Posted on 01/18/2013 12:29:18 AM PST by neverdem
My vote goes to Emmy Noether.
Genius Bump
I hate such sweeping claims, for they force me to denigrate great figures and achievements. Curie definitely is not the most important scientist since Darwin. The way this article writes off Einstein is laughable. As if her work wasn’t made possible by previous breakthroughs, too.
Three major turning points overhauled our understanding of physics as a whole since Newton: field theory, relativity, and quantum mechanics. The first was close enough to Darwin not to qualify, perhaps, though I think James Clerk Maxwell’s most important ideas may have come after 1859 and On the Origin. Einstein is responsible for the second, and there’s a reason he’s maybe the best known scientist ever, unless that’s Newton. Various names suggest themselves related to quantum theory: Planck, Einstein again, Bohr, Fermi, Dirac, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, etc.
There’s always Rutherford. Freud is famouser than any others besides Einstein, though I don’t count him as a scientist. What about Mendel, who also was Darwin’s contemporary, but remained un- or little-known until the turn of the century?
Marie Curie was not a giant in Physics.
I’m so sorry, but this article is simply silly.
Nothing is gained by an attempt to elevate someone above their rightful station.
In the 20th century many names come to mind when contemplating true genius, Bohr ,Einstein, Bohm, Schrodinger, Planck, Feynman, Turing et al.
Curie simply does NOT float to the top of this list.
With her bio it would have been helpfull if you posted a portrait or photo. Otherwise thanks for posting
And what about Marie Curie’s admiration for Communism? It was reported in Arthur Rubenstein’s second book, “My Many Years.” Such beliefs hardly strike me as a “Wonder Woman” type character.
Self-ping for later.
I like both Curie and Noether. Both are deserving of admiration. At least Curie is a household name. Most have never heard of Noether.
Why so bitter?
>>Nothing is gained by an attempt to elevate someone above their rightful station.
Nothing is gained by trashing people who have accomplished much.
What is her “rightful station?”
While everyone else was playing with radioactive materials and x-rays (Curie, Edison, etc.) Tesla looked at x-rays, rtadium and radioactive materials and told everyone that they were very dangerous to work with and precautions should be taken while handling or working with them. Because it was Tesla, they didn’t heed his advice and concluded that he had some ulterior motive for his warnings. Result, Edison’s friend and assistant working with x-rays radiated his arms so bad that the had to be amputated and he died a year later from complications. Marie Curie died from the effects of too much radiation exposure, also after not heeding Tesla’s advice.
I believe the previous poster was trashing whoever wrote the article, not her. I agree that it vastly overrates her, for the reasons outlined in my post. But go ahead and run with the “rightful station” phrase and pretend it’s us denigrating her, instead of the other guy hyperbolizing to attract attention.
I was probably about 10 years old when I read a book about her life and work. It was one of several things that convinced me to become a scientist.
Uh, Tesla??
As far as sheer total benefit to humanity, Tesla was out in front of ALL your examples. The harnessing of alternating current was one of THE major PRACTICAL advances made by humanity.
"In the 20th century many names come to mind when contemplating true genius, Bohr ,Einstein, Bohm, Schrodinger, Planck, Feynman, Turing et al."
You are conflating theoretical physics with experimental physics. All your examples are theorists. BOTH Curies were exemplary EXPERIMENTAL physicists. If the guys who discovered the microwave background of the universe deserved the Nobel, the Curies certainly did.
And yes, she deserved the Nobel in chemistry as well.
You have a point, though I tend to give more credit to Faraday and Maxwell for discovering electromagnetism. We hype the early industrial revolution and the later information revolution, but electric power and the internal combustion engine may have determined the way we live as much as any other single technological breakthrough. Aside from writing, I might guess.
I don’t know who gets credit for the latter, in particular. Lenoir, Daimler, Diesel, etc.
Oh, also, I might remind you that at issue is not what person made the largest practical technological advances since Darwin. It is who is the most important scientist since Darwin. I don’t think anything Tesla invented, or all his inventions put together, can stand for significance in our understanding of the natural world, alongside the establishment of relativity, quantum theory, the standard model of particle physics, etc.
Maybe it seems to abstract, too eggheady to you, comparing it to how our tva are lit up, or why our computers run, practically speaking. But let’s pause and inquire just how detached is theoretical physics. Would there be AC without Faraday and Maxwell? And not in the stupid way the author of the article thinks there would be no famous Einstein without Curie. Take Einstein. Some nut who scribbled stuff only ivory tower nerds cared about, something to do with an equivalence between mass and energy. Cut to 40 years later and ask the Japanese about its practical significance.
Lise Meitner and, indeed, Emmy Nöther come to mind. If I were in a provocative mood, though, I would exclude Nöther as mathematics is not a natural science...
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