Who was the greatest scientific genius? Nosferatu: I'm curious to hear different opinions on who the greatest scientific genius of all time is. I'm currently reading a book about the Cosmos and it goes over the discoveries of Pythagoras, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein. Personally, I think Da Vinci was. Maybe there is one you'd like to share as well.  Bell214: It’s not easy to choose … so, this is my Top 10 random list of scientific geniuses: 1. Nicolaus Copernicus 2. Johannes Kepler 3. Leonardo da Vinci 4. Galileo Galilei 5. Sir Isaac Newton 6. Rene Descartes 7. Nikola Tesla 8. Marie Curie 9. Albert Einstein 10. Stephen Hawking Then … Archimedes, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Mihajlo Pupin (long-distance telephone communication), Milutin Milanković (Milankovitch cycles) ... Personally, I like the most da Vinci, Einstein and Tesla. By the way, Nos, what book are you reading? “Cosmos“ by Carl Sagan, “The Fabric of the Cosmos“ by Brian Greene, or …?  ness_86: Well, I'm a fan of da Vinci, lol, but I must say there are some other magnificent and ingenious scientists too...so it's not really an easy choice...  Goran: Isaac Newton, then Charles Darwin, then Maxwell, then Einstein, then Tesla Am I the only one who thinks Hawking is full of shit? Possibly so Bell214: Leonardo was the universal genius – a “Renaissance Man“: scientist, inventor, painter, sculptor, anatomist, astronomer, writer … Or a polymath. By the way, Galileo Galilei, Gottfried Leibniz, Sir Isaac Newton, Averroes, and Avicenna, among others, are also regarded as notable polymaths. Nosferatu: I think it's funny how Liebniz and Sir Isaac Newton both came up with Calculus at the same time in two completely different locations. What a coincidence. Goran: He did lots of things, but other than studying and drawing some of the human anatomy, Leonardo has done very little scientific work. Nosferatu: He drew plans for a parachute, submarine, and a mobile car that wasn't pulled by a horse. Those were some pretty astounding inventions in his era.  jjasmine: I am not exactly THE scientific expert and referee, but I do not know the name of the wheel inventor, right ? As far as the known ones go - Leo and Albert. And Mother Theresa. Goran: Nos, those were ideas. Leo was a great visionary and could put his thoughts on paper but that doesn't make him a great scientist. A great engineer and inventor yes, even if many of his inventions did not work as they were designed. There is difference between scientist and inventor and scientist and engineer. I'd like to know who was the engineering genius who designed this thousands of years before Leo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism Bell214: *deep sigh* Goran, it’s your opinion and I respect it, but the scientific world regards Leonardo da Vinci as a scientist. 1. Leonardo da Vinci Italian artist, engineer, and scientist: “… Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. … His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of their time. …“ (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/336408/Leonardo-da-Vinci) 2. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07: “Leonardo da Vinci, … Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist … versatility and creative power of Leonardo mark him as a supreme example of Renaissance genius. … The richness and originality of intellect expressed in his notebooks reveal one of the greatest minds of all time.“ (http://www.bartleby.com/65/le/LeonardoV.html) 3. “Leonardo the scientist bridged the gap between the shockingly unscientific medieval methods and our own trusty modern approach. His experiments in anatomy and the study of fluids, for example, absolutely blew away the accomplishments of his predecessors. Beginning with his first stay in Milan and accelerating around 1505, Leonardo became more and more wrapped up in his scientific investigations. The sheer range of topics that came under his inquiry is staggering: anatomy, zoology, botany, geology, optics, aerodynamics and hydrodynamics among others. …“ “As his curiosity took him in ever wilder directions, Leonardo always used this method of scientific inquiry: close observation, repeated testing of the observation, precise illustration of the subject object or phenomenon with brief explanatory notes. The result was volumes of remarkable notes on an amazing variety of topics, from the nature of the sun, moon and stars to the formation of fossils and, perhaps most notably, the mysteries of flight. …“ (http://www.mos.org/leonardo/scientist.html) 4. “ … Yet Leonardo was far more than a great artist: he had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He made painstaking observations and carried out research in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy to anatomy and zoology to geography, geology and paleontology. …“ (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/vinci.html) 5. Zammattio, Carlo, Augusto Marinoni, and Anna Maria Brizio: Leonardo The Scientist New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1980. (http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/gaq/012384.shtml) Bell214: Hey Nos, thanks. “ …it's funny how Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton both came up with Calculus at the same time …“ Well, as the saying goes, “Great minds think alike.“ Goran: Mirabell, it seems you misunderstood me. I did say Leo was scientist. But if you look at your links, you will hardly conclude his scientific contributions are the greatest or are even in same category as those of the greatest scientific minds. You're right that this is a subjective discussion. I'm curious which particular scientific work in your opinion qualifies Leo so high on this list? I may be missing something in science he did that would be considered very significant... Nosferatu: Leonardo da Vinci made a few designs for flying machines in his day. Even though they failed one of his designs inspired Igor Sikorsky to develop the modern helicopter. Nosferatu: Science is just a tool. Even Edison failed a thousand times before finding the right filament to conduct electricity in his light bulb. rhharris: I don't think it's fair to ask who was the greatest scientific genius. All the scientists that have been mentioned were great in their own way. Even if their theories have not withstood the test of time, they all have left an impression. A more reasonable question is which scientist had the greatest impact on the scientific community? Personally, I think the most influential scientific thinker has been Sir Isaac Newton. In Principia, Newton formulated universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which founded classical mechanics. As mentioned in previous messages, Newton, along with Leibniz, developed Calculus. Calculus is the most significant mathematical development, in my mind at least. Newton also investigated optics, the nature of light, alchemy ... the list goes on. As an engineering physics major, Newton's theories have dominated my studies. Everything seems to go back to Newton. | Science Chat Room Similar Conversations |
