Who was a greater genius?

[DrPizza]

Yeah, I finally thought about that, jagec.

Anyway, every resource I've found basically lists DaVinci as being far higher than the others, with Leibnitz somewhat behind.
Also, several of the sources hint at VosSavant to be more of a gimmick to help her as a writer and columnist - her real IQ is being questioned by them.

 

[BigPoppa]

Originally posted by: dragonballgtz
Newton------------------ Beethoven (come on this guy could barley hear his own music)---- Einstein-----???

That would in fact make him more of a genius. To be able to compose such complicated and beautiful pieces of art without even being able to hear them is inhuman.

 

[Chaotic42]

Issac Newton.

 

[cucumber]

Originally posted by: HelloDeli
Einstein or Newton. The other idiots did nothing to further our understanding of the universe.

I'm not going to say different types of genius are any more or less important than the others, but I do think artistic genius is very important and valid. Artistic genius is important because it makes life much more enjoyable.

Furthering our understanding of reality is an extremely important pursuit. But isn't enjoying life just as important? If life is not fun or pleasurable, what's the point? What point does greater intellectual understanding have if you're not enjoying yourself?

I'm not saying there aren't pleasures outside of art (not to mention the conforts and pleasures we have because of scientific understanding: air conditioning, cars,computers, audio/video equipment, medical advances...etc....), but art brings a huge amount of pleasure to people.

Doesn?t music, stories or visual art move you (and movies being a combination of these) ? Life would be much less enjoyable if there weren't great songs to listen too. Some of the most intense moments of pleasure I've had have been when listening to a song I love (of course sex too, but I'll often do that to music....double the pleasure.....)

You may think certain pursuits are more important or demanding of genius than others. That's your right and completely valid, but I think you're going overboard in thinking that the others listed are idiots.

Anyone can study physics and learn a lot. Few can create new concepts and make large strides in the understanding of the univers. Art is exactly the same. Anyone can learn an instrument or how to write music. Few can create truly great timeless music that is meaningfull and moves people. Great art demands genius just as much as great science. They're just different.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Tesla>*

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: djheater

Originally posted by: DougK62
Einstein or Newton. The other two are laughable.

Right, will we still be talking about Einstein in another (looks at watch) 450 years?

If we haven't destroyed ourselves with what he helped creating, then yes.

 

[Cobalt]

Originally posted by: gururu
i would say its a toss up between Michaelangelo and Newton.

it was the arts that opened up the door to realism and the sciences that define it, and few had as great an impact on the world during the renaissance as Michaelangelo. Once the sciences were underway, Newton pretty much developed the fundamentals of physics and calculus. Calculus changed the technological world.

we wouldn't be where we are today without Newton. There would have been no Newton without Michaelangelo.

If you want to start with chains, then we would need to add the likes of Aristotle, Plato, etc. The Greek philosophy and arts paved the way for the Roman styles and later that of the Renaissance. I might be a little biased because of my heritage, but

 

[Kibbo]

I've gotta give a vote for Shakespeare, at least for influence on the English-speaking world. Even the Western world.

Even without Newton and Einstien, every single thing you read or see on stage or TV is influenced by his work. Even the words you use were influenced by him. He single-handedly created over 1700 words still in daily use. He refined the art of comedy to the point that it is today. Go watch Dodgeball:AUDS, and you are watching a shakespeare play. The Lion King, I, Robot, Lord of the Rings, all can trace their origins to Shakespeare. Three's Company is Classic Shakespeare. Every movie that's touched you, every song who's lyrics have inspired you, every TV show that's made you laugh owes a debt to Shakespeare. Ever have conficting feelings of loyalty to your family? Go read Lear or Hamlet. Ever really, really want something? Go read "the scottish play." Ever feel betrayed by a woman, or a friend? Go read Othello.

These issues matter to everyone on earth. And Shakespeare framed the discourse within which every english-speaking person on the planet views them.

 

Originally posted by: Kibbo
I've gotta give a vote for Shakespeare, at least for influence on the English-speaking world. Even the Western world.

Even without Newton and Einstien, every single thing you read or see on stage or TV is influenced by his work. Even the words you use were influenced by him. He single-handedly created over 1700 words still in daily use. He refined the art of comedy to the point that it is today. Go watch Dodgeball:AUDS, and you are watching a shakespeare play. The Lion King, I, Robot, Lord of the Rings, all can trace their origins to Shakespeare. Three's Company is Classic Shakespeare. Every movie that's touched you, every song who's lyrics have inspired you, every TV show that's made you laugh owes a debt to Shakespeare. Ever have conficting feelings of loyalty to your family? Go read Lear or Hamlet. Ever really, really want something? Go read "the scottish play." Ever feel betrayed by a woman, or a friend? Go read Othello.

These issues matter to everyone on earth. And Shakespeare framed the discourse within which every english-speaking person on the planet views them.

You sound like an english teacher. Shakespeare wrote lots of stories and plays, yes. That doesn't mean they would have never existed if he wasn't around. I would say that many of his plays/stories are common themes in human life that would have been told and retold before and after him, no matter what. Yes he did influence, but not originate.

 

[DaWhim]

without newton, there will be no einstein.

newton is a genius, he invented calculus in two years. how long do you have to study that in college? but still, my vote goes to shakespeare. the work may progress slower without newton. without shakespeare, something will never take place. would you rather call your bedroom "bedroom" or "chamber"?

 

[Chaotic42]

What about Euler? He was pretty darn smart himself.

 

[ThaPerculator]

Hands down, Da Vinci.

 

Where is Edison on that list?

