier typo. I wrote calculus of variables instead of calculus of variations.

[Parrothead]

I'd have to agree with Normandy6644's post. It's impossible to answer this question. The merits of arts and sciences are different. Many can be considered a genius in the different fields that make up each discipline, the question just doesn't seem right.

[Normandy6644]

Tranquility:
I couldn't vote for anyone else after hearing of his invention of the calculus of variables in one day.

I hadn't heard that story, what's that about?

I seem to remember that Newton's school was closed for a couple years because of the Plague, and he spent the time at home developing the calculus. He was kind of close about it--didn't even publish until decades later--so I can't imagine him sitting around telling stories about it. Maybe he told some story like the apple dropping out of tree before inventing gravity?

And what was da Vinci's theory of gravity? I tried to do a google on it, and all I got was Dan Brown.

Newton and Leibniz both developed the differential and integral calculus independently, though apparently Newton did it much earlier but published his findings much later. There was a heated dispute between the two on who had been first.
However, in 1696 Bernoulli published the brachistochrone problem (the description of which I failed to understand :-? ) and challenged mathematicians of the day to solve it, giving them a 6 month deadline, extended to 1 year according to Leibniz's request. Newton received the challenge on the 29th of January, 1697, at 4 pm. Before he had left to work the next morning he had invented the calculus of variations, solved the problem, and published it anonymously upon his request. Bernoulli instantly identified him as the author, saying, "We recognize the lion by his claw." I first read this story in Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

I don't know about Da Vinci's prediction of the gravitational force - I only know Kepler was the one who predicted its existence as he formulated his laws of planetary motion.

EDIT to add: Oh and sorry about the earlier typo. I wrote calculus of variables instead of calculus of variations.

I had heard that story, sort of. I heard about Newton's anonymous publication and the subsequent lion quote, but I didn't know it was Bernouilli who said it nor that it was about the calculus of variations. How cool!

[milli360]

Normandy6644:

EDIT to add: Oh and sorry about the earlier typo. I wrote calculus of variables instead of calculus of variations.

I had heard that story, sort of. I heard about Newton's anonymous publication and the subsequent lion quote, but I didn't know it was Bernouilli who said it nor that it was about the calculus of variations. How cool!

I've been re-reading Cosmos, so I had recently read that story in it. There's no doubt that Newton was a genius, but throughout his life he kept results on the shelf and dug through them as the problems cropped up. The same could have happened with the calculus of variations. But that answers the question about the calculus of variables.

[Normandy6644]

Normandy6644:

EDIT to add: Oh and sorry about the earlier typo. I wrote calculus of variables instead of calculus of variations.

I had heard that story, sort of. I heard about Newton's anonymous publication and the subsequent lion quote, but I didn't know it was Bernouilli who said it nor that it was about the calculus of variations. How cool!

I've been re-reading Cosmos, so I had recently read that story in it. There's no doubt that Newton was a genius, but throughout his life he kept results on the shelf and dug through them as the problems cropped up. The same could have happened with the calculus of variations. But that answers the question about the calculus of variables.

That's true. So would he have introduced partial derivatives as well?

[MrObvious]

Da Vinci.

Genius in many field's not one or two. Also he had to hold back due to the powers of the day, lest he be burned at the stake.....

I voted for Sir Isaac. But, after being reminded about Leibniz - maybe Leibniz should also be an option??

[TriangleMan]

Of the five listed I went with Da Vinci because of his skill in so many fields (Alexander the Great would definately have placed in my top 5). There may have been others even greater than Da Vinci of whom we have no record so I cannot say he was the greatest genius in history. There have been all sorts of scientific and mathematical discoveries in China, India and so forth but not many of them can be traced to an individual.

[genebujold]

Leonardo Da Vinci - he did more with less, and earlier.

[genebujold]

Da Vinci.

Genius in many field's not one or two. Also he had to hold back due to the powers of the day, lest he be burned at the stake.....

At first I thought you were kidding, as I thought Da Vinci lived in a kindler, gentler century.

That is, until I found this: http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/...htimeline.html

[Maksutov]

Da Vinci.

Genius in many field's not one or two. Also he had to hold back due to the powers of the day, lest he be burned at the stake.....

At first I thought you were kidding, as I thought Da Vinci lived in a kindler, gentler century.

That is, until I found this: http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/...htimeline.html

Ah, the joy of theocracy! :roll:

[gritmonger]

I voted Galileo. He faced the most opposition and the most hostile environment, and still managed to reach his conclusions as well as trying to explain them to others with simple illustrations and experiments. When seeing the moons of Jupiter, he reached an appropriate conclusion that they orbited Jupiter and not Earth, and went beyond that to realize that the earth might not be the center of the universe for everything. While not seemingly profound today, this conclusion went against much of what was taught in the day, and forced a complete rethink of the way things worked. The fact that he absorbed it and his head didn't explode makes me vote for him.

[Argos]

It´s hard to me to consider a genius someone who doesn´t know maths or logics. So I rule out Leonardo, though i obviously regard him as an artistic genius (a different and inferior kind of genius).

Isaac Newton was the greatest genius of the above listed options, but it´s a pity the QM folks are not represented there.

[gritmonger]

It´s hard to me to consider a genius someone who doesn´t know maths or logics. So I rule out Leonardo, though i obviously regard him as an artistic genius (a different and inferior kind of genius).

Isaac Newton was the greatest genius of the above listed options, but it´s a pity the QM folks are not represented there.

Inferior? Ouch! Einstein had a hard time with math, and foundered in his later years when he turned to it exclusively rather than relying on the more abstract thought experiments that had lead to SR.

Maths are fine, but without a creative spark (artistic flair? imagination?) would you have guys like Feynman who spend time watching ants and fiddling with safecracking, or guys like Casimir with the ability to extrapolate new effects and forces from studying mayonnaise?