Greatest People of All Time
 

Who were the greatest people of all time and why? "Greatest" could mean a lot of different things. I'm leaving it purposely vague so it is up to your own interpretation. Also, when I ask "why" I'm not talking so much about what they accomplished. I'm talking more about what character traits, skills, etc. made them great.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

pauli and heisenberg have to be up there imo

edit: a cursory and informal list in no order whatsoever

nietzsche
kafka
borges
heisenberg
pauli
einstein
shakespeare
goethe
beethoven
mahler
schoenberg
newton
bohr
singer (the painter)
monet
munch
cummings
joyce
zoschenko
dostoyevsky
oppenheimer
plath
miles davis
martin luther king jr

and a bunch of science/medicine people i can't remember

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

I was thinking about this the other day. I think Einstein in 1905 had the single greatest year in human history hands down. I have no idea what/who/when number 2 is.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

einstein doing the relativity theory entirely by himself is pretty impressive. i think it certainly stands good competition against any other year in any other individuals life.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

Plato, C.F. Gauss, and Fermi spring to mind as being as damn near irreplaceable as anyone who has ever lived.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

[ QUOTE ]
pauli and heisenberg have to be up there imo

edit: a cursory and informal list in no order whatsoever

nietzsche
kafka
borges
heisenberg
pauli
einstein
shakespeare
goethe
beethoven
mahler
schoenberg
newton
bohr
singer (the painter)
monet
munch
cummings
joyce
zoschenko
dostoyevsky
oppenheimer
plath
miles davis
martin luther king jr

and a bunch of science/medicine people i can't remember

[/ QUOTE ]

Galen and Ostler for medicine.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

fermi was good, plato sort of... relucantly has to be on there, probably kant too, and that guy with the peas in the monastary...

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

[ QUOTE ]
fermi was good, plato sort of... relucantly has to be on there, probably kant too, and that guy with the peas in the monastary...

[/ QUOTE ]

Mendel.

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

btw, because i am not mature enough for SMP,

in before "jesus"

Re: Greatest People of All Time
 

[ QUOTE ]
btw, because i am not mature enough for SMP,

in before "jesus"

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm willing to stipulate Jesus just because I am too tired for the discussion that follows whenever Jesus is mentioned.