 

[Woodchuck2000]

Originally posted by: dragonballgtz
Newton------------------ Beethoven (come on this guy could barley hear his own music)---- Einstein-----???

In fact, Beethoven never heard a large amount of his music. Listen to his 9th Symphony. Then consider that he wrote that without ever being able to hear a note of it. Then tell me he's not the very definition of a genius.

 

[ClueLis]

You might want to add Archimedes to that list. He was not only considered the final word on geometry for centuries, but he also developed some early methods of calculus.

 

[Mnementh]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
without newton, there will be no einstein.

newton is a genius, he invented calculus in two years. how long do you have to study that in college? but still, my vote goes to shakespeare. the work may progress slower without newton. without shakespeare, something will never take place. would you rather call your bedroom "bedroom" or "chamber"?

That's a pointless statement, if it was called a chamber instead of a bedroom it would seem just as normal. If I was to propose calling it a sleepcube and that was to catch on in 450 years somebody would be saying ugh would you rather call it a sleepcube or that silly word bedroom?

Somebody else would have come up with words to describe things just as easily as shakespeare or why do you think new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary every year as they enter into common use?

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Make up your mind on the question...
Is it the greatest genius? Or greatest impact?
Genius: Da Vinci, without a doubt. Greatest Impact: undoubtedly, Newton

Really, why was DaVinchi such a great genius? I mean, yes, he did, in fact, create some incredible art and come up with come cool ideas but nothing truly groundbreaking. He didn't actually impliment his weapons of war. Newton actually created the tools to do math and science that ushered in an age of prosperity unlike any seen before.

Da Vinci actually thought up and documented newtons laws of physics hundreds of years before newton.

 

[Chu]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
without newton, there will be no einstein.

newton is a genius, he invented calculus in two years. how long do you have to study that in college? but still, my vote goes to shakespeare. the work may progress slower without newton. without shakespeare, something will never take place. would you rather call your bedroom "bedroom" or "chamber"?

Umm, he didn't just do it in two years, and the foundations of the problem were well known for about 100 years prior to the 'discovery' of calculus. Lebinez' calculus (which, btw, is what you learn in school) came about at the same time, and there was a bitter debate between Newton and Lebinez about who really invented the calculus. Lebinez is usually given credit these days, but the debate is not settled.

EDIT : It should be noted that Newton and Lebinez came about calclus in different ways. Newton approached it from the physics perspective as the solution to mechanics, Lebinez came about it from studying tangents, though to say the physics implications to Lebinez were unknown would be worse then nieve.

EDIT2 : It should be noted that the real discovery here is the notion of the limit. It is also interesteg it took about 200 years to come up with a formal definition of the limit, untill the late 1800's we were pretty much winging it until Fourier demonstrated that the 'intuitive' definitions that floated around at the time were not enough. Note that until very recently functions were essentialy synomous to equations that you could write out such as f(x)=sin(x), creatures such as f(x)={1 if x is rational, 0 if irrational} are a very modern feature of mathematics.

BTW, I know I can't spell - deal with it

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
didn't newton "invent" calculus?

Liebniz, Newton, and some other natural philosphers created the general idea of calculus.

Newton usually gets all the credit, when I would say Liebniz is just as responsible.

You know the antiderivitave symbol, the stretched out "S"? That, and most of the other modern notation, is Liebniz's notation.


I vote Einstein. Newton's laws mesh and follow logically from observations. Einstein went places with his mind that no one had even imagined existed.

 

[MainFramed]

They were all there own caliber of genius, they were all genius, impacting life in its own way.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Euclid at the very least deserves a mention. The fundamentals of The Elements are still used today, much like Newton's work (though Euclid preceded Newton by nearly 2,000 years).

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Make up your mind on the question...
Is it the greatest genius? Or greatest impact?
Genius: Da Vinci, without a doubt. Greatest Impact: undoubtedly, Newton

Really, why was DaVinchi such a great genius? I mean, yes, he did, in fact, create some incredible art and come up with come cool ideas but nothing truly groundbreaking. He didn't actually impliment his weapons of war. Newton actually created the tools to do math and science that ushered in an age of prosperity unlike any seen before.

Da Vinci actually thought up and documented newtons laws of physics hundreds of years before newton.

Link? Seriously. I'd love to hear more about this if true.

 

[Doggiedog]

I was thinking Da Vinci from the start.

He is probably the most well-rounded out of all them IMO. I think most people just associate DV with art and Mona Lisa but he was also accomplished in many other fields.

As for inventions, some people even speculate he was inventor of photolithography in his supposed hoax of the Shroud of Turin.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Beau

Originally posted by: So

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Make up your mind on the question...
Is it the greatest genius? Or greatest impact?
Genius: Da Vinci, without a doubt. Greatest Impact: undoubtedly, Newton

Really, why was DaVinchi such a great genius? I mean, yes, he did, in fact, create some incredible art and come up with come cool ideas but nothing truly groundbreaking. He didn't actually impliment his weapons of war. Newton actually created the tools to do math and science that ushered in an age of prosperity unlike any seen before.

Da Vinci actually thought up and documented newtons laws of physics hundreds of years before newton.

Uhh, no. If he had, then Newton's Principia would not have been so revolutionary. It was Newton who put mechanics on a quantitative footing following Galileo's work, and he did so in the Principia. Da Vinci had ideas of motion, momentum, etc., but all of them qualitative, and many of them wrong.

Da Vinci was profoundly brilliant of course, but implying that Newton simply recapitulated the ideas of his antecedents is horribly incorrect.

 

[imported_theEman]

Einstein. Relativity is the basis for "modern" physics